A Ten Step Exercise To Reduce Stress

Good evening!  Thank you for reading the Self Help Tips Blog and best wishes to you as we continue on into the new year.

Tonight I would like to share a ten-step exercise that you can use to reduce stress in your life.

1) It helps to commit to paper exactly what it is that’s stressing you out. Include what you believe to be the worst case scenario. This helps to clarify exactly what the problem is. After having done this, you might find that your view of the problem has changed a little. Until you are clear on exactly what is at the root of the problem, you can’t formulate an accurate way to tackle it.

2) Once you have arrived at your worst case scenario, come up with as many ideas as you can to deal with it. Again, do this on paper. If you’ve never attempted to write down the problem and possible solutions like this before, you’ll probably be amazed at the clarity that you can get just by attempting to write the problems and solutions down in a logical fashion.

3) Think about the possible courses of action that are available to you and decide whether or not each of them will help the situation. By doing this, you can see which solution would help the most. Once you have found the best course of action, resolve to take that action.

4) Try to take the emotion out of the subject and think as rationally as you can about what is stressing you out. If you can do this, you may discover that the worst case scenario doesn’t justify the level of stress that you are feeling. It’s especially important to do this with aspects of the stress that you can’t come up with a solution for.

5) For all of the things that you’re stressed out about that you don’t feel you can change, try to challenge the stress by looking at the problem in a different light. Try to come up with at least one good, logical reason why you have no need to worry. Write it down.

6) Writing down at least one logical reason why there’s no need to have stress is a good idea, because you can then use this piece of paper as a reminder when you catch yourself descending into anxiety again. It’s also a concrete reminder of the time and effort that you exerted when thinking the situation through and formulating the reasons why your worries are unnecessary. 

7) Take up meditation, or a similar stress reduction and relaxation technique. One specific thing that you can do is breathe slowly and deeply. This sounds very simple but don’t dismiss it; it is a powerful relaxing technique that is well-worth getting into the habit of doing whenever you feel yourself getting stressed out, because it has an immediate calming effect.

8) Learn not to fret about things that you have no power over. One of the best ways to reduce a large amount of unnecessary stress in your life is to cultivate acceptance of those things that you cannot change. If you can rationally accept that it is pointless to get worked up about things that you have no control over, you will have fought and won a major battle against the stress demon.

9) If you struggle on your own to come up with alternative scenarios to help you view your stressors with a different perspective, enlist the help of others who may be able to stand back from the situation and remove the emotion from it in ways that you find difficult to do. They might be able to convince you that there isn’t as much to worry about as you think.

10) Many people find comfort in particular spiritual teachings and pursuits and find that they help focus and keep a proper perspective on life, reducing or diffusing their stressful thoughts in the process.  Try to find a spiritual path that appeals to you. You may find yourself becoming a more centered, balanced individual.

If you find that stress is becoming a more or less permanent feature of your life and is affecting your ability to function, you should seek proper professional help.