Sunday, October 6, 2013

Resources and strategies for reducing stress





Most universities have counseling resources available for students and these are great options for people who are having difficulty managing stress. However, if your university is anything like mine, it can take a few weeks to get in…

So, here are some ideas of activities that you can do to reduce stress in the mean time:

Meditation: There are many types of meditation. Relaxation types of meditation may help, but what I had in mind was mindfulness meditation. One method is the RAIN acronym. “R- recognize what is happening in the present moment, A- allow your inner life to unfold just as it is, I – investigate you experiences (sensations, emotions and thoughts), N – non-identify with whatever is there.”  Over the next few days, strive to recognize when a strong emotion is present and simply allow it to be present. Much of our stress and anxiety comes about from resisting the emotions we are experiencing. In order to investigate, it may be helpful to use questions such as: What sensations am I experiencing around this challenge? Where am I experiencing tension? What is the quality of this tension? One important point to remember with investigation is to be gentle with oneself… Lastly, non-identification means that one's sense of self is not tied to the strong emotions one may be experiencing. This allows for much greater flexibility and psychological resilience.”
Johnstone, D. (2012). How to Work with Stress and Challenging Emotions. Pelican News, 68(4), 4.

Yoga: There have been numerous studies on yoga’s ability to reduce stress and although it is to be mentioned that it doesn’t appear to replace other intervention. When used concurrently, yoga has many positive effects on those who practice it, including a reduction in perceived stress and anxiety and increased feelings of well-being. Best results are shown with sessions 2-3 times per week and 60-90 minutes per session.
Jackson, E. M. (2013). STRESS RELIEF: The Role of Exercise in Stress Management. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 17(3), 14-19

Exercise: Exercise of all kinds has a calming effect on the body over time because you release endorphins and because your body is better able to respond to stress. Aerobic exercise appears to have the greatest and most notable affect on stress but studies on resistance training and mind-body focused exercise also reveal benefits. Aerobic exercise broken into frequent 10-15 minute sessions throughout the day proved convenient and effective.
Jackson, E. M. (2013). STRESS RELIEF: The Role of Exercise in Stress Management. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 17(3), 14-19

Drink tea: Now, even though I didn’t really find any studies on tea drinking, I think many would agree that the things in your tea can have a great affect on your body. I suggest a peppermint or chamomile tea and to sip it slowly while doing nothing else for 10 minutes and see how you feel after. It works for me at night and I always fall asleep more easily on the tea drinking nights.

Well hopefully at least one of these gets you into a more zen-like state and you can take a break from the stress and if not, definitely think about seeking some professional help because left too long, stress can have some long standing side effects.