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With the fast pace of work and home, being constantly inundated with technology and still wanting to have time to connect with those around you, life can feel overwhelming and stressful at times. You may often ask yourself how you should manage stress.
Try these five tips to manage stress and reduce the overall stress of day-to-day activities:
1. Use guided meditation.
Guided meditation is a great way to distract yourself from the stress of day-to-day life. There are many guided meditations available online that can help you find five minutes of centered relaxation. At the end of this guide is a website to visit for several free meditation techniques to try.
2. Practice deep breathing.
Deep breathing is a great way to reduce the activation of your sympathetic nervous system, which controls the body's response of fight or flight to a perceived threat. Deep breaths taken in for a count of five seconds, held for two seconds and released for a count of five seconds, can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system to rest and digest, which helps reduce the overall stress and anxiety you may be experiencing. At the end of this guide is a website that has several free guided breathing exercises to help you practice deep breathing.
3. Maintain physical exercise and good nutrition.
Physical exercise and good nutrition two important components in how you respond to stress. When your body is healthy, your mind can be healthy and vice versa. Physical exercise is proven to be a great stress reliever and also helps to improve your overall quality of life. Nutrition is important because stress can deplete certain vitamins, such as A, B complex, C and E. Maintaining proper nutrition not only helps your body feel better, but your mind as well, which allows you to better combat stress.
Southern Industries Home Improvement offers every employee free access to “Guidance Resources” through Guardian. Guidance Resources offers nutrition and exercise assistance, mental health assistance, healthy living guidance, stress management tools, and overall wellness tips. At the bottom of this guide is information about how to connect with Guidance Resources.
4. Manage social media time.
Spending time on social media sites can become stressful, not only by what you might see on them, but also because the time might best be spent enjoying visiting with friends, being outside enjoying the weather or reading a great book. In addition, many people use social media at night, which may worsen sleep due to increased stress at the exact time people are trying to wind down for the evening, resulting in fewer overall hours of quality sleep. Commit to providing your mind and body at least 30 minutes of no social media before going to sleep to improve your overall sleep and stress levels.
5. Connect with others.
Humans are social beings. You need to have connections with people to feel supported. Finding a sense of community, whether at work, with a religious organization or through shared activities, such as organized sports, is important to your well-being. Enjoying a shared activity allows you to find support and foster relationships that can be supportive in difficult times. Seek out opportunity to build friendships and connections with other people who enjoy the same activities as you and you will find more support and less stress in your days.
Free Resources to help reduce stress:
Meditation & Breathing Exercises: https://mindfulnessexercises.com/
This website provides hundreds of free mindfulness exercises ranging from guided meditations to deep breathing exercises to journaling techniques. With free meditation scripts and exercises to ease the mind and body, there are tools that match any stress-reducing need.
Guidance Resources:
This free service provided by Guardian offers a wide variety of assistance designed to target the sources of stress. Guidance Resources can be accessed through the following methods:
Phone: 1-855-235-0743 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
Website: guidanceresources.com (Web ID: Guardian)
App: GuidanceNow
TRS: Dial 711 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
Download a PDF of this information below:
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