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How to Survive Holiday Season Stress

Spending time with friends and family over the holidays is one of the nations most loved pastimes; however, for many people it can also be a season of mixed emotions that makes them feel anxious, stressed and worried. Not everybody has special fun memories that they want to reminisce over, and often, being in a family situation can trigger the childhood patterns that you thought you had put to bed.

To help you gain positives from this holiday season, here are 3 tips to survive the holiday season.

1. Have realistic expectations

The holiday season is always portrayed in the media as being perfect, and no social media feed provides you with the true picture of other people’s holiday. The reality is often very different. No family is perfect, and so try not to build great expectations of the celebrations into something that they are not likely to meet.

There’s a fine line between being optimistic and unrealistically hopeful. The chances are high that if Grandma always slates your career choice, she will again in the holidays. You may hope that she’ll stop discouraging you from pursuing your dreams, but realistically, she will dampen your spirits with negativity.

It’s how you react to the individual and situation that controls the impact that they have on your sense of wellbeing. Exposure to negativity can really dampen your spirits, so it’s important that your interactions with negative people are limited; you can’t avoid them completely!

The Gray Rock Method is a way of dealing with people with who you have a toxic or negative relationship. In short, it means that you don’t add fuel to their fire: respond to them without emotion with a simple and polite response. It takes practice, but once the person doesn’t succeed in baiting an emotional response from you, their attention will go elsewhere.

2. Prepare

It can be easy to get caught up in the holiday excitement and make decisions that you may regret later once the festivities are over. If you leave everything until the last minute, you are more than likely to make bad decisions. Prepare for the holidays; this way, you keep in control of what you are going to do, and you won’t feel bullied into going somewhere or seeing someone you don’t want to. Things to prepare:

The diary

Know exactly where you are going to be and when. Again, be realistic about what you agree to do. Yes, it is the season of spending times with loved ones but show some self-love and give yourself some time off to rejuvenate and relax. Having an organized diary also means that should you receive an invite to somewhere you are not keen to go to, you can always say that you have previous plans.

The food

If you are catering for an army of friends and family, prepare as much of it as you can in advance; your freezer is your holiday season friend. You want to be able to relax without spending all day in the kitchen. Create a schedule that details the timings of when dishes need to go in the over so that you know exactly what to do and when.

The gifts

Yes, you will want to give loved ones gifts, but if you leave buying them until the last minute, you are more than likely going to panic buy. Set yourself a budget and stick to it. Post-holiday debt will impact your future financial stability, but if you do find that you have overspent, be proactive about clearing it as soon as you can. You can take out a loan to pay your debts and make manageable monthly installments instead, Bonsai Finance provides finance for this situation.

3. Be moderate

The holiday season is not usually a period of moderation; however, excessive indulgence can seriously impact your physical and mental health. Overeating, drinking too much alcohol on top of a reduced sleep can make the side effects of the celebrations linger.

Drink

While it can be good fun to have a drink with friends and family, it can be the cause of arguments and misunderstandings. Moderate your drinking. You don’t have to abstain, just drink responsibly. Alternate between alcoholic drinks and sodas so that your consumption is halved. Alcohol and depression go hand in hand, and if you must face friends and family with a hangover, you often feel more vulnerable and anxious.

Remember to drink plenty of water to help your body process the toxins that your body has ingested. Your vital organs depend on it to function, and it can be easy to forget to drink enough.

Food

Holiday meals tend to be richer than everyday foods and eating too many calories can easily be done. Take time over your meal to properly chew your food – it takes 20 minutes for your brain to understand that your stomach is full! By having a more leisurely meal, you will eat the amount of food that is needed, and not feed to excess.

Sleep

Late nights and early starts can impact you both physically and emotionally, especially when combined with the excess of food and alcohol. Lack of sleep can affect your mood by making you more emotional and more likely to lose your temper, which can heighten feelings of anxiety and depression. A weakened immune system is one side effect of a lack of sleep, so you are more likely to catch colds and viruses as a result. Take extra vitamin supplements to keep your defenses up.

Holiday season can be a great time to spend with family, friends and loved ones, but often it is marred by family politics and relationships. Take time to step out and take a breather. You don’t have to engage fully with people who pull you down, you don’t have to explain why you are not having another glass of wine, enjoy the celebrations under your own terms and live for today.

Why Recovery is crucial – Way to get it done quickly

In sports and general life, the recovery process from an injury is extremely important. If not properly handled, it may result in more complications and in some cases lead to death. There are many who overlook the recovery option in sports. They believe that training and injury prevention is all that matters. Recovery is as important as everything else is in sports. It should top your priority list if you want to get the most out of sports. Your body can have great functionality if you venture into helping it recover as you go ahead with your training. It can be obtained through the following means:

Setting apart time for recovery

Many people focus more on making it in sports and therefore they drive their bodies to utter exhaustion by working harder than they had done before. Working harder in sports is not bad, the problem comes when you don’t set some time to help your body recover. Recovery helps your body to be productive. A day or two in a week would make a big difference.

Once you set some time off from working out or training, your main focus would now be on how you can speed up the recovery process. This is what you need to do;

Stretching

Stretching is very imperative for recovery because it contributes to the growth of your muscles. If you stretch well, the tension in your muscles gets relieved. You will find it easier to train or work out the next day if you make it a routine to stretch as much as possible. Stretching speeds up the recovery and ensures that muscles do not clump up together.

Foam rolling

As you continue training or working out, there are adhesions that build up in your connective tissues as well as the muscles. You will experience pain or sustain an injury due to these adhesions. Foam rolling is a great way to get rid of them. This self-massage quickens your recovery since it hastens the flow of blood to the tissues and muscles.

Nutrition

Intense training calls for a great nutrition so does general life. What you consume during and after training and any other time is essential for the recovery process. For instance, you can avoid digestive issues if you plan on taking a well-balanced diet two hours before you embark on working out or training. Be keen on what you take after training also. The right nutrients are vital since they speed up the recovery of your body. In addition, add in foods that are rich in potassium to your diet. They are known to provide energy to the muscles.

Massage

Sports massage is very essential. Through massage, the liability of the muscles is enhanced. Intense training in sports can leave you with tight muscles that would hinder your joint range of motion. Consider a full body massage. Adhesions and tensions in the muscles are gotten rid of by use of massage. You can check out sports massage Caringbah for more assistance. This will be very helpful for the recovery.

Get enough sleep

Sleep should never be underrated. It helps the body and the mind to relax. In addition, it contributes greatly to the restoration of your body, something that is very important for recovery after sports. Get enough sleep. This means you are supposed to set 7-9 hours every night for quality sleep. The strain that one gets after training and workouts requires that amount of sleep so that you can recover fully for the next day.

Reduce stress

Chronic stress can slow down your recovery. When you find yourself stressed because of work, inadequate sleep and everything else that surrounds you, you will know it is time to take a break and allow yourself to relax. You can do this by engaging in other things that will bring joy like watching your favorite movie, walking your dog, meeting up with your friends etc. This is because when you couple stresses with the training, your body will be overworked. This will not help your body to recover.

Conclusion

The body requires recuperation from fatigue, general weaknesses and also injury. These are just some of the ways that can quicken the recovery of your body. There are a ton of other things you can do for recovery. Consider them if they will keep you healthy. Focus on the recovery of your body as much as you do on your sports. This way, your body will remain productive.

Give your body some time to respond and consider combining both natural and artificial methods to help you get back in shape. In one way or the other, the body is able to communicate and tell you when it is ready for your routine operation. Give it the right time.

How To Make The Most Of Every Day

No matter how old we are, there can be times in our lives when we start to feel that every day is just the same as the last, and nothing interesting or exciting is going to happen. These are days that we wish away, and that is especially true when we are looking forward to a particular upcoming event. It’s a shame when this happens, as with a little more positivity, every day can be a wonderful one, even if nothing ‘exciting’ happens there at all. Here are some of the best ways to can make the most of every day.

Wake Up Early

Waking up as early as you can is a wonderful way to start the day off well. Make sure you still get enough sleep, though, by going to bed at a reasonable hour!

Whether you live at home with a young family or are on your own, it makes no difference. This is one thing that everyone can do in any circumstance and starting the day in the right way means that you will feel much more positive about everything that comes afterward.

Here is your chance to take some quiet time and to really look at the world around you before the hustle and bustle of the day begins in earnest. Many people are most productive first thing, and if this means you get up early and work so that you have the rest of the day to enjoy yourself, then that makes a lot of sense too. Whatever your reasons for getting up early and no matter where you live or what you do, it will work to make your day a better one.

Be Less Stressed

Sometimes being less stressed is easier said than done, but you should remember that when you are worrying and stressing about things – particularly things that you cannot change and have no control over – you are missing out on the current moment, and losing your chance to enjoy it. As well as this, you won’t be able to see the future either, and it can all seem rather bleak.

On top of making your day a more negative one, your health can suffer a lot when you are stressed. Physical side effects include:

High blood pressure
Heart disease
Obesity
Lack of sleep
Headaches

Mentally it can cause paranoia, depression, and anxiety. Stressing as little as possible is, therefore, the best thing if you want to be able to make the most of every day.

If you can work out what it is that is causing you stress; then you can also work out how to combat it and create a plan to alleviate the stress you are feeling. Whether it is down to health, financial worries, your job, or your relationships, there will always be someone who can help you, even if they are just there to listen. It may be that you are simply getting older and require more care. For more information on a possible next step if this is the case, such as assisted living, click here.

Once you have dealt with your stressors, you can certainly make the most of every day.

Eat Well

Eating is something we have to do to be able to function and, ultimately, to stay alive. The more healthily we eat, the better our bodies are able to function, the healthier we will feel, and the more we can enjoy the days as they come and go. This is why giving up junk food and eating more fruits and vegetables can help to give us a much more positive outlook on life.

You will be amazed at how much better you feel if you stop eating (and drinking) all the things that are bad for you and start eating (and drinking) the things that are good for you. Your energy levels will increase, you will lose weight, you will feel fitter, and you will generally be more ready and able to take on any opportunities that come your way.

As well as eating more healthily, staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water through the day will also help to boost your immune system, keep you feeling healthy, and keep you more productive too.

Exercise

Trying to make the most of every day may not leave you much time for exercise, but when you realize just how important it is, you are more likely to clear a space in your schedule for it. Regular exercise will make you healthier, of course, but it will also realign the hormones in your body, reducing the number of stress hormones (like cortisol) and increasing the amount of ‘happy hormones’ such as serotonin. When this happens, you will feel happy, less stressed, more at ease, and calmer. You will also be able to see the changes in your body when it comes to your strength and any weight loss that might occur. Since you only need to do around 20 minutes of exercise per day to make a difference, it should be easy to slot it into your schedule, and when you do, you will be able to make much more of every day.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness means being in the present so that no day is ever a waste. It can be hard to do this, and it is a difficult habit to get into, but once you are able to be more mindful throughout your day you will find that every day is just as important as the last and the next, even if you don’t really do anything or it isn’t an especially memorable one. When you are present in the moment, you aren’t distracted by anything; you are fully focused on what is happening, and enjoy the moment much more. Going for a walk in nature, taking the time to paint a picture that you are concentrating on, reading a book, or sitting quietly and meditating are all good ways to be more mindful. These ideas are much better than watching TV which, although useful for unwinding and something that can be enjoyed as a treat, usually means that you aren’t really in the moment at all.

6 Amazing Benefits of Using Sound and Light Therapy as a Treatment

Through the years, scientists have developed methods that can be used to cure pain. Natural therapy has been known to be effective as well. Therapy has evolved through the years thanks to technology. Recent methods include use of the harmonic egg and vibroacoustic therapy. Everyone has their own preferences, so everyone can choose one that works best for them. You need a method that has no negative effects to your body, especially the heart. Once the heart stops beating, then that’s the end of your journey on earth. Therapy has been known to heal different disorders. Mental problems have been treated initially by psychological methods that involved drugs made from chemicals. However, they can also be treated through natural therapy. One way is through vibroacoustic treatment. This has many benefits including:

1. Stress reduction

The Life vessel, which is the chambers the patients relax in while undergoing treatment, are known to gently work on the skin and relieve pain without any negative effects. They use light and sound to cure body disorders such as stress. The vibrations will always have your mind relaxed. During the relaxation, stress will just fall away. Reduced levels of stress will translate to reduced depression. Most people want a life where they are at peace with their mind and soul.

2. Blood pressure

Sound and light travel at different intervals. During the period when you are undergoing this form of therapy, there is proper flow of blood circulation in the system. You will not feel any pain during this process. When you are relaxed, your vessels are at their optimum diameter, maintaining blood pressure. Proper circulation of blood will mean less chances of getting stroke or even heart failure.

3. Heart

The heart is a vital organ of the body. You are alive because your heart still pumps blood to the required body parts. Proper circulation will begin by purification of blood in the heart before distribution to various body parts. Poor blood circulation will result to risks like heart attack. Vibroacoustic therapy(VAT) will ensure that your heart beats at the right rate. Proper heart rate will mean you have less chances of heart related diseases.

4. Relaxation of the muscles

Your muscles need to be relaxed and soothed so that they can allow blood vessels to circulate blood properly. Once your muscles are relaxed, it means pain from muscle aches, tension and fatigue will go away slowly.

5. Cells nourishment

The human body requires reproduction of cells daily for its daily activity. For this to happen, there has to be proper blood flow to provide nutrition. Acceleration in the production of cells is motivated by mechanism that use both sound and light as a form of therapy.

6. Pain

Sound and light combine to provide a soothing and pleasurable feeling that will reduce both physical and psychological pain. The vibrations will communicate slowly with the body cells, so after a while, you will see the healing process begin, which translates to proper sensory perception.

Does stress affect sleep?

Not all kinds of insomnia has its roots in stress but stress could be called a major contributing factor to sleep-loss.

A Survey that was take throughout America to gain insight into sleep habits of adults found that at least 40% of adults report not getting enough sleep.

A majority of adults surveyed that is 3 out of 4 report getting less than 8 hours sleep. 1 in 4 adults sleep for less than 5 hours every night.

Such sleep habits can put them at serious risk of several illnesses, loss of productivity and many mishaps.

But if stress is a contributing factor, reducing the same would bring in much-needed relief.

Stress can trigger insomnia and stress induced insomnia affects our ability to fall asleep and stay that way. This could in turn trigger hyper arousal disturbing sleep patterns and upsetting those.

Discovering the root cause of sleep problems

You may feel that sleeplessness is triggered due to insomnia but there could be other factors at work here.

To understand if stress is the real culprit try to figure out when did your sleep problems begin?

If you always feel let down that could be due to several factors including depression, chronic mood disorder or low serotonin production. This may or may not contribute to sleep-loss and the underlying factors could be something else.

If you began taking a certain kind of medication, some of the understated effects include loss in sleep.

Was it a major assignment at work that kept you awake with many sleepless nights in between? Is the stress from such assignments regularly hampering your sleep?

If stress is the reason for sleep troubles you should try to relax as much as possible.

People tend to worry too much they’re not getting sleep. And that worry fuels further problems— resulting in no sleep at all.

If it’s chronic stress you’re suffering from understanding how it acts on your body and responses the body produces in turn is going to help resolve it.

How does chronic stress act on us?

When our brain perceives a threat it releases a wave of hormones that trigger specific bodily responses.

Release of adrenaline results in the fight or flight response. But since today’s social situations are way different than what we experienced as primitive men where such responses actually helped us survive, today these responses just result in unfulfilled trigger responses.

This causes stress to build up over time. And as the situations that stress us have no end in sight the stress keeps building.

How to solve sleep problems by solving stress?

A healthy bedtime routine can go a long way in stemming sleep problems. I don’t know if you know this- but our body is regulated by a biological clock called circadian rhythm.

You won’t be able to lengthen the time you get shut-eye with one night. Slowly working towards a longer sleep time by sleeping early and waking up earlier is the way to go. This gradual increase will lengthen your sleep time.
We don’t notice this but most times a really comfortable pillow can help us with our sleep problems. There are people who like sleeping on the side and others want support on the back and such specialized pillows can make sleep a pleasant experience, help you sleep longer.
When suffering from insomnia you need to allot a time before you sleep to winding down. During this period it’s better not to read or do anything taxing including watching television. The blue light from digital screens disrupts our sleep cycle and interferes with the night time. We need a space for the alerting mechanisms in our brain to shut down and allow the brain as a whole to hibernate and go to sleep mode. You can listen to some soulful music to accelerate the shutting down, especially ones that seem to have a calming effect on you.
When sleeping try to avoid uncomfortable positions that can cause neck pain.

There’s little doubt to the fact that insomnia is an experience no one wants in their life. Insomnia itself is a cause for anxiety. We have trouble falling asleep and we raise a lot of trouble worrying if we’d fall asleep.
Instead of twisting and turning all night you should take control of your sleep habits and the bedroom. Associate positive emotions and sentiments with the bedroom. So don’t partake in anything that spoils the positivity associated with that room. Consequently move arguments out of that room, don’t eat food in your bedroom, don’t take your job to the bedroom, talking on the phone and other such activities should be avoided.
An extremely popular actor who’s known all over the world with tons of ad projects and movies under his belt has a policy that once he enters the house, he won’t take any calls from anyone. The house is for family interactions.

3 Reasons Why You Need Probiotics

When it comes to the human body, it’s really all about the balance inside, and that is where the mission of probiotics come in.

The folks at Harvard Medical School say that the “good bacteria” of probiotics for women are another healthy addition to consider. These incredible foods and/or supplements are affordable and a wise investment.

Even Hollywood celebrities have quickly found the value in following a healthy diet that features probiotic supplementation. Some of these famous female faces include Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Katy Perry, Lauren Conrad, Meg Ryan and Susan Sarandon.

Here are three smart reasons why you need probiotics:

Fab Flora Performs A Function

Flora are the millions of microorganisms that live in your intestines and keep your GI tract running like a smooth machine. To maintain your gut health, you need probiotics to create acidity in the body to generate the production of good bacteria in flora.

You can get this nutrition from probiotic foods like those that are fermented. Some of these would include yogurt, kefir, pickled vegetables, sauerkraut and others.

This article about probiotics says that an abundance of flora is a great protector against infections forming in the colon and other digestive organs. It also boosts one’s complexion and puts a halt to skin infections.

Keeps A Healthy Heart Ticking

Some studies have found that including probiotics in your daily diet can help maintain a healthy heart by knocking down the “bad cholesterol” and modestly lowering blood pressure.

By taking probiotic supplements or eating a probiotic yogurt for at least two weeks, researchers discovered that reductions were made in total cholesterol by four percent and LDL cholesterol by five percent.

For blood pressure to begin lowering, participants had to remain on the probiotic kick for at least eight weeks to see results.

Benefits Mood And Mental Health

Believe it or not, a healthy gut has been linked to one’s state of mental health, and certain strains in probiotic supplements have been found to improve some disorders like depression, stress and anxiety and memory loss.

The two effective strains feature Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus and can be found in supplement form in probiotics for women.

For example, a study involving 40 patients with depression featured some encouraging results. The participants took probiotic supplements for eight weeks and discovered that their depression levels decreased as well as their levels of C-reactive protein, compared to those participants who did not take a probiotic.

C-reactive protein is considered a marker of inflammation and hormones such as insulin.

These are just three excellent reasons for taking probiotics in food or easy to digest capsules for your daily routine.

Plenty of recent studies and clinical trials have been published and point to the value of probiotics for the human body.

The cost of taking these supplements is quite inexpensive, and the benefits can be tremendous.

About the Author:

Trysh Sutton is a wife, mother, attorney, interior decorator, strategic leader and owner of Pure Path Essential Oils. She has an eye for business, innovation and perfection – and a desire to help her family, her friends and herself live a healthy and happy life.

How to Quit Drug Addiction and Avoid Relapse

Drug addiction is a menace that is stealing the future of millions of people around the globe. Experts say that it is easy to start using but quitting is one of the most challenging experiences that anyone can go through. In most cases, people who are trying to quit drugs end up relapsing and falling back to their old ways.

Knowing how quitting drugs for good is next to impossible, this post is meant to help you have a smooth withdrawal process. That said, please read on…

First things first though, you must enroll in a drug addiction treatment program. Fortunately, there are trusted recovery facilities that are ready to help you make a successful recovery and live a drug-free life thereafter. In addition to starting a recovery program, the following tips will help you reduce your chances or relapsing every time you begin to show improvement:

Mind your circle of friends – Know the saying, ‘You are who hang out with’? Well, believe it or not, once you have decided to stop using and live a clean life, you should change the people you hang out with. Most of the time, people who are addicted to drugs hang out with other drug addicts. So, you cannot be in the process of quitting and still be around people who are using. When you make that decision to be clean, clean up your circle first.

Stay away from your usual meeting places – Let’s be honest, drug addicts have private meeting places where they meet to use and/or buy drugs. For a smooth recovery with minimal to zero chances of a relapse, (please) avoid going to such places. Truth be told, chances are high that when you visit such places, your desire to use might be triggered and in the end, the temptation may overwhelm you.

Think about visiting a sober living home – This one of the most trusted ways of drug addiction recovery. Fortunately, there are hundreds of trusted facilities like sober living Houston that are ready to give you the support you need for a successful treatment process. When you are in a sober living home, the chances of you relapsing are very minimal because in such a place, there are great people who believe in sobriety. This means during times of temptation, you will have a support system to see you through.

Avoid stress – Stress is one of the leading causes of drug abuse which later advances to drug addiction. Most people will start using to forget the troubles they have in life. Sadly, in as much as this is not a solution to the problems that you might be facing, drugs might make you worry-free for a few hours or even days. However, do not let stress break you to a point of going back to drugs. Find something to do when you are stressed, preferably something that you love doing like art or music. This will help keep drugs off your mind.

Proven Ways to Lower Stress and Cortisol

In today’s world of fast paced job requirements, fast paced expectations of retails and consumable items, and high technology availability, life has gotten faster. In general, areas of life that used to be complicated; however, because of the increased pace, life has added expectations and as a result, many people’s stress levels (specifically, cortisol) have gone through the roof.

Maybe you have experienced increased competition for promotions at work, increased availability requirements because of email being mobile, or just feel generally too rushed now. Because of that, diagnosis of chronic fatigue and adrenal fatigue have skyrocketed. Although going to the doctor may help to begin the quest of lowering cortisol from stress for good, there are some natural methods for taking care of cortisol that can be tried in synchronization with what the doctor prescribes.

In many cases, the doctor’s recommendation may even match some of these techniques on how to lower cortisol levels naturally and reduce your stress. Take note as these are some proven ways to lower stress and get you back on the right path of relaxation and focused achievement.

1) Say “no” and set boundaries for yourself

The added availability that technology has afforded us has also led to work hours that have blended rather unnecessarily with personal life: meaning, we are now available almost 24/7 regardless of even sleep hours for our employment and for our friends at certain points. Although shutting off technology can temporarily blunt these demands, it does not effectively eliminate or reduce them; and eventually we must come to the realization that we cannot possibly keep up with everybody and everything in life at all time. For that reason, simply saying “no” to coworkers, family, friends, and even employers directly may play a large role in lowering your stress level and getting the balance between your work, personal, and relational sides of life back in order. Just say “NO”!

2) Get rid of stimulants: drugs, alcohol, and smoking

Although stimulants, drugs, alcohol, and cigarette smoking are temporary reliefs of stress through the releasing of serotonin; they can often lead down the very opposite path of raising cortisol. For instance, alcohol temporarily relieves ambition while under the influence; but when off of it, it can send hormone levels in all directions and ambush your ability to stay calm and keep your stress lower the next day. Cigarettes work similarly in the sense that they provide an immediate release of serotonin, but soon after they crave for more and bolster stress to its original levels or even higher than before the craving began. Take the hard road, as it make take weeks or even months to break these addictions, of getting off of stimulants and dealing with stress in manners that you were meant to deal with it.

3) Get enough sleep each night

Although sleep and getting enough sleep could be placed on a top health list for almost any type of ailment to heal it naturally, it is also important in playing a role to lower cortisol. The body comes across situations throughout the day that raise its fight or flight response rate and send is signalling for desperate help (in the form of adrenaline and cortisol) that can aid performance in the short-term, but can burn out the adrenal glands long term and even lead to chronic fatigue. One of the most tried, test, and true proven ways to fight the daily rise of stress is to counter it each and ever night with a great night’s sleep. This means getting both enough hours of sleep and also getting the right quality of deep sleep as well. Turn out the lights and disconnect blue-light emitting technology at least 30 minutes prior to falling asleep and give yourself eight hours to rest back up and recharge for the stresses of the coming day.

4) Stay positive with your mental state

This one may sound almost cheesy and oversimplified: but listen up. It is true that you are able to view the world and view each and every situation as an opportunity or as a burden (you thought I was going to give you the “half full or half empty” analogy, right?). If you perk up and try your best to make each situation the best that the situation could possibly be for you by focusing on the most effective outcome, you WILL fight stress because your worry over your own shortcomings will decrease. Try this: instead of worrying over everything you could be missing out on while making a difficult decision, instead focus on the positives of the decision you are making so that you are satisfied with the results and can continue to learn from mistakes and grow as a constructive and functioning adult…it will pay off much more in dividends in future decision-making skills as well as keep your stress and cortisol in check.

Conclusion

Always remember to seek council from your doctor in addition to these recommendations as we do not claim to be giving medical advice. However, if you truly want to start down the path of lowering your cortisol and stress levels naturally, then take this advice and consider it.

You may be experiencing increased pressure and stress at work, in your social interactions, with your family, or just in life in general. While it is true that the world is moving at a faster pace than ever these days, it does not have to be that way. Try these natural techniques in your life and get your stress levels to a place where you can function, relax, breath, and accept life as it is handed to you in each situation. That is not to say not to take charge, but be okay with your decision making and find true fulfillment in your daily life.

If you have comments or questions to add or you simply want to discuss other techniques of lowering your cortisol and stress levels, please leave a comment below. We would love to discuss with you how you are taking steps in your daily life to get more peace and less stress out of your day to day activity.

How Dogs Help Anti-Social Writers Stay Positive despite Stress?

Spending hours on my work desk and getting absorbed entirely into the stories I was writing, I didn’t use to realize when I began to detach myself from my family and friends, and day-to-day responsibilities. I felt lonely, and depressed, but found no one to appreciate or support my efforts. Such is the story of a close friend, Miss Julia Smith.

I bet most of the writers will relate to this pressing reality. Is there a way out? Yes, since the day Julia has brought home Happiness-Labrador Retriever, her neighbors have felt a change in her personality—dull to lively.

Dogs can practically help you get out of your comfort zone, de-stress yourself, and stay positive. Here are the various ways dogs can help the introverted and anti-social writers to avoid stress:

1. Dogs Bring Writers Back to Reality:

Anti-social writers often lose themselves in their imaginations that they lose touch with reality. Did you know imagination can be dangerous for you? According to Dr. Johnson in Rasselas, constant flights of imaginations can lead a man’s mind to “to hope or fear beyond the sober limits of probability.”

On the opposite, dogs follow routines which you have to follow despite the fact that you are in the middle of a rendezvous with your characters. You need to take them out for walks, feed them on time, and pet them every now and then.

2. Dogs Can Wake You Up For Morning Walks:

Once you have trained your dog for a morning walk, he is going to wake you up at the exact time daily. If you try to ignore him, his sad yet cute face will convince you to get out of bed. Yes, he will be the reason for you to wake up early.

We all know well that exercise is miraculous therapy for stress, anxiety, and depression. Exercise helps to regulate blood flow throughout the body. Physical activity promotes the release of feel-good hormones, the endorphins.

A lot of positive energy and creative ideas are going to be at your doorstep soon. A day that starts well ends well. Here’s a great tip for you, use retractable leashes to let the dog explore the surroundings. Then, simply observe his eagerness to know everything, it will amaze you.

3. Dogs Show Eternal Love and Acceptance:

Writers, being an introvert, struggle a lot with getting accepted. Dogs show unconditional love in spite of all the mood swings we demonstrate. Pets give us such unconditional love, acceptance and time that we never feel alone for a single moment. They can read our emotions and imitate them, so we just have to stay happy to make the pooch happy.

Writers, often, want to be listened to. Dogs can listen to all your stories without getting tired. George Eliot was right in saying,

“Animals are such agreeable friends. They ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”

4. Dogs Bring Positive Energy that’s Contagious:

Dogs have a lot of energy and they like invest it in playing with you. Their funny acts at the most serious moments can crack you up. Such good laughs and physical activities can uplift your positive energies.

The upsurge of happy hormones will help boost your mood and the cuddles will increase the release of oxytocin that will decrease your stress levels. It will help you view life under an optimistic light and be more creative in your writings. According to Hertenstein, “Oxytocin is a neuropeptide, which basically promotes feelings of devotion, trust and bonding.”

5. Dog Training Can Make You Creative:

When we are the teachers, we learn from our students. It’s true with dog training as well. Rewarding the dogs with treats to motivate them for learning the desired behavior can help you as a writer. The focus, compassion, and zeal a dog brings into the learning process can be a great inspiration for you.

The more ways you will find to teach and train the dog, the more creative you will get. Constant learning leads to creativity.

6. Dogs Remind Us Of Proper Sleep:

Most of the times, writers lose themselves in their stories for days and nights, ending up becoming insomniacs. Lack of sleep can lead to writer’s block, decreased creativity, and increased stress.

Dogs love to cuddle at all times and can sleep for hours. Following an active routine with them can help you fall asleep according to the routine. Did you know? Most of the renowned inventors like Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, etc. were great nappers. Sleep is necessary for creativity.

Author Bio:

Fiona Appleton is a Labrador owner. She is the manager of https://ultimatehomelife.com/ that has been developed to help people solve the troubles of pet ownership. She is an active advocate of animal protection campaigns. She wants people to understand that dog-behavior is reflective of our behavior.

7 ways that can help reduce your stress levels

There are many reasons why you could be suffering from stress. The pressures of your job, problems at home, health concerns or financial worries can all contribute to the onset of stress.

Whatever the reasons, stress is on the increase. A study carried out in early 2017 found that 70% of Americans suffered from stress and of those, more than half have to deal with it on a daily or weekly basis.

This is bad news. Stress can lead to, among other problems, headaches, depression, insomnia, high blood pressure, fertility problems, high blood sugar and an increased risk of heart attack. In short, if stress goes untreated it can be a killer.

So how do you beat stress? Here are seven ways to help reduce your stress levels

Exercise

When it comes to reducing stress, exercise is one of the simplest ways of doing so. When you hear that experts recommend that we should be getting 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, you’re probably thinking you don’t have time for that. It might seem like a lot, but in fact it translates to around only 22 minutes a day. That is a walk around the park during your lunch break or cycling into town at the weekend rather than taking the car.

For those with more time to dedicate to exercise, then taking up jogging or sports such as badminton or tennis will help to combat stress. Working out regularly will help improve your health – something that six in 10 American adults are worried about – help improve your mood and help lift depression. It also gives us something to focus on – if you are thinking about running that 10k race, you are not spending time dwelling on other situations in your life which could cause you stress.

Avoid unhealthy habits

It’s a vicious circle – when we are stressed, some of us turn to alcohol and cigarettes as a means of unwinding. This is known as avoidance behavior and although we may think it is helping us to cope, in actual fact it is the very same alcohol and cigarettes that increase our stress levels in the first place. What you end up with is a snowball effect.

The answer is that no matter how bad things get, try and avoid turning to drink and tobacco at all costs. They might provide temporary relief, but they won’t solve any of your problems. They’re actually more likely to cause new ones.

Supplements

There are a number of natural supplements out there which can be used to combat stress. Therapeutic doses of the right supplements can in some cases help to target the causes of stress when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the brains pineal gland and helps to control the bodies sleep cycle. Given that lack of sleep is a major contributory factor when it comes to stress, taking melatonin to improve your sleep efficiency can help reduce stress levels.

Magnesium plays a key role in the brains nerve and muscle functions and can help to promote relaxation. Not only that, but research has indicated that it also aids the regulation of our stress response, with those who aren’t getting enough magnesium as part of a balanced diet seemingly more likely to be stressed.

Plants and herbs can also play a role in managing stress. Valerian root is a herb commonly known to treat insomnia and anxiety which makes it one possible tool for dealing with stress while CBD wax can also help with relaxation – click here to check it out!

Help people

Volunteering and helping others can help us beat stress by giving us an increased sense of resilience. By offering to help out with a local charity or organization, chances are you’ll end up coming into contact with people less fortunate than yourself.

This can put our problems into perspective and make us realize that we are actually quite lucky to live the life that we do. By being thankful for what we have, it can lift depression and unhappiness which both contribute to the stresses we feel. Not only that, but you’ll also get a sense of satisfaction out of helping those that need it, and you’ll be doing a good turn, too.

Connect with people

Don’t hide away and let the stress eat up at you – connect with as many of your friends and family as possible. There are two main benefits to doing this. Firstly, you’ll have a support network ready to help you out if you need to talk about the problems that are placing you under such stress.

Secondly, the activities we do with friends and family can help us unwind. Going to the cinema, watching sport and going out for dinner gives us a chance to be social, forget about our problems and most importantly, have a laugh. They do say laughter is the best medicine, after all.

Accept the things that you can’t change

A lot of stress comes from us worrying about things that are ultimately out of our control. Take a step back and ask yourself, could you actually do anything about the situation? If the company you are employed by is going under for example, chances are there is nothing you can do about it.

Don’t blame yourself or focus on something you can’t change, but instead put your energy into what you can do to improve the situation, such as looking for a new job.

Manage your time – be organized

How much of our stress comes from worrying about whether we can get something done by a deadline or that we are going to get from A to B on time? By being organized, you can manage your time better and reduce a lot of unnecessary stress. At work, prioritize the jobs that are most important and accept that you won’t be able to get everything done, every day. At home, leave enough time for journeys and plan ahead as much as possible to reduce the stress that comes with running late for a flight, bus or train. Little changes such as that can go a long, long way.