Welcome back everybody to another podcast food
for thought thoughts if it were you buying neogen
tricks now In the last episode I covered what
stress is Today, I'm gonna go ahead and cover
with how on how to deal with stress And like
I said before I have ten simple tips here to
help you manage and reduce your stress levels
now Keep in mind these won't get rid of it a
hundred percent You still have to put in the
effort to actually try this and do it. All this
will help you do is reduce it handle it better
okay stress is not all bad it's just what you
do with it how much of it is there I mean it
can be as I covered before as dangerous and as
poisonous as alcohol poisoning drug overdose
you know things of that nature because it does
cause physical problems both with your body and
your mental state okay simple issues as your
muscles tightening up for no reason is one of
the basic um effects that it can have other effects
are you know like i mentioned before urination
issues bathroom problems uh stomach indigestion
uh and so on and so forth so beginning our topic
off here with number one one the first thing
that you need to do to help control the level
of stress you have is avoid caffeine alcohol
and nicotine especially nicotine Avoid or at
least reduce your consumption of nicotine in
any of the drinks containing caffeine or alcohol.
Now, caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, for
those who don't already know this, so it will
increase your levels of stress rather than reduce
it, if not make it worse. Alcohol is a depressant
when taken in large quantities, but it still
acts as a stimulant in smaller quantities, so
therefore using alcohol as a way to alleviate
stress is ultimately not very helpful. If not
worse, swap caffeinated and alcoholic drinks
for water. Herbal teas, diluted natural fruit
juices. Aim to keep yourself hydrated as this
will enable your body to cope better with stress.
And for those who don't like herbal teas, well
then just stick to water or flavored water. You
should also aim to avoid or reduce your intake
of refined sugars. They are contained in many
manufactured foods, even in savory foods such
as salad, dressings, and bread. Yes, I said bread.
For all those people out there who don't like
eating food or is very self -conscientious, especially
on carbohydrates and sugars that they eat, this
is probably a bonus for you. Like I said before,
these things can cause energy crashes, which
may lead you up to feeling tired or irritable.
Okay. In general, just try to eat a healthy,
well -balanced and nutritious diet for life's
sake. Try. I'm not telling you to do it overnight.
It doesn't happen that way. Nothing happens overnight.
All right. Alright, let's pick up number two.
Indulge in physical activities. Okay, stressful
situations increase the level of stress hormones
such as adrenaline and cortisol in your body,
as I mentioned before. Now, these are the fight
or flight hormones that evolution has hardwired
into our brains and which are designed to protect
us from immediate bodily harm when we are under
threat. So, but... However, stress in the modern
age is rarely remedied by a fight -or -flight
response, and so physical exercise can be used
as a surrogate to metabolize the excess of stress
hormones and restore your body and mind to a
calmer, more relaxed state. Let's just put it
simple. When you feel stressed or tense, go for
a brisk walk in fresh air. Try to incorporate
some physical activities into your daily routine
on a regular basis, either before, after work,
or at lunchtime. Basically, regular physical
activities will also improve the quality of your
sleep. Now, I know I still haven't covered sleep,
but I will cover it after I finish this. Which
brings us to number three. Ironically, get more
sleep. Yeah, I know. Ironic. A lack of sleep
is a significant cause of stress. Unfortunately,
though, stress also interrupts our sleep as thoughts
keep whirling through our head, stopping us from
relaxing even enough to fall asleep. Rather than
relying on medication, your aim should be to
maximize your relaxation before going to sleep.
Make sure that your bedroom is a tranquil oasis
with no reminders of things that cause you stress.
And with that, I am referring to those who have
cell phones and or tablets or computers. If you
can't sleep with them in the room, get rid of
them. Leave them in the living room. Do not put
them in the bathroom Avoid caffeine during the
evenings as well as excessive alcohol if you
know that this will lead to disturbed sleep Stop
doing any mentally demanding work several hours
before going to bed so that you give your brain
a time to calm down Try taking a warm bath or
reading a calm, undemanding book for a few minutes
to relax your body, your mind, tire your eyes,
and help you forget about the things that worry
you. You should aim to go to bed at roughly the
same time each day so that your mind and body
get used to the predictable bedtime routine.
Okay? And again, like I said before, and I promise
I will, cover sleep in another podcast. Next.
Four. Try some relaxation techniques, okay? Each
day, try to relax with a stressful reduction
technique. I'm sorry, a stress reduction technique,
not a stressful one. There are many tried and
tested ways to reduce stress, so try a few and
see which ones work for you. Keep in mind, not
everything works with everyone. It may not even
work with you, even if it works for your friend.
For example, try self -hypnosis. Which is very
easy and can be done anywhere, even at your desk
or in the car. Now, granted, I don't recommend
this if you have a very busy day. One very simple
technique is to focus on a word or phrase that
has a positive meaning to you. Words such as
calm, love, and peace. Actually, love is not
a calming word for me, but you get the idea.
in my life or grant me serenity something that
brings you a peace of mind okay or read the bible
for those who um know what i mean focus on your
chosen words or phrase and if uh if you find
your mind has wandered or you find become aware
of intrusive thoughts entering your mind simply
disregard them and return your focus to the chosen
word or phrase if you find yourself becoming
tense again later simply silently repeat your
word or phrase okay don't worry if you find it
difficult to relax at first relaxation is a skill
that needs to be learned and will improve with
practice okay Number five, talk to someone. Just
talking to someone about how you feel can be
helpful. Talking can work by either distracting
you from your stressful thoughts or releasing
some of the built -up tension by discussing it.
Stress can cloud your judgment and prevent you
from seeing things clearly. Talking things through
with a friend, work colleague, or even a trained
professional can help you find solutions to your
stress and put your problems into perspective.
And with that being said, number six is fairly
simple. Just keep a stress diary. Keeping a stress
diary for a few weeks is an effective stress
management tool as it will help you become more
aware of the situation which caused you to be
stressed. Note down the date, time, and place
of each stressful episode and note what you were
doing, who you were with, and how you felt both
physically and emotionally. Give each stressful
episode a stress rating and use the diary to
understand what triggers your stress and how
effective you are in stressful situations. This
will enable you to avoid stressful situations
and develop better coping mechanisms. 7. Take
Control Stress can be triggered by a problem
that may on the surface seem impossible to solve.
However, learning how to find solutions to your
problems will help you feel more in control,
thereby lowering your level of stress. One problem
solving technique involves writing down the problems
and coming up with as many possible solutions
as you can. Decide on the good and bad points
of each one and select the best solution. Writing
down each step that you need to take as part
of the solution. what will be done, how it will
be done, and when it will be done. Also, who
is involved and where it will take place will
help you greatly manage this as well. 8. I can't
believe I have to bring this up, but manage your
time. At times, we all feel overburdened by our
to -do list, and this is a common cause of stress.
Accept that you cannot do everything at once
and start to prioritize Diarize your tasks is
one way to put that. Make a list of all the things
you need to do and list them in order of genuine
priority. Note what tasks you need to do personally
and what can be delegated to others to do. Record
which tasks need to be done immediately in the
next week, in the next month, next day or whenever
time allows. by editing what might have started
out as an overwhelming and unmanageable task
list you can break it down into a series of smaller
more manageable tasks spread out over a longer
time frame with some tasks removed from the list
entirely through delegation remember as well
to create buffer times to deal with unexpected
and emergency tasks and to include time for your
own relaxation and well -being This is a very
key thing to keep in mind as the more stuff you're
doing and without relaxing, the more tense you
become, which can cause stress to have an even
greater effect on you in the future. Okay, now
to the last two items in this list of tips to
help you. Okay, number nine, learn to just say
no. A common cause of stress is having too much
to do and too little time in which to do it.
And yet, in this situation, many people will
still agree to take on additional responsibilities.
Learning to say no to additional or unimportant
requests will help to reduce your level of stress
and may also help you develop more self -confidence.
To learn to say no, you need to understand why
you find it difficult. Many people find it hard
to say no because they want to help and are trying
to be nice and to be liked. For others, it's
a fear of conflict, rejection, or missed opportunities.
Remember that these barriers to saying no are
all self -created. You might feel reluctant to
respond to a request with a straight no, at least
at first. Instead, think of some prepared phrases
to let other people down more gently. Prepared
practicing phrases such as the following. I have
three of them here as an example. No worries.
No long list here. Here's one. I'm sorry, but
I can't commit to this as I have other priorities
at the moment. This is the one I use a lot because
it's actually true. The second one is. Now it's
not a good time as I'm in the middle of something
Why don't you ask me again at and then you know
you give a time or a place, okay? The last one
is I'd love to do this But and then you can fill
in the blank with just about anything you could
think of as long as it makes sense And it's not
a complete lie going back to the morals that
I covered before and finally number 10 Rest if
you are ill, okay It's just that simple. If you
are feeling unwell, do not feel that you have
to carry on regardless, okay? A short spell of
rest will enable the body to recover faster.
Again, that kind of goes back to the whole sleep
thing, but you need to keep this in mind. If
you're starting to feel tired for whatever reason,
just stop, okay? Pushing yourself too hard too
long can cause detrimental effects worse than
stress, okay? And with that, it brings tips of
dealing with stress to an end. Now, granted,
there are some more stuff I can cover on stress,
but we'll cover those tomorrow. Thank you guys
for listening. Thank you for always being there.
If you have any more comments or you want to
leave me a topic or something to cover, you can
hit me up on my Twitter at F -I -G -H -T -T -O
-B -Y, my Facebook, or on the Anchor app. With
any more suggestions that you have, thank you
and have a great rest of your day.