Seven Stress Solving Secrets

Stress!  We all experience it from time to time in our life.  This past fall (2009) I've experienced my fair share of it, enough to make me feel pretty confident that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to stress management.

Perhaps you, like many others in this country, are also feeling stressed.  Perhaps it's over the economy, maybe over health care or perhaps just personal problems.  If you are feeling stressed, I'd say you're pretty normal. Just listening to news reports of lost jobs, home foreclosures, wars, crime and threats of contagious disease is enough to cause feelings of anxiety in just about anyone, including me.   But, stressful events aren't the real problem.  It's how we react to stressful events that determines whether we will grow from them or develop chronic worry, anxiety, fear and the physical illness that accompanies it.

Learning how to handle stress is typically called stress “management.”  The implication is that we can never avoid stressful experiences.  However, we can learn tools that help us to deal with (or “manage”) them.

I've learned stress management skills because I need them to help me through my own “tough times,” which have included four divorces, the deaths of both of my parents and two of my children, and a bankruptcy.  Many people going through these types of stressful experiences become bitter, angry, withdrawn, depressed and hardened.  They also typically develop serious chronic illness because of this stress. In contrast, I've been able to remain a generally optimistic, happy and healthy person.

The reason I've been able to do this isn't because I possess some natural, special resistance to stress. I'm an A blood type and we have a hard time “burning off” stress hormones, so actually I'm very prone to anxiety and nervous tension.  But, I experience more of this anxiety and tension when I fail practice the Seven Stress Solving Secrets I'm about to share with you.

Which is why I begin with this caution—knowing something and learning it are not the same thing.  You can know something in your head, but you really don't learn it until you actually practice it.  You can't learn these Seven Stress Solving Secrets just by reading this article.  You actually have to deliberately practice them on a daily basis.  If you do, they will work wonders for you.  If you don't, they won't help you a bit.

Learning these skills isn't optional if you want to be healthy and happy.  Based on my own experience, and the experience of working with my clients, I believe that stress is half of the cause of all chronic illnesses. My chronically ill clients see the biggest healing improvements in their health, not from herbs and supplements, but from learning how to resolve their emotional stress.

Unfortunately, there are people who would rather be miserable and sick than do what it takes to get well.  Some people love to complain about their stress, but won't actually do what they need to do to solve it.  So, don't just read about these skills, put them into practice starting today.

Learning and applying these Seven Stress Solving Secrets isn't just going to help you.  It's also going to help you help other people. With so many people feeling the stress of “troubled times” right now, being able to help others with their stress is a valuable service you can offer.

Keeping in mind that you can only learn them by practicing them, my personal Seven Stress Solving Secrets are presented in the seven pages that follow. 

Stress Solving Secret #1: Stop and Take a Deep Breath

Stress Solving Secret #2: Experience the Present Moment

Stress Solving Secret #3: Focus on Solutions, Not on Problems

Stress Solving Secret #4: Cultivate a Gratitude Attitude

Stress Solving Secret #5: Nourish Your Nerves

Stress Solving Secret #6: Plan for Pleasure

Stress Solving Secret #7: Serve Someone Less Fortunate Than Yourself