Guest Blogger: Coping with Stress

Janet Fougere

Lots of us are trying to juggle many demands at one time:  jobs, kids, training, household chores & family obligations. The craziness can cause us to become irritable, overeat, take medication or a combination of the above.

First, recognize stress:
Stress symptoms include mental, social, and physical manifestations. These include exhaustion, loss of/increased appetite, headaches, crying, sleeplessness, and oversleeping. Escape through alcohol, drugs, or other compulsive behavior are often indications. Feelings of alarm, frustration, or apathy may accompany stress.
The following list of techniques might help you if you are suffering from stress:
1.  Participate in activities that reduce stress
•    My favorite (of course) — Exercise!
•    Check out my No time for the gym workout
2. Breathing and/or Relaxation Exercises
•    The way you breathe is the way you live your life.  Do you hold your breath when you’re angry? Take Shallow breaths? Sigh a lot? Recognize the change and slow down the breath to promote relaxation.
•    Check out Women’s Health article on Meditation
3. Sleep
•    Seven hours per night is minimum & the lack of sleep aggravates the stress
•    Check out Tiana’s blog post – My Secret to getting to Sleep— it really works!
4. Remove yourself from the situation
•    Take breaks throughout the day.
•    Remove yourself  from the situation that is causing you stress even for a few minutes at a time.
5. Set realistic Goals
•    Plan ahead & allow enough time for all necessary activities
•    Reduce the number of tasks assigned to you, delegate
6.  Do things you enjoy
•    Find things that make you laugh
•    Call a friend
•    Create something new
•    Try a new activity
7. Stay calm under pressure
•    Not too much at once.  Focus on one troublesome thing and manage your reactions to it/him/her
8. Have confidence in yourself

By: Janet Fougere – Ottawa Personal Trainer – www.janetfougere.com