Do you get stressed out and absolutely nuts inside when you look around and see the dishes need to be done, groceries need to be bought, trash needs emptied, papers are piling up, and on and on? If your home is like mine, it doesn't seem to bother other family members at all!
Letting that mental stress
fester and maybe even grow may feel good for a bit, but finding some stress relief
will allow you to possibly live longer and happier.
The consequences of holding on to pent up anger just aren't worth harboring a grudge against a person! This holds true even if your anxiety is from something work-related, dealing with a relationship issue or anything else that gets your blood boiling.
The consequences of holding on to pent up anger just aren't worth harboring a grudge against a person! This holds true even if your anxiety is from something work-related, dealing with a relationship issue or anything else that gets your blood boiling.
One favorite phrase of mine is
"it's just not that important!" I used to, shall we say, "get upset" with other drivers; now
I say "it's just not that important, and it feels soooo much better!
The Effects of Stress
Did you know that how you cope
with stress affects your cholesterol levels? In the November 2005 issue of Health Psychology, the results were
published about a study on cholesterol levels of 199 men and women originally given
identical stresses in order to find a baseline on how they respond to stress.
Three years later, their
cholesterol levels were checked again, and the people who had higher stress
responses in the testing had higher LPL levels of cholesterol.
Their point was that the people
who handled stresses better and didn't let things bother them as much, didn't
have their LDL levels rise as much as the people who had a harder time dealing with their
anxiety.
Ways to Cope with Stress
The best stress relief I've
found to solve a problem is to figure out what it is that bothers me the most and
then take action to take care of it, even if it wasn't
originally my responsibility. Like the Nike slogan says, "Just Do It!" This can be done at home and at work.
Sometimes I actually make a
quick to-do list or an actual "This is Frustrating Me Today" list and
try to get some things crossed off.
If it's an issue of someone
didn't do what they were supposed to do, if that person isn't around at the
time, just do it yourself. Instead of focusing on their not doing it, think about something pleasant while you're taking care of it. After
all, whatever it is you are doing will also make things better for you, right?
Just getting the offending task
wiped out at least makes it so you won't get angry every time you see it –
because it's not there anymore! If you're at work, your boss will see you going the extra mile, and not the shirker. Hence,
positive vibes are going thru your body instead of angry, negative ones.
At home, making up a quick chore chart
that shows who is assigned to what chore on what week may help as a reminder to everyone that things need done. This helps because time
goes by so fast it's easy to forget it's your turn again!
For instance, I try
to do a full out scrub of my bathroom sink every Monday, but sometimes the end
of the week gets here and I realize I haven't done it yet!
A Timer Helps to Cope
If your frustration is your fault (noooo, that wouldn't happen, right!), figure out how you can do it
better. If you don't like doing something, set a timer for however much time
you can handle, even if it's just 5 minutes! Fifteen minutes or an hour would
be better if it's a larger task.
Give yourself permission to
stop when the timer goes off. Or do what I do: take care of 5 more papers, or 5
more things put away, or one more phone call. But then unless you reset the
timer – stop. But only do this technique if you really, really can't stand
whatever it is you're doing. Otherwise, focus on it till it's done.
Life is so much more enjoyable when you see things in a
positive light. And the good thing about doing that is the joy spreads just as easily as the bad vibes and you
don't have to fight it!
On top of all that, our blood pressure
AND our LDL cholesterol numbers can go down. Whoopee!
Image: Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.com
Image: Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.com