Strategies for Transforming Stress

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it” - Sydney J. Harris

Stress is unavoidable. Yet it is also manageable. You can change your response to stress and  have a huge impact on your resilience. You can stop the cycle of chronic stress and worry with  small changes. Improving your ability to transform stress will strengthen your energy reserves,  improve tissue health, and create a supportive environment for healthy aging. Take deep  breaths, and transform stress with confidence and skills.  

You are not alone- Most Americans report moderate to high daily stress, which can worsen and  even cause health conditions. Take a few healthy steps every week and see how it changes your ability to cope with and  transform stress. Proven stress management techniques include:

• Go for a walk 

• Spend time with supportive friends or family

• Listen to music- or dance 

• Look at something you consider beautiful (i.e., art  or nature)

• Breathe deeply and center yourself 

• Try yoga, tai chi, or qi gong

• Journal about positive things for which you are  grateful

• Adopt an active hobby like hiking, bicycling, swimming or gardening

• Scan your body and be aware of how you feel 

• Write a letter to someone you care about

• Be creative (i.e., adult coloring books, watercolors, sketch, crochet, write, draw)

• Get a massage, sit in a sauna, or soak in a hot tub

• Give yourself a hand or foot massage 

• Sleep until you wake naturally

• Express gratitude to someone 

• Find a funny movie or book and laugh

In Scholarly research, practicing relaxation techniques benefited individuals with a variety of  conditions including:

• Anxiety

• Insomnia  

• Childbirth

• Chemotherapy-induced nausea  

• Depression

• Pain in children and adolescents  

• Heart Disease.

• Smoking Cessation  

• High Blood Pressure

• Temporomandibular joint function