The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
How to Stress Less
These are my simple rules for reducing stress…
- Remember the BREATH, because breathing is the oldest form of meditation
- Visualize yourself STRESS-FREE from moment to moment
- Be GENTLE with yourself and PROUD of your personal improvement
- Find ENJOYABLE healthy habits to last a lifetime
Goals:
1. Apply Nhi’s original DESSERTS techniques when feeling stressed; spell it backwards:
- Deeply breathe
- Exercise consistently
- Sleep soundly
- Surround yourself with supporters
- Eat the foods that love you and your body back
- Relax mindfully in nature
- Try something new
- Share your stories and your laughter
2. Transform the state of being compressed to a state of being released to go with the flow
3. Seek abundance of resources to turn the frown upside down
Resources
Recommended Websites:
- The Institute of Lifestyle Medicine – List of Resources
- Rethink Mental Illness (www.rethink.org) Advice and Information
- Handout by IFM: Breathing Techniques to Soothe the Soul
- DASS Questionnaire (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales) – Self-test
- Intelligent Change – Articles
- Action For Happiness – Calendar
- Amen Clinic’s Natural Solutions for Anxiety
- National Institute of Mental Health – I’m So Stressed Out! – FACT SHEET
- Article from Forbes: 10 Science-Backed Benefits Of Meditation
Podcasts
- Untangle by Muse Meditation Studio
- Blue Sky by Bill Burke
- Calm It Down with Chad Lawson
- Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris
- The Brain Warrior’s Way with Dr. Daniel Amen & Tana Amen, RN
- The Rise Again with Dr. Peter Raisanen, NMD
Books
- The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal, PhD
- You, Happier by Dr. Daniel Amen
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
- CoDependence No More by Melody Beattie
- You are a Badass Book Series by Jen Sincero
- The Five Minute Journal (Gratitude) by Intelligent Change
- Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide & Map for Recovering from Childhood Trauma by Pete Walker
Apps
- Healthy Minds Program (FREE)
- Meditation Studio by MUSE
- Headspace
- Ten Percent Happier