How to Stop Worrying Undoing the Worrying Habit Once acquired, the habit of worrying seems hard to stop. We're raised to worry and aren't considered "grown up" until we perfect the art. To the extent that worrying is learned/conditioned behaviour, it can be undone. Centuries-old cultural conditioning has given us a nasty neurosis: the belief that happiness must be "earned". Laid on top of the first neurosis is the idea that spending money will make you happy. So: we never stop working, we never stop spending money, we're never really happy – ideal conditions, coincidentally, for a certain type of slave economy. You won't stop worrying if you think it serves you. The fight-or-flight response (FOF) is useful on rare occasions of real danger. Worrying is never useful. Rearranging the mental furniture There's a useful gimmick to help stop worrying (we've already mentioned it briefly in How to Avoid Responsibilities, but it's worth looking at in detail). Accelerator-Brake analogy
Managing Stress: A Guide for College Students Back to Health Promotion page What Exactly Is Stress? There is no doubt that many college students feel stress. We may know we have stress when we experience it, but what is it exactly? Stress is defined as a response to a demand that is placed upon you. Without some stress, people would not get a lot done. Stress Management: A Wellness Lifestyle Approach An overview of the many different components that together form a healthy lifestyle. How To Use This Website Fortunately, there are many things we can do to help reduce and even prevent some of these problems caused by chronic stress. Good luck as you put together your own personal plan for dealing with stress! Contact us with questions, comments, feedback and ideas.
Journal to the Self: 13 Tools to Make Journaling Work for You In this post, I present 13 specific journaling tools you can start using immediately, along with a mind map of the book ‘Journal to the Self: Twenty-Two Paths to Personal Growth‘. Journaling is perhaps the most effective and direct way to get a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you. By putting your thoughts in writing, you trigger some unique mental processes that often lead to invaluable new insights. In the book Journal to the Self, Kathleen Adams presents many tools that make the process of journaling much easier and enjoyable, presenting plenty of choices to make journaling work for you. Regardless of your writing style (or even if you see yourself as someone who doesn’t enjoy writing at all), you’ll find tips to make your self-discovery journey more effective and enjoyable. Journaling Tools The Journaling Toolbox is the meat of Journal to the Self. Springboards: These are ready-made phrases that answer the question "What should I write about?". Now to the Full Book
Instant Self-Hypnosis for Stress Relief & Self-Improvement - Home How office plants can fight stress and other workplace nasties Opinion Posted Humans have built high-rises since ancient Roman times, but it wasn't until the 20th century that they became the default work space for a significant slice of the world's workers. While these buildings are certainly efficient, they can cause real health issues. Office buildings, where many Australians spend much of their time, are even worse than apartment buildings. One excellent way to combat both sick days and stress is by filling your office with plants. Ideally, you want plants that will "scrub" the air of pathogens, improve the office's mix of bacteria, and survive in low light with little care. Fight formaldehyde (and other nasty chemicals) One of the many chemical compounds given off by synthetic office furnishings is formaldehyde, which can irritate the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and throat, and also cause allergic contact dermatitis. Indoor plants will purify the air, reducing volatile organic compounds, including formaldehyde. Improve indoor bacteria balance
Managing Student Stress Is school, life, work or family stressing you out? While some stress is manageable, allowing it to build can lead to health problems, anxiety, and burnout. Students face a great deal of stress with tight deadlines, busy schedules, and tough tests, but keeping up with assignments and using good study habits can help minimize student stress. If you need to improve your study habits, these study tips for psychology students can help. Image by Sanja Gjenero About's Guide to Stress Management, Elizabeth Scott, offers many great tips for dealing with student stress. Stress Relievers for Students These stress management tips are specifically geared toward busy students.
120 Ways to Boost Your Brain Power Here are 120 things you can do starting today to help you think faster, improve memory, comprehend information better and unleash your brain’s full potential. Solve puzzles and brainteasers.Cultivate ambidexterity. Use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, comb your hair or use the mouse. Write with both hands simultaneously. Readers’ Contributions Dance! Contribute your own tip! There are many, many ways to keep our brains sharp. Lumosity - Brain Games & Brain Training - Lumosity Eight in 10 Americans Afflicted by Stress Story Highlights Four in 10 U.S. adults (41%) say they lack the time to do all they wantA similar proportion (44%) frequently feel stressed WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About eight in 10 Americans say they frequently (44%) or sometimes (35%) encounter stress in their daily lives. Just 17% say they rarely feel stressed, while 4% say they never do. Although stress is common, just 41% of U.S. adults say, in answer to a different question, that they lack the time they need to do things they want. The majority, 59%, tend to think they do have enough time. Americans were asked about their stress and time pressures in a Dec. 4-11 Gallup poll. Fewer Americans today than from 2001 through 2007 say they lack sufficient time to get done what they want, although the 44% saying this in 2004 was statistically similar to today's 41%. Americans' current stress level is similar to what Gallup found in 2001, 2002 and 2007, as well as in an earlier measurement in 1994, when 40% felt frequent stress. Bottom Line
The Danger of Stress You probably think you're doing everything you can to stay healthy: you get lots of sleep, exercise regularly and try to avoid fried foods. But you may be forgetting one important thing. Relax! Stress has a bigger impact on your health than you might realize, according to research presented yesterday at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association in Boston. Ohio State University psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and her partner, Ronald Glaser, an OSU virologist and immunologist, have spent 20-odd years researching how stress affects the immune system, and they have made some startling discoveries. An easy example comes from their work with caregivers, people who look after chronically ailing spouses or parents (no one would argue that this role is quite stressful). If stress affects immune responses, then it should also affect how well the body heals itself. Okay, but what if caregiving isn't an accurate proxy for stress? How Stress Hurts Are you a scientist?