Anyone that has ever experienced money stress knows that worry and anxiety can quickly overrun your life if it isn't dealt with quickly and effectively.

 

 

When finances become strained it puts tremendous strain on your health, happiness relationship and peace of mind. In fact, it’s one of the biggest reasons that couples get divorced today.

 

Here are some handy tips to keep your cash flow high, keep your life in balance and enjoy long-term stress relief from financial pressure.

 

Spend Less Money Than You Make.

 

If you make $1000 per week then learn to live off $700 (70%) and save the rest. When you have saved enough then invest your savings in something that will help you build long term wealth (i.e. property).

 

Get Out of Debt

 

Do everything you can to not get into consumer debt. If you can’t afford to pay cash for something you want, then save up for it until you can buy it outright.  You’d be amazed how little money you can get by with if you stay out of debt.

 

Stick to a Budget

 

Do up a budget so that you know exactly how much money you need each week to get by on and then stick to it like glue. If you must treat yourself to items that you really don’t need then make sure you pay cash for them. Otherwise forget about it until you can afford to buy it. This includes treats and luxury items.

 

See a Financial Adviser

 

If you don’t have a financial plan for the future then you’re doing yourself and your family a great disservice. Wealth rarely happens overnight. Without a plan your finances are left to the fate of the Gods and your spending habits. Who knows where that will get you.

 

Increase Your Financial Knowledge

 

It’s like anything in life if you want to improve you have to learn new skills and then practise them. While it’s good to seek professional advice about finances it’s even better to learn how to do it yourself. There’s a ton of books available written by people who have already mastered financial success. The more you learn the less anyone can cheat you from your hard earned cash.

 

Live a Life of Prosperity Thinking

 

You either think in terms of lack or prosperity. Whichever you give the greater focus to is what you will attract into your life. Catch your limited or negative thoughts about money and then replace them with thoughts of abundance.

 

Here’s an affirmation that helped me through some tough financial times and took me from earning $20 per hour to $200 per hour in just 6 months; “I love money, money loves me and I am a money magnet!”

 

Final Thoughts on Money and Stress Relief

 

One of the most valuable commodities you have is time. Some people have plenty of time and little or no money to enjoy their life with while others have tons of money and little or no time. The real secret to living a relaxed lifetsyle is to have the balance of plenty of time and plenty of money.

 

To Your Great Life and Health…

Some days are so stressful that it feels like nothing else can go wrong.  You get a flat tire, you have a disagreement with your boss, you break a heal and to top it off you feel like crap.  It’s almost like this day has been created just to piss you off.

Of course these days pass and it’s important to remember to use different relaxation techniques to overcome the affects of your stressful day. 

Maintaining composure under Stress

Although it’s easy to lose composure and drop the ball when you’re under pressure, it’s important to hold it back.  If you lose it, the results can cause even more stress in the long run.  You may say something you regret or do something you’ll want to take back later.  Remember to stop and take a few breaths before you react when under times of pressure.  After all … a person under stress doesn’t always make the best decision.

Why Consistency is the Key

A stressful day isn’t an excuse to go to town with your credit card, eat whatever your heart desires, or ignore your usual routines.  These disciplines are important to maintain and should especially be followed when you’ve had a challenging day.  How would you feel if you had a bad day and you ignored you usual routine.  It may feel good at the time but in a few days you may experience even more stress and feel like a failure … unable to complete the tasks you’d set out.  Consistency means to complete your routine no matter the cost.  It’s important to be consistent, at all times.

Stress and Failure

Although consistency is the key, it doesn’t always turn out the best.  We all experience times of weakness and have felt the sting of failure.  When faced with failure you can do one of 2 things:

1.      You can spend days thinking of contemplating your failure or how you handled your stressful situation allowing it to compound on your current stress and depression or,

2.      You can get up, brush yourself off, reset your goals and keep going.

The past is exactly that … the past.  Sure we have to pay for previous decisions, but it’s up to us how we handle our future.

Unless your name is Bruce Willis there’s a pretty good chance you won’t be called out to save the world.  But you and Bruce do have something in common.  You both know what it’s like to experience overwhelming stress and you both need to have a good stress relief escape plan to deal with it.

You see, stress (especially chronic stress) can be so draining on your life and lifestyle.  If left unattended it can slowly affect your mind, body and eventually your spirit.  With this in mind it is important to understand and acknowledge when you’re under stress, and as mentioned earlier have a really good stress relief plan.

Listen to your body’s Stress

The first step is to pay attention to your body and its messages.  Here are some of the tell tale signs of stress:

—> You find yourself getting angry easily and acting short at others,

—> You feel tension building up around your shoulders and temple,

—> It’s becoming hard to sleep at night or you need drugs or medication to sleep

—> You’re grinding your teeth when you’re sleeping

—> You constantly feel tired

—> You’ve had a cold or flu for ages and can’t seem to shake it.

All of these may be signs you’re stressed and need relaxation techniques to experience relief.

Have a Game Plan for Stress Relief

Let’s face it, we all experience stress in our lives, but the key is to manage it before it builds up too much and causes damage. Here are some of the natural stress relief techniques you can include in your stress relief plan:

—> Avoid negative stress – If you know that you’re going to place yourself in a stressful situation in the first place you can just say ‘No’.  Many people do this in their work environment by over committing themselves.

—> Relaxation breathing techniques – This is a good way of eliminating your stress instantly.  Check out this technique here.

—> Stress relief CD / Meditation CD – A Relaxation / Meditation CD will guide you through a set process for relaxation.  This should be used regularly for maximum benefits.

—> Regular Exercise – This is great at dealing with stress (especially for men).  If you haven’t exercised for a while it’s important to start with low intensity and build up over time.  For maximum benefits you should also change your diet to eat heaps of healthy food.

—> Visualization techniques for relaxation – If you find it difficult to sleep at night then visualization techniques could be just the thing.  You may learn how to do this or be lead through a process by using a stress relief program or meditation CD.

—> Stress relief program – A good stress relief program will include a process for meditation, stress relief techniques and a journal to record your thoughts and progress.

—> Other stress management skills – This includes spending time with friends, time saving solutions, taking a hot bath, reading a book and watching a movie/ your favorite show.

Set aside time for stress relief today … you never know when you might have to go out and save the world after all

No matter how you look at it Men and Women are different.  Sure their different in certain obvious ways but they are also different in how they handle stress and anxiety.  This is to do with psychological and hormonal differences in men and women and makes sense to approach their stress relaxation techniques from different angles. For instance man’s natural response when under stress leans towards fight or flight, where women’s natural response is to nurture or befriend.

With this in mind here are two separate bags of tricks for men and women to find natural stress relief and relaxation techniques to suit them specifically.

Relaxation Techniques for Women

—> Pamper yourself – When your feeling stressed take a long hot bath, go for a walk, go shopping with a good friend or read a book.  Do anything that is about you and no-body else. 

—> Say no – Women tend to put on the superwomen cape and try to do too much for too many people forgetting about themselves.  When you’re feeling really stressed it’s important to consider yourself and how the stress is affecting your own wellbeing.

—> Make sure you have an effective support system – Surround yourself with friends and family that help you to balance yourself.  Look for someone who can be your ‘Rock’ in times of stress or anxiety that can help you to relax and feel balanced.

—> Find a friend who can keep a secret – Find a friend you can confide in and trust to talk things through.  It’s important this person respects your privacy.

—> Talk about it – Tell people your story and let them know why you are so stressed.  Women love to get things out into the open.

Relaxation Techniques for Men

—> Exercise – Men can release stress and anxiety by doing something physical like running, going to the gym, playing some tennis or any sport that gets the blood pumping and releases tension and adrenaline.

—> Spend time alone – Men like to ‘go it alone’ sometimes to have some time by themselves.  This can be an activity like hiking, fishing or other solo activities.

—> Go out with the boys – Go out and play some sport, or any team activity that lets a guy escape their stress and is a good way to unwind.  Men will also use this as a method of companionship.

—> Find a good support system – Even though relationships are very important to women doesn’t mean men shouldn’t have friends they can confide in.  It is important to have someone there that they can trust.

A Relaxation Technique for Men and Women

A good relaxation program can prove to be a useful Natural Stress Relief technique for both men and women.  Relaxation Programs give you structured methods to release built up stress and anxiety to experience true stress relief.  An effective relaxation program should contain stress management techniques, guided meditations and a way of recording your thoughts.

Many of us dream to have a lot of it and very few of us have more than we think we need.  It’s one of the 3 main stressors that keep many people awake at night.  Whether you’re living beyond your means or wondering how you’re going to have enough income for retirement all comes down to Money.

When you’re feeling financial pressure it can affect so many other areas of your life.  It can cause stress at work, anxiety attacks, insomnia, arguments, alcoholism, gambling and relationship break-ups just to name a few.

But there has to be something you can do about it, to manage your money and experience real natural stress relief.

With that in mind, here are 5 money management tips for Stress Relief:

—> Understand your worth – before you can live within your means you need to understand what your means are.  Gather a record of all your money, assets, investments and current cash (N.B. although credit cards and lines of credit are additional resources to make purchases, when we tap into them we decrease our spending power over the long haul with bank charges etc.)

—> Track your income – Really take a look at your income.  Measure it over the last 4 weeks or even better the last 13 weeks (the number of weeks in a quarter). Average it out by totaling your overall income and dividing by the number of weeks.  (N.B. Don’t just take 1 weeks wage as an average as you may miss out on overtime, sick days, etc.)

—> Measure your expenses – Once you understand what you are worth and what your income is begin to measure where you money goes.  Carry a small notebook you can pop in your pocket or handbag and make a record of every purchase you make.  Do this for a month to get a real understanding of where you’re spending your money.  Record everything including bills, repayments, where you shopped and the amount you spent.  After the month prioritize your expenses into different categories; essential (food, shelter, rent or mortgage), utilities (heat, water, electricity), loans and leases (car loans), insurances ( home insurance, car insurance, life insurance) and discretionary expenses (other loans, credit card repayments and low priority expenses)

—> Manage Money – Calculating your average monthly income (13 weeks wages divided by 3) and minus your different expenses (if some of your expenses are yearly, then divide the amount by 12 to calculate monthly payments).  This will give you your disposable income.  Use this figure as a baseline for spending.  Ensure you keep at least this much of your wage aside each month (multiply it by 12 and divide by 52 to understand it weekly) and try to put aside a little more each week for that rainy day.

—> Learn to Relax – Financial stress can be a result of the feeling of discomfort over using other people’s money, being in debt, or concerned you may not be able to grow your wealth.  Whatever the case it is important to improve how you can handle money stress.  A good stress relief CD or other relaxation techniques like exercise, relaxation breathing techniques or stress relief programs can help build that threshold and show you how to release and handle unnecessary stress.

Remember, even if you’re stuck in financial stress and your living beyond your means you have the power to change it.  After all, money comes and goes but your health is important.

The person that created the saying – “There’s only a few things to be sure of in life; death and taxes” needs to add traffic to it.   With roads filling up more and more, traveling to and from work can be really stressful. Many of us need some sort of stress relief just to cope.

Being late, feeling claustrophobic, or simply frustrated being stuck in traffic means some of us aren’t the most polite people to be around.  Have you ever been guilty of cursing at another person, cutting someone off or making impolite gestures? From impolite behavior right up to physical aggression, road rage works at several different levels which result in stress, anxiety and often poses a significant threat to the health and safety of everyone on the road. 

If you’re driving to work in the morning and you experience road rage on your way it can have an impact on your work and cause unnecessary stress at work.  If you experience road rage on the way home you may end up taking it out on your family and create a stressful environment in your home.

It may surprise many people but if you use effective relaxation techniques you can overcome the road rage associated with stress and anxiety which will help you to become a more polite and defensive driver.

Here are a few relaxation techniques to help make that drive bearable:

—> Listen to a Stress Relief CD – Listening to a good stress relief CD everyday will help you to stay calm and focused when you would normally feel quite stressed.  It will help you to release your stress in a safe manner.

—> Listen to Music, audio books or talk back radio – This helps you to take your mind off the congestion and frustration of traffic and makes it a little more bearable

—> Relaxation Breathing Techniques – This will help you to become more focused and centered when you are experiencing stress or frustration in traffic.

—> Time Management – If you find one of the reasons you’re experiencing frustration in traffic is because you’re late then focus on methods to improve time management

It’s important to find stress management techniques that provide natural stress relief before, during and after your stressful drive in traffic. You can do this by investing about 20 minutes a day to release and de-stress. After all, with our ever increasing population, traffic is here to stay.  How you handle it is up to you. As I said in the beginning – “There’s only a few things to be sure of in life; death, taxes and traffic.”

A Journal (or Stress Diary) is a great Stress Relaxation Technique that many people had amazing success with.  It is a set method to record the thoughts and situations that stress you and is a way of putting your stress into perspective. 

It is used to identify, record and resolve any parts of your life that you feel stress. 

More about that in a moment.

Here are a few reasons a journal is a great Relaxation Technique:

—> It helps you to put your thoughts into perspective

—> You may see the things that were worrying you aren’t as big as what you thought

—> It can be used in the future for you to look back on

—> It transfers the stress from your mind to another place for you to reflect on

—> You can use it as a way to identify solutions to your problems

—> It is major step to stop your stress controlling you.

As a big fan of Natural Stress Relief keeping a journal is designed for you to record the areas of your life that stress you and to establish a plan going forward. 

A few of the points you should record in your journal include: 

—> A list of situations where you feel stress in your life (eg. Moving home, person you work with, driving home in the afternoon, high demand in one area of your life, etc.).  Be as specific as possible.

—> List how you handle the stressful situation/s

—> Evaluate whether these responses are healthy, unhealthy, appropriate or inappropriate.

—> List plan of resolution.  You would normally find this by exploring different Stress Management Techniques or Relaxation Techniques.

Used in combination with a Stress Relief CD and other Stress Relief Techniques  can give great results.  For instance after you listen to the Stress Relief CD or learn a new Stress Relief Technique you can record your thoughts in your journal.  Remember, it’s your own personal space so keep it in a safe place.  Finally, be honest with yourself and it can become useful to overcoming the different areas of your life you experience stress.

Not getting enough sleep is not only annoying it can have a massive impact on your health, relationships and overall well-being. From mood swings to depression, making mistakes to loss of productivity, sleep deprivation is definitely not fun.   

9 Stress Relaxation Techniques to Enjoy a Good Nights Sleep!

1. Go to bed and get up at the same times each day.

If you find that your sleep patterns are not consistent, then set a time each day that you can consistently get into the habit of going to bed and getting up. Of course there will be times that you don’t stick to this pattern but make sure that you only break it for exceptions, rather than as a rule.
 

2. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, beer, wine and alcohol 4-6 hours before bedtime.

In fact, avoid any chemicals that may act as a stimulant a few hour prior to bedtime.

3. Don’t exercise within two hours of bedtime.

Unless of course you are doing some activity like yoga or tai-chi that is going to slow down your mind and body. Ideally exercise in the morning after awakening or in the evening after work.

4. Don’t eat large meals within two hours of bedtime.

It’s hard to fall asleep when your body feels bloated or uncomfortable from eating too much. Stick to light snacks before bed such as fruit or salad.

5. Don’t take a nap later than 3pm.

Taking an afternoon nap is okay as long as it’s only for about an hour and that you take it before 3pm. The later you nap, the harder it will be to go to sleep at night.

6. Sleep in a dark, quiet room that isn’t too hot or cold for you.

Unless you have issues with sleeping in the dark, make your room as dark and quiet as you can handle. The less light or sounds you have to distract you or annoy you, the easier it will be to fall asleep.

7. If you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, get up and do something quiet or read a dull book.

There’s nothing worse than laying in bed at night listen to the sound of your own thoughts rambling on or watching the same spot on the roof you’ve been looking at for what feel like forever. Instead, get up and do something boring or read a book that you’ve been putting off reading because it bores you. You’ll be surprised just how quick you get tired.

8. Enjoy a relaxing bath.

There’s nothing better than laying in a warm bath to slow down your mind and relax your body in preparation for sleep. Add in several drops of lavender oil and you’ll have the perfect recipe for a good nights sleep. The best time to do this is about 30 minutes before bedtime.

 9. Try a simple open eye meditation like gazing at a candle flame with your eyes open for a few minutes.

This is guaranteed to slow your mind down. Here’s something interesting I learnt in meditation – blinking means thinking. So the moment you stop blinking, you’re setting yourself up to turn off your thoughts so your mind and body can start to slow down and relax.  

Open eye meditations are a simple way to gaze at something for a few minutes before going to bed. This allows your brainwaves to start to slow down and send messages to your body to prepare for sleep. 

Natural Stress Relief Begins With You  To give yourself the best shot at changing your sleep patterns, start with a firm resolve to make it a priority. Your body wants to sleep, that’s what it’s designed to do. It’s not natural to stay awake longer than is required to perform your daily functions.  

Sleep will come when your body returns to its naturally balanced state. Find out what’s causing the disturbance and then do whatever it takes to change or remove it. Then sleep will descend upon you like leaves falling out of a tree in autumn. 

To your great life and health…

Stress Relief and Relaxation Techniques have been around for as long as men and women have experienced stress. Sure the different types of stress relief techniques there are around to treat a number of different ailments ranging from Relaxation Techniques during labor to different Relaxation Techniques for athletes.

So we all know and understand stress is around us, we experience stress at work, at home, when we’re driving, when we’re shopping, even when we’re with loved ones.

As the end of another week draws near, what better stress relaxation techniques than to read a few choice quotes on relaxation from recognized people throughout history? These quotes were taken from www.quotationspage.com, which lists a large variety of quotes for any situation.

-> Acquire inner peace and a multitude will find their salvation near you. - Catherine de Hueck Doherty

-> Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles. - Charlie Chaplin

-> Put duties aside at least an hour before bed and perform soothing, quiet activities that will help you relax. - Dianne Hales

-> No matter how much pressure you feel at work, if you could find ways to relax for at least five minutes every hour, you'd be more productive. - Dr. Joyce Brothers

-> There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

-> Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important. - Natalie Goldberg

-> Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. – Ovid

-> To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment. - Jane Austen

I am a solid supporter of many great relaxation techniques and stress relief techniques.  A good Relaxation Technique can go a long way to repair any damage caused by long term stress.  But you can imagine how amazed I was when I discovered of all things Chocolate actually helps in lowering stress in the body.

Further more, chocolate has received some bum reviews in the past about its effects on things like acne and tooth decay.  But scientists are now discovering although Chocolate does contain sugar it also contains properties that work against the sugars tendency to produce tooth decay.  It has also been proven that chocolate neither causes or worsens acne.

But wait there’s more! Why does chocolate taste so good?  There are a lot of chemical reactions going on in your brain every time you pop some choc in your gob.  Chocolate contains endorphins and polypeptides, which bind the neuro-receptors in the brain to give relief from pain. Chocolate also contains several vitamins – B1, B2, D, E and is high in magnesium and potassium. 

Just like anything you eat that tastes damn good there are a few conditions.  Although Chocolate is a form of Natural Stress Relief the benefits are more noticeable in dark chocolate, and you must enjoy chocolate in moderation.  In other words, don’t go to the shop and buy a 1kg block of chocolate, go home and devour it all expecting to feel complete stress relief.  If anything, it will have a negative impact on your waistline.

Ok, here comes the party pooper!  Why not try combining some chocolate with a well balanced exercise program, a few stress management techniques or even a few relaxation breathing techniques. 

I can imagine some of you visualizing your relaxation breathing technique combined with chocolate … breath in gently and hold 1,2,3 … breath out slowly 1,2,3 … take a piece of chocolate 1,2,3 and EAT!  Remember, Moderation.

So for all you fans out there who feel the need for a little Stress Relief, crack open a bar of chocolate (dark chocolate preferably) and celebrate with me in a toast to, Chocolate.