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.

A study released by the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows the meditation produces long term lasting benefits including changes in the immune-system function as well as changes in the brains electrical activity.  Meditation has been used as a stress relaxation technique for many years now but the long term benefits for your brain and body are truly amazing.

The study looked at 25 employees where they underwent an 8 week meditation training program.  At the end of 8 weeks, flu shots were given to each participant and 16 other employees.  When they measured the level of antibodies still present in the meditators they found them to be significantly higher than the non-meditatiors.

When they measured the level of brain activity they found it to be 50 percent higher in the left frontal regions of the brain.  The left frontal region of the brain is associated with positive emotions, stress relief and reduction in anxiety panic attacks.

This form of natural stress relief should be practiced around 20 mins a day to gain maximum benefits.  The long term benefits include: improved clarity of thought, ability to handle stressful situations better, improved immunity to sickness improved health and an increase in the electrical activity in the brain.