formula for overcoming all of life's difficulties

WHEN YOU ARE IN DEEP SHIT, LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT , SAY NOTHING...and hang on to your breath!!!

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Methods for Managing Stress


Life is full of uncertainties and challenges.No one is spared obstacles and difficulties in life.We can't always avoid stress, but the failure to manage stress effectively can be life-threatening with such consequences as heart disease, dementia, obesity and substance abuse.Chronically high levels of adrenalin and cortisol are harmful to health.
Many of us have become habituated--even addicted--to a high level of stress (caffeine and adrenalin junkies). Discipline is required to practice self-reflection in order to stay centered amidst the intensity and chaos of everyday life events.
From the laid-back surfer type to the gung ho workaholic, everyone feels the effects of stress from time to time - many people on a daily basis. Where your individual disposition comes in to play is not with regard to avoiding stress, but managing it. For many, especially those with a more easily excitable temperament, managing stress can be a difficult problem to solve, one that can have significant and potentially life-threatening negative side effects.
That said, managing stress doesn't have to be that difficult. There are several things you can do, day-in and day-out, that will help you avoid the pitfalls of stress.

Exercise. Though many people experiencing extreme or even moderate stress may claim they don't have the time to exercise, the combination of stress and lack of physical activity will actually make it more difficult for you to manage what time you do have, as fatigue is bound to catch up with you. Exercise will not only increase your physical health, but has been proven in countless studies to increase mental health as well.
Through exercise, you're giving your body a chance to drain the built up energy that stress creates. A stress reaction in your body actually increases the amount of energy you have, but continuing to go on with that built-up energy inside and providing it with no outlet is dangerous. Exercise is a wonderful way to both escape stressful thoughts and relieve your body of nervous energy. It's important to make sure you exercise regularly as well. Once a week, for instance, is only a marginal improvement from no exercise at all, and won't do much in the way of stress energy relief. Three times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes each day won't put a drastic dent in your active schedule, but will do wonders for"Your health, both mentaland" physical.

Healthy diet.Nutrition probably has a bigger influence than any other outside factor on your health and longevity.To optimize the bodies own capacity to defend against disease and repair itself, eat raw organic fruits and veggies.Decrease or remove caffeine from your diet. Caffeine comes in a number of products you probably enjoy everyday, be it coffee or chocolate or soda. Eliminating caffeine is a good way to relieve stress, because caffeine is a stimulant that causes a stress reaction in your body. Removing or greatly reducing the amount of caffeine in your body can help you eliminate feelings of being on edge. These feelings only enhance the negative impacts of stress. Though caffeine is likely not the primary cause of your stress, eliminating or minimizing the amount of caffeine in your diet will help you better manage stress.

Learn to relax. Do you include relaxation as part of your daily regimen? Most people do not. The reasons for this are more often than not psychological. In a 2004 survey paid for by Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels and conducted by Harris Interactive, researchers found that nearly a third of the roughly 1,550 participants said they postpone leisure activities because they feel guilty when not doing something productive. That same study revealed that 70 percent of respondents were aware they needed more fun in their lives.
Such fmdings reveal a culture that perhaps cultivates stress, possibly placing too great an emphasis on work and not enough of an emphasis on creating an equal balance of work and leisure. Properly managing stress might not call for an even 50/50 split in terms of work and leisure, but certainly invloves allotting substanital time for relaxation. Proponents of meditative techniques have long claimed that meditation is more benefical than sleep. Whatever your means of relaxation, making time to relax every day is nothing to be ashamed of.

Sleep. A great way to manage stress is .to get sleep. Many people suffering from daily stress battle constant feelings of fatigue. Add to that lack of sleep (which can be a result of stress-induced insonmiia) and your stress could quickly reach drastically unhealthy heights. In their 2005 "Sleep in America" study, conducted with 1,506 adult participants via telephone, the National Sleep Foundation found that nearly 25 per cent of Americans are not getting enough sleep. Twenty percent of males and 26 percent of females are not getting the minimum amount of sleep necessary (seven to eight hours per night). People who fail to get enough sleep typically respond worse to stressfttl situations, as lack of sleep only worsens the fatigue problems their stress has already caused. If you're trying to sleep more but seem to be suffering from insonmia or it's taking you extended periods of time to fall asleep, consult with your physician and make sure you tell him or her about your current stress levels. Often times, insonmia is a result of stress, and your doctor might have a solution that could help you reduce your stress levels so you can get a good night's sleep.

Manage your expectations. A good way to manage stress is to manage your expectations. Unrealistic expectations, both in your professional and private life, can cause a great amount of unnecessary stress. In the workplace, setting yourself up for stress is easy, especially if you work in a deadline-controlled environment. Setting unrealistic personal deadlines is foolish. Don't be afraid to ask for help or admit you've taken on more than you can handle. Remember, a good way to relieving stress is to relax, which you can do with your family. If you set unrealistic expectations at work, you're decreasing the amount of time you can spend with your family and putting yourself in a stressful place while removing a key element that is necessary to relieive that stress in the first place. Similarly, learn to set proper private expectations. You may work five days and have the weekends off, and try to cram too much into those two days to make amends for long work weeks. Expecting too much out of your weekends can be extremely stressful, as you're more inclined to feel angry if you're not getting everything out of your time away from the office.

So powerful are the lures of money,sex, and fame that we quickly entangle ourselves(become caught up in the frenzied pace of modern life) in worldly commitments(becoming imprisoned in a tangled web made of our own desires),so complicating our lives as to be overwhelmed by the demands made upon us.
When we want too much,demands outstrip capacity and we become stressed out and distressed.


The solution is to simplify our lives by restraining our desires:slow down,breathe,and just "be"!



The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.
--Lin Yutang

To learn more about stress, visit the International Stress Management Association web

site at wwwisma,org.TF064610


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Living as fast as we can! Human being vs human doing


Learning to Relax:
Take a deep breath, unwind ,and enjoy the present moment!

What if we just enjoyed the present moment--moment by moment?
We live life one moment at a time.If we're not fully present or fully inside each moment ...it passes without us!
To be in the here-and-now has never been harder,the variables and stresses affecting us never more complex. Our overloaded brains seem continuosly on the verge of fragmenting,and we are all in need of an effective means of quieting our overactive minds.
Our brains have two modes of activity--doing and being.
"Doing" is bent on accomplishment--striving to resolve the dissonance between where things are and where you want them to be.It's what motivates you to get things done.But it's never satisfied,causing judgments to loop over and over in your head.We lose ourselves in a frenzy of activity and are lost.
"Being" is going with the flow--simply taking in the immediate moment.
For most of us "doing" usually pushes out "being" as our society values achievment above everything.So much so that being chronically stressed and harried becomes our habitual state and we forget how to relax.
The Buddhist concept of "mindfulness" is about focusing on the present with full alertness but without judgment.It is about controlling your mind instead of letting it control you .It's about separating what you need from what you want.
This practice has been found to alleviate many stress-related physical and mental ailments and to simply help one to function better and enjoy life more.

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Training the Mind - Science & Spirituality
Renowned author, photographer, and Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard (PhD, Biochemistry) will draw from his book Happiness: A Guide to Life's Most Important Skill, his research in brain plasticity and cognitive neuropsychology, and from his long-time collaboration with the Mind and Life Institute. The Institute was co-founded by the Dalai Lama and is comprised of neuroscientists and practitioners of the Buddhist contemplative sciences , to examine the relationship between brain circuitry and affective responses in achieving mental clarity and emotional balance.
Visit www.ricard.cfis.ubc.ca for details on this event and more.

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Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage.

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STRESS MANAGEMENT



A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked
"How heavy is this glass of water?"



Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.



The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.



If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.



If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.



If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.



In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."



He continued,



"And that's the way it is with stress management.



If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,



as the burden becomes increasingly heavy,



we won't be able to carry on. "



"As with the glass of water,



you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.



When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."



So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down.



Don't carry it home.



You can pick it up tomorrow.



Whatever burdens you're carrying now,



let them down for a moment if you can."



So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.



Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.



Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:



* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.



* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.



* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.



* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.



* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.



* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.



* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.



* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.



* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.



* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.



* The second mouse gets the cheese.



* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.



* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.



* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.



* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.



*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.


- William Ellery