STRESS

As you all know, final exam for all the University students is getting nearer and nearer.....It's just left around 4 more days!!! My first exam paper is Contract Law and it's fall on 26th of October 2009....I feel very stress and a lot of pressure....Whenever i open the books to study, everything feel like very hard to understand or to memorize.... What am i suppose to do???? I haven even start to do revision for the other subjects such as Constitution, Arab, English for law, hubungan etnik, tennis and a lot more.......

My sister told me the first thing i need to do is try to relax and keep my mind fresh....Because of that, i try to look for some ways to reduce my stress!!! Luckily, i found some ways and i wish to share with my dear friends!!!!

First of all, do you all know what is stress?

Stress is defined as our reaction to the external environment as well as our inner thoughts and feelings. It isn't only what happens to us that creates stressful feelings, but it's how we feel about what happens to us. Learning to control our thoughts through meditation, yoga, and other mind quieting techniques can be very helpful in reducing stress levels. Like the Buddhists say, become the calm in the center of the storm.No one can live without experiencing some degree of stress all the time, according to Hans Selye, M.D., the father of modern stress research. He writes in his book, The Stress of Life: "Stress is not even necessarily bad for you; it is also the spice of life, for any emotion, any activity causes stress. But, of course, your system must be prepared for it."During times of increased stress, our body's nutrients are used more rapidly to meet these needs so we require increased amounts of many of these nutrients. The antioxidant vitamins A, E and C, the B vitamins and the mineral zinc, selenium, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, sulfur and molybdenum are some of the nutrients that are commonly depleted by stress.

Fortunately there are a number of ways to prepare the body for stress. Here are a few ideas to get you started:


1. Meditate, pray, or do yoga each morning. The simple technique of quieting the mind, following the breath, and relaxing the body can put you in the right frame of mind for getting through a stressful day with a positive mental attitude.
At Work. During the day the stress mounts, whether at home or at your place of work. This can result in tension, headaches, back pain or lack of focus and general unproductivity. A few simple ways to help reduce these stress symptoms is to: Change your position or take a quick walk around the office, drink some water, stretch, or do a yoga exercise. One great way to accomplish this is right on your computer, Reduce Stress at Your Desk on Holistic.com has 4 free different streaming video exercises designed to be done in your chair that target your neck, back, shoulders and upper back. They run from 4-6 minutes each and have proven to be effective.

2. Exercise. Walking 20 minutes per day can change body chemistry in a way that calms the nervous system and reduces stress levels. Aerobic exercise is especially good for producing endorphins in the body - which are natural soothing hormones released during sustained exercise.

3. Make dietary changes. Reducing sugar, carbohydrates, caffeine and alcohol in your diet can go a long way towards getting your body back into a healthful balance. It's now recognized that when we eat carbohydrates, these foods turn directly into sugar in our bodies. The more sugar we eat, the more depleted our B-vitamins become. B-vitamins are essential for a healthy nervous system.

4. Supplement with vitamins and minerals. Taking a daily multi-vitamin, mineral supplement and B-vitamin supplement can strengthen your nervous system whether you're already depleted by stress or storing up for an onslaught of stressful circumstances. The mineral calcium is especially helpful for calming the nerves and toning up the nervous system. Athletes preparing for a race understand that extreme physical activity can be stressful and boost their bodies with nutrients beforehand. Take 3,000 mg of Vitamin C per day to help maintain a healthy nervous system while under stress.

5. Use herbs in tincture and tea form to calm yourself:

The Ginsengs: Both Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng) and Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) have been shown in numerous studies to support adrenal function and enhance resistance to stress. Both Ginsengs are adaptogens, which means they restore balance, stimulating a function when it is low, subduing it when high. Both can be used to restore vitality, increase feelings of energy and well being, increase mental and physical performance and enhance the body's response to stress.

Valerian: clinical studies have shown Valerian's ability to relieve insomnia, decreasing time needed to fall asleep while increasing deep sleep.

Kava Kava: European studies have found Kava effective in the treatment of nervous anxiety, insomnia, restlessness as well as reduce heart palpitations, chest pains, headache and gastric irritation.

Enjoy a cup of herbal tea at night. Create a bedtime ritual of drinking chamomile tea to relax. Or try an herbal liquid tincture sleep formula containing chamomile.

Homeopathic remedies are scientifically proven effective and side-effect free. Try one of the many sleep formulas on the market that contain chamomile and other sleep inducing remedies.

Feel very awkward right?? How about this!!!

1. Turn off the TV: This might sound obvious but watching the financial news channels all day long will only increase your stress level since they report on the latest downs in the stock market on a minute-by-minute base.
2. Go for a walk: This time of the year is so precious, especially if you live in an area with tons of trees. Take time to reconnect with Mother Nature and take time to escape from all the bad news.
3. Call up a friend: Sometimes, just the fact of spending time with a friend over a cup of coffee or a walk can make a huge difference to the way you feel. Don’t underestimate the power of human contact and friendship when times are difficult.
4. Take advantage of free events: Each city has a list of weekly free activities that are open to the public. Grab a newspaper and find out which ones might interest you and go out there and discover something new!
5. Hang out at your favorite bookstore: This is an activity I’ve always enjoyed so much. You can spend hours just browsing and looking at the latest books. Who knows, this might spark your creative juices!
6. De-clutter your home: Most North Americans have closets and even garages filled with products that they’ve bought and never used. In many cases, a lot of us still have sales tags on items that are just sitting there. This might be the perfect time to clean up your home and organize a garage sale or you take your clothing to secondhand stores. Remember that someone’s junk is someone else’s treasure. Also, because times are tougher, many people will turn to secondhand stores and garage sales to find affordable items for themselves or to give as gifts during the Holidays.
   
7. Treat yourself to a hot bubble bath by candlelight: This is such a relaxing activity. If you take as little as thirty minutes to soak away your worries, you’ll feel like a new person.
8. Bake your favorite cookies or your favorite cake: Nothing is more comforting than homemade desserts and cookies. Why not take time to make some and take the time to enjoy them. The activity of baking will get your mind off of things and your hands working. Now, you might have to buy a few extra ingredients that you don’t usually store in your pantry, but this stress-reducing activity should not cost you much. Note: If you are stresses everyday, please don't eat a cake everyday. This is for occasional use only!
9. Brew a special cup of tea or coffee and sit down in your favorite chair: Grab a book or your favorite hobby magazine and take some “me” time. Even if you’re able to take 30 minutes of “me” time while the kids are away at their piano lessons … this will do you a world of good.
10. Update your photo album: We usually take photos of the happy times we want to remember. By updating your photo album and putting in recent photos you’ve not had the time to file yet, you can be transported to those times where you were happy and smiling. The feeling from this activity will surely lift your spirits and lower your stress levels.

Sometimes the simplest things can be extremely effective and because there is no (or little) investment of money, you can start putting these stress-busters to effect immediately!

Still the same?? This is last want i manage to find....

1. Define your goals: we must define our life goals and begin to achieve these goals; this action will support us against stress because we will feel that we know what our life purpose is and why, and that we control our own lives.

2. Take control of your diet: we can use simple ways in our diet plans to reduce stress by avoiding some stimulants such as coffee, alcohol, tea and sugar and we can use chamomile tea as an alternative because of its calming and relaxing effect. We need to eat slowly in a calm environment to allow our digestive system to work well. We can use honey as an alternative to sugar but in small amounts (one or two spoonfuls per day).

3. Take hot baths regularly: after a very busy day or when we feel that we need to relax (I do this three times a week). You can take a hot bath by sitting in warm to hot water and the water level should be above the waist, using lavender oil can also enhance this relaxing experience.

4. Aromatherapy: in the office you can use aromatherapy to relax and avoid stress. One of the best ways is to use lavender oil on a source of heat and take in the scent; this is a great way to relax during the day when you need it the most.

5. Exercise: This is one of the important things you can do which will reduce stress and bring happiness. When we exercise, our brains release substances which bring feelings of happiness and relaxation; we need engage in some exercise regularly such as walking, dancing or swimming.

6. Breathing techniques: Yoga, meditation and Tai Chi all use deep breathing techniques. To meditate, simply sit with closed eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Breathing deeply regularly is great for health and from there, you can learn various other breathing techniques to gain enhanced benefits.

7. Relaxation techniques and self hypnotherapy: we can easily do this after the hot bath to relax even more, simply sit or lie down in a comfortable place with your eyes closed, imagine there is a spot light above your head and concentrate on it, then concentrate on your body part by part and try to relax the body and feel the relaxation deepening -- you can also use a self hypnotherapy audio tape to help in this process.

8. Massage: this is a great way to reduce stress, I do this when other ways fail, I feel better after receiving a massage. You can get a professional massage or you can simply ask your partner to massage you.

9. Spiritual healing: prayers and the act of helping others are very important components for happiness and stress reduction. You will feel calmer and have a sense of inner peace.

10. Talking through your problems: talking about your feelings acts as a releasing mechanism and you will soon find that talking about your problems with your partner or best friend may help the solution to the problem come to light and will help to release blocked emotions.

11. Multivitamins: I take a Vitamin B complex regularly to decrease stress and this has been a great help in my stress reduction.

However, i know that everyone have their own way to reduce their stress...My hope in sharing this information with you is that you can benefit from it. However, just reading it cannot help you from reducing your stress....You need to take action after you read!!!