At times in life it is easy to feel as if things are way out of your control. As I write this, the world is shuddering with the thought of what could possibly happen as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. Needless to say, tensions are pretty high, and stress reduction is sorely needed. There is a lot of anxiety and fear floating around the planet as we, humans, are grasping desperately to find out as much as we possibly can since we know that knowledge (and yes…SCIENCE) is power.
As we keep our eyes peeled for reputable sources with valuable information, once in awhile (thanks to the gobs of media we’re all exposed to on a constant basis) it is normal to get hit with waves of panic and fear. This, my friends, is where educating ourselves turns slippery. We all know that with every one bit of incredibly valuable information, there will always be about 3 bits of information that are…quite frankly…total crap (NOTE: Don’t quote me on the statistics there!). This is when employing effective stress reduction techniques serves us very well.
In her 2013 TED talk, Lissa Rankin, MD revealed exactly how much stress alone is responsible for a bulk of the disease we, as humans, experience. This is why it is SO important that we take charge of managing our own stress. Aside from doing all of the things scientists are asking us all to do to prevent the spread of viruses and germs, we NEED to take responsibility for maintaining our own mental health. You can check out the video below.
Stress Reduction Roundup – The most effective tools in my tool chest
This post is a roundup of previous posts with tools, tips, and strategies that are designed help you to alleviate the stress you are feeling at this time.
1. A Roadmap for Self-Care: The Whole Health Cairn
Based on Lissa’s Whole Health Cairn model, this post discusses the holistic foundation for maintaining good health.
2. Coping with Emotions through the mind-body connection
When intense emotions begin to bubble up, it can be challenging to understand what to do. This is how you can access your inner guidance for coping with intense emotions.
3. 10 Tools for Dealing With Anxiety Like a Boss – Free Printable Included
Looking for multiple ideas for dealing with anxiety? This post comes with a printable (task cards) that you can print out and have ready to go for when times get challenging.
4. How to Stay Calm In the Middle of Chaos – Free Meditation Included
Momma always said there would be crazy days. There are the days you feel stressed. Then there are the days you REALLY feel it. This post contains a link to a free grounding meditation designed to help you stay calm.
5. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction – Free Meditation Included
This practice is one of my go-to practices, designed to help you go from super duper stressed to totally zen. After practicing this technique, folks report FINALLY feeling as if they can sleep. It is also the basis for all of the mind body practices throughout this site.
6. Practicing Mindfulness to Reduce Stress – the Why and the How – Free Meditation Included
This post dives into WHY mindfulness is so practical and useful in reducing stress. Also included are effective strategies that you can use right away. Bookmark for later for sure!
7. 7 Gifts for Relaxation – Get Your Zen On
Are you looking for actual THINGS or activities to do for getting your “zen” on and reducing stress? Here are 7 of Toni’s FAVORITE things that get her blissed out in less than 10 minutes!
8. How Stress Affects the Body and What You Can Do About It
Stress affects the body in some really interesting ways. In taking the time to understand how the body reacts to stressful situations, you will then be able to access tools that can help you make decisions from a place that is much more grounded in truth. Find out what you can do to transmute the stress in your body into energy that can HELP you.
9. Overcome Anxiety With This Quick Trick
If you’ve got only about 5 minutes and you feel like you need to find your chill, this is a mindfulness strategy that will work really fast. It’s something that you can do on the run as well. Just a nifty one to add to your tool box.
10. How to Stay Positive When You’re Surrounded with Negativity
Let’s face it…there are going to be times (like the ones that we’re facing right now) where it may seem like everyone and everything is NEGATIVE. It can often be difficult to move forward with things when you’re sensing that negativity. Here is how you can stay positive when you’re surrounded with negativity.
…and when things get really frustrating…
There is always the Love and Rage Workbook! This free downloadable workbook will help you to understand anger and frustration so that you can transmute it into CREATIVE energy.
Let me know if these tools are useful, and if you can think of anything I may have missed. I love to find ways that can make dealing with daily stress easy, creative, and fun. If any of these tools were particularly helpful, please add a comment below.
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