Are you struggling with stress? Sometimes you need a little help to get on top of all of life’s myriad demands and thankfully there are plenty of resources and tools you can use to get on top of it. Refer back to this sheet every time you feel life is getting on top of you and you should find something that can help…
Websites and Articles
The Pomodoro Technique
http://pomodorotechnique.com/
A great resource for coping with stressful workloads. The pomodoro technique is a great technique and this website provides all the information you need for using it.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cognitive-behavioural-therapy/Pages/Introduction.aspx
This is a primer on cognitive behavioral therapy provided by the NHS (National Health Service in the UK). This is a more in-depth tool for coping with stress.
The 80/20 Law
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
The Wikipedia Page for the incredibly useful ‘80/20’ law. This will help you to use the pareto principle to cut back on your workload.
The Positive Effects of Stress
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15537/1/The-Positive-Effects-of-Stress.html
This is an interesting article at Health Guidance.org, talking about how stress can actually be a positive thing if it’s ‘eustress’. This is something you should keep in mind.
Fear Setting
http://uk.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-on-exercise-to-overcome-fears-2015-4?r=US&IR=T
Fear setting is another powerful tool. This is usually used to overcome fears that are holding you back. Likewise though, it can be just as useful as a tool for overcoming stressful fears.
Products and Tools
These products and tools can all help you to reduce your stress in the long and/or short term:
Stress Balls
Stress balls can be used as a form of catharsis. Now unfortunately, catharsis has been shown not to be particularly effective, but it sure does
feel good!
MindWave
http://store.neurosky.com/products/mindwave-1
The MindWave from NeuroSky is a device that you can use to measure your brainwaves and thus to measure stress. It comes with a number of ‘games’ and exercises you can use to try and bring your mind to a calmer point. It’s definitely worth checking out though it’s untested!
5-HTP
5-HTP is a supplement that may be useful for improving stress levels and sleep. 5-HTP is ‘5 hydroxytryptophan’ which is a chemical precursor to the ‘feel good hormone’ serotonin. In other words, your brain can use this to make more of the stuff that makes you feel good.
5-HTP is a form of tryptophan which can be found in poultry, so that’s another way to get what you need.
Massage Chairs
Massage chairs are highly effective for improving stress levels because they allow you to get massages on demand! You can get all kinds of massage chairs and they’re not generally too expensive, so they’re well worth a look.
The Microsoft Band
https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-band/en-gb
The Microsoft Band is a fitness monitor which has the added benefit of being able to measure your heartrate at all times. You can use this as a biofeedback device for testing your own stress levels and learning your own body better, but also to encourage and improve exercise.
The emWave
http://www.heartmathstore.com/
The emWave is a device that claims to measure heartrate variability. This in theory should let you monitor your levels of recovery and that in turn can correlate with physiological stress.
The emWave is not firmly grounded in science. However, it may be a useful tool and comes with a 30 day guarantee. If you have the money, look into it.
The Lumie
Lumie make daylight lamps. These wake you up with a simulated sunrise that is not only great for your energy levels and your body clock but also prevents you from being ‘startled’ awake by an alarm – which is terrible for stress.
Outsourcing
www.upwork.com
www.elance.com
These sites can be used for outsourcing work to professionals. If you have too much on your plate… delegate!
Stress Busting Activities
Looking for a way to calm down and combat stress? Try a few of these activities and pass-times!
Osmos
Osmos is one of the most relaxing games for Android and iOS. It involves slowly moving a cell around a calming environment while listening to an ambient soundtrack. It’s highly relaxing and great for a little stress busting.
Adult Coloring
http://www.coloring-pages-adults.com/coloring-zen/
Adult coloring is rapidly catching on as a great pass-time for overcoming stress. There’s no need to spend money on a book – just visit this page and print out some patterns to color!
Sewing/Knitting Patterns
https://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory.php
The link is for knitting patterns but it’s very easy to find both. Either is the perfect activity for staying calm and for doing something practical.
Walking
Going for a walk is one of the best activities there is for relaxing and relieving stress!
Writing
Many people find that keeping a journal is a great way to combat stress and to review the anxieties of the day.
Further Reading
For further reading and more help with stress, here are some sources to look at:
Stress Relaxation Techniques
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/relaxation-techniques-for-stress-relief.htm
This is a list of relaxation techniques you can use to overcome stress.
Preventing Burnout from Stress
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/preventing-burnout.htm
This can help you to avoid ‘burnout’ or adrenal fatigue.
Stress Statistics
http://www.stress.org/stress-is-killing-you/
Aptly named ‘stress is killing you’, this is an infographic containing a lot of information regarding stress.
Stress Tips
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-367295/Top-10-stress-tips.html
Here is a list of stress tips that reinforce much of what we’ve covered.
Stress Symptoms
http://www.webmd.boots.com/stress-management/physical-stress-symptoms
You can’t combat stress until you know if you are stressed. Follow this list of symptoms from WebMD to get a good idea as to whether you might be stressed.
And there you go! That’s a huge list of resources for you to expand your reading, to help make stress management that bit easier and to start better organizing your time and your work. Recognize that you’re not going to achieve a stress-free existence overnight, this takes time and effort. Don’t push yourself then and don’t worry if the results don’t come right away, just keep going, keep reading and keep trying. Over time, you’ll find life gets that much easier to cope with you get that much more familiar with your own mind and the way it responds to stress.
