HealthyLife Articles

Category: Stress Management

Deal With Bullies

Stress Management

Get help and stand up for yourself.

Bullying or being bullied is not a rite of passage. It’s not just kids being kids or a phase they’ll grow out of. For those who bully, it’s a way to be in control with the intent to cause harm to others. Being bullied can cause serious and lasting emotional damage, such as poor self-esteem, lack of motivation, alcoholism, and depression. And over and over, news shows have featured suicides due to being bullied.

Forms of bullying:

* Verbal − Name-calling or teasing

* Social − Spreading rumors, leaving people out on purpose, breaking up friendships

* Physical − Hitting, punching, shoving, tripping

* Cyber bullying − Using the Internet, mobile phones, or other technologies to harm others

Profile of the bully:

* Overly concerned about his/her popularity

* Likes to dominate or be in charge of others

* Aggressive and/or impulsive

* Hot-headed and easily frustrated

* Doesn’t like rules

Profile of the bullied:

* Doesn’t get along well with others

* Has few or no friends

* Has low self-esteem

* Is depressed or anxious

Take quick action:

Most bullies and their victims will not come forward on their own. Parents, teachers, and other adults need to intervene. If you suspect your child is bullying or being bullied:

* Talk to them without delay.

* Get to know their friends and social networks. Pay attention to their online activities.

* Talk with their teachers to find out how they interact with others in school.

* Set and enforce rules about how digital technology can and cannot be used.

* If you suspect your child is being bullied, report this through the appropriate steps – teachers, administrators, police, and the State School Department, as needed.

* If your child is repeatedly sick, stressed, not sleeping, or having other problems because of bullying, contact a counselor or other health care professional.

Action Step

Set up a daily time to check in with your kids. Ask questions and listen to their responses. Allow them to share stories without judgment so they’ll know they can trust you in times of crisis.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Reduce Outdoor Air Pollution To Breathe Cleaner Air

Stress Management

* Plant trees and other greenery to add oxygen and help lower carbon dioxide in the air. Replace some lawn with shrubs and trees that shade the house to save on cooling and heating costs.

* Create a garden and maintain it. Use manual tools for lawn and garden work, if possible. If not, use electric equipment. If you use gas powered equipment, avoid spilling gas at the gas station and when pouring it into the mower.

* Combine errands and reduce trips. Limit engine idling.

* Drive green to lower emissions of pollutants from your car. Obey the speed limit. Don’t accelerate hard and brake hard. Get regular tune-ups. Keep tires inflated. Open windows and use the vents to cool off before you turn on the air conditioner. When buying a new car, choose a low-polluting vehicle.

* Get air conditioners and heat pumps serviced by technicians who are EPA-certified to handle refrigerants. If you buy these items new, choose ones that use non-ozone-depleting refrigerants.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Time Flies When You Are Disorganized

Stress Management

Manage your time. Prioritize.

How many times have you wished there were more hours in a day or looked up at the clock and wondered how the day flew by so fast with little accomplished? By managing your time, you can help manage the stress that comes with unfinished business.

Tips to help manage time:

* Write a “To Do” list. Planning your day can ease your mind of nagging worry that you’ve missed something. Checking off items gives you the feeling of satisfaction.

* Prioritize: Put the most important tasks at the top.

* Give yourself enough time to do the job right the first time. You don’t want to spend more time later correcting mistakes.

* Avoid distractions. Close your door, turn off the phone, and don’t check your email every five minutes.

* Set time limits. Give yourself an allotted amount of time to check and respond to emails, text messages, and phone calls.

* Avoid unproductive meetings. A quick phone call or email will be faster and can save you a lot of time.

* Take breaks. Stand up, stretch and take a walk.

* If the task seems overwhelming, break it into smaller parts. Focus on one task at a time.

* Pass the buck. Is there anything you can pass on to someone else to handle?

* Find your groove. If you get more done in the mornings, block that time to focus on detailed projects.

* Utilize technology. Use your computer and smartphone options and apps to help you track your time, remind you of meetings, and alert you when tasks are due.

* Just say no. Less important tasks can wait.

* Take a day off. You are no good to anybody if you can’t concentrate.

Action Step

Keep a diary of everything you do. You may learn that trying to find things on your cluttered desk, spending too much time on Facebook or watching TV are keeping you from completing what you need to get done.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Seven Ways To Cure Workaholism

Stress Management

Time off is good behavior, especially for people who work, work, work, all the time. When work overpowers all other activity, stress develops. Long hours, with little relief, generally leads to:

* Less productivity or inefficiency.

* Neglected family and social life.

* Distorted concepts of what’s important and what’s not.

So often, though, a workaholic is the last to realize a problem exists. People who have trouble separating themselves from their jobs may feel that their personal worth is measured by how much they produce at work and little else.

Ask your spouse or a close friend if they think you’re a workaholic. If the answer is yes, here are some ways to create a healthier balance between work and play.

Gradually cut down the number of hours you work each day or week.

Avoid radical changes, but take measurable steps, like making it a rule not to work on weekends. (If that means you have to cut your workload proportionally by skipping unimportant tasks or delegating some work, so be it.)

Plan time for recreation in your schedule as though it were an important commitment.

(It is.) Set aside some time for fun, however brief, every day.

Get some physical exercise every day.

Take a walk, do some stretching, or participate in some other nonstressful, noncompetitive activity.

Avoid talking shop over lunch.

Go on a picnic or meet an old friend and talk about something unrelated to work.

Choose a hobby that contrasts with the kind of work you do.

If you work on highly technical mental problems all day, take up a handicraft hobby like woodworking or needlework. If you stay indoors all day, take up an outdoor activity like gardening or bicycling.

Select leisure activities carefully.

You need at least one activity you can share with family or friends.

Refuse to feel guilty when you’re not working.

This is probably the most important step of all.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Do A Digital Detox

Stress Management

Overuse of electronic devices and our interactions with them can contribute to chronic stress. Consider taking a digital detox retreat, where you remove all electronic devices and reconnect with yourself and nature. Explore ecotherapy, or connecting with and immersing yourself in nature. Ecotherapy has proven to help some people manage symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Be More Earth-Friendly

Much of the energy that powers homes comes from fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming. Unplug electronics when you are not using them to reduce energy use and carbon emissions.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
“Rehearse” For Stressful Events

Stress Management

If you’ve ever mentally rehearsed a speech before you gave it, you may already have some idea of how advance playacting can help you prepare for stressful situations. (Athletes, musicians, salespeople, and actors do it all the time.) The idea is to imagine yourself feeling calm and confident in an otherwise stressful situation so you can relax more easily when the situation arises. Here’s how it’s done.

* Close your eyes and unwind, releasing every bit of muscular tension your body has accumulated.

* For a minute or two, concentrate on simply feeling relaxed.

* For the next minute or so, think of yourself actually doing whatever you’re practicing for rather than observing yourself doing it.

* Concentrate again on feelings of calmness.

* Visualize the event once again, and re-create as many details as possible. (What is the setting? What are you wearing? Who else is present?)

* Imagine yourself continuing to feel calm as you successfully handle the anticipated situation.

* Imagine a positive outcome-your boss congratulating you on a job well done, your spouse volunteering to pitch in around the house, and so forth.

Use this technique to prepare for any stressful situation-your performance review, a confrontation with your spouse, or other tense occasion. Practice twice a day for 5 minutes each time (preferably when you first wake up in the morning and when you’re ready to go to sleep at night). Imagining that you’re confident and successful increases the likelihood that you will be confident and successful in real life, because you’re creating new mental pictures of yourself. After practicing regularly for a few weeks to prepare for various events, you’ll be able to relax when the real situations occur.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Tune Out To Tune In

Stress Management

Meditate to alleviate anxiety and stress.

Meditation is a stress management technique that allows you to be in the present moment without interruptions from the kids, deadlines, meetings, and the long to-do list swimming through your mind. It can be practiced anytime in short spurts to relieve immediate stress or for longer periods to help reduce the risks of stress-related illnesses.

How meditation can help

Meditation does not replace proper diagnosis and treatment for a medical problem, but it can promote well-being and may also reduce symptoms of the following conditions:

* Anxiety

* Pain

* Depression

* Stress

* Insomnia

* Chronic back pain

* Asthma

* Hot flashes

* Physical or emotional symptoms that may occur with chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer and bothersome side effects of their treatment.

Guru advice:

* Practice meditation two times a day, preferably morning and night. Five to 10 minutes a session is good for starters.

* Choose a quiet place – not a place that you work, exercise, or sleep, if possible.

* Get rid of distractions. If you are worried about the phone ringing or the kids waking, you won’t relax.

* Assume a comfortable position. Focus on your breathing.

* Pay attention to your slowing heart rate and your relaxed muscles.

* Focus on a single point in the room. Good props include candles, incense or quiet music.

* Once the mind quiets, focus on your body. Start at your feet, then move slowly upward, noticing how everything feels.

Action Step

Take at least 10 minutes every morning to calm your mind. Sit or lie down. Breathe slowly and deeply. Focus on the feeling in your lungs and chest.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Act It Out

Stress Management

Managing your emotions well means learning to express them at the right time, and recognizing when they are influencing your actions too much. Hone four skills to calm your body and mind:

* Relax your muscles

* Be fully present in the moment

* Do deep breathing exercises

* Plan relaxation time

Be More Earth-Friendly

Being in nature can be a great form of therapy, which is why it’s important for us to protect our green spaces. Talk to your local government about how you can help to keep your community green and unpolluted.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Don’T Be Afraid To Cry

Stress Management

Most people say they feel better after a good cry, and tears of joy, sadness, or relief may be a very healthy outlet for stress. Tears of joy, for example, relieve the intense emotions generated by happy occasions. But shedding emotional tears also seems to alleviate stress in a more subtle manner.

University of Minnesota researchers who are studying the chemical composition of tears have isolated two important chemicals, leucine-enkephalin and prolactin, in emotionally shed tears. The researchers say that leucine-enkephalin may be an endorphin, one of the natural pain relievers released by the brain in response to stress. William Frey, Ph.D., a biochemist and the leader of the research team, suspects that tears cleanse the body of substances that accumulate under stress. In other words, crying seems to be an appropriate way to respond to stress. (Tears released in response to an unemotional activity, like cutting an onion, didn’t contain such chemicals.)

Conversely, to resist crying may be harmful to your health. It’s possible that men develop more stress-related illness because they don’t cry as freely as women do.

So if you feel like crying, let the tears flow.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
“Remember” To Relax With Biofeedback

Stress Management

Whenever you’re tense, your pulse speeds up, your muscles tighten, your skin perspires, and your hand temperature increases. These changes can be easily monitored by a biofeedback machine, a device that provides “feedback” in the form of sounds or lights that go off in response to the tension and relaxation. Then by doing specific relaxation exercises like autogenic training, Progressive Relaxation, or imagery, you can alter the physical stress responses. In short, the machine tells you when you’re tense so you can know how it feels-and then learn to relax.

You’ve probably already used some forms of biofeedback without even realizing it. When you weigh yourself, the numbers on the scale showing how many pounds you weigh-and how much you have to lose-are biofeedback. When you take your temperature with a thermometer, that’s biofeedback, too. Biofeedback machines are much more sophisticated than a thermometer or scale, and it takes a professionally trained biofeedback therapist to coach you on how to use them.

Yet, while most biofeedback techniques require coaching, you can practice the following methods on your own.

Take your pulse. A rapid pulse is a sign of tension. So taking your pulse before and after practicing a relaxation technique can tell you whether you’re relaxing or not.

Measure your hand temperature. A simple hand-held thermometer can show you whether or not you’re relaxing effectively. (The warmer your hand, the greater the degree of relaxation.)

Take a good look at yourself. Stand in front of a full-length mirror and look for signs of tension in your face, shoulders, or neck. Are your eyes red, puffy, or tired? Are your lips pursed? Is your jaw tight? What is your appearance telling you about your frame of mind? If stress is written all over your face, take steps to relax.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026