HealthyLife Articles

Category: Stress Management

Use Your Imagination To Unwind

Stress Management

Imagination can make a cloudy day sunny-and overpower stress. Here are three ways to create mental pictures that offset daily stressors.

Music

Choose a recording you find soothing. Find a quiet, calming environment in which to listen to it. Feel yourself become part of this calming environment of sound, a physical extension of every note. If your thoughts stray, simply release them and refocus on the music. When the music ends, compare the way you feel to how you felt before listening to it. (You should feel more relaxed.)

Colors

Imagine two colors, one (like bright red) representing tension, and the other (like pale blue) representing relaxation. Close your eyes and imagine that your muscles are the “tense” color. Then imagine each muscle changing to the “relaxation” color. End the exercise by imagining that your entire body is now a vivid hue of the relaxation color (like vivid blue), symbolizing complete relaxation.

Paint a picture

If you have trouble visualizing abstract concepts like tension and relaxation, substitute concrete images that connote these feelings. Use symbols that can interact, like jagged rocks to symbolize tension and rolling waves to symbolize relaxation. Then imagine the waves slowly smoothing out the surface of the rocks. An alternative: Imagine warm sunlight (relaxation) gradually melting icicles (tension) until they disappear.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Stress Less For Success

Stress Management

Set career and personal goals that have meaning for you and that can be achieved.

* Do your best.

* Accept that you don’t have to be perfect.

* When something is bothering you, speak up. Do so with tact, clarity, and respect.

* If you feel overwhelmed with your workload, discuss solutions with your supervisor.

Separate work from your home and personal life. Make time for leisure activities you enjoy.

* Focus on what you can accomplish.

* At work, take 5-minute walk breaks.

* Don’t fret about things that are out of your control.

* Don’t skip lunch.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Ease Holiday Stress

Stress Management

Try to fit exercise and movement into your day to reduce stress and focus on what makes the holidays special – connecting with family and friends.

Break it up:Split 30 minutes of exercise into 10-minute blocks. For example, after you park, take a short walk before beginning your errand, job or other activity.

Holiday wonderland:Take a neighborhood walk to view holiday lights and decorations.

Get out with the kids:Head outside with your kids or grandkids to play an outdoor game.

Fun & active:Schedule holiday get-togethers at community or fitness centers that offer holiday swimming, skating, volleyball or dancing.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Save Time. Be Organized.

Stress Management

Manage your time to help you manage the stress that comes with unfinished business.

* Keep a “To Do” list. Use a method that works best for you. Examples are paper post-its, computer software/apps, a daily or weekly planner, and your smartphone.

* Prioritize and assign times to complete tasks. Check off ones you finish.

* Clear clutter in your workspace and house. Organize your piles into files.

Create and maintain healthy work habits. When you get to work, use your “To Do” list to plan your day. Spend the last 10 minutes organizing your space and putting things in their place.

Avoid distractions while you work. Assign time to check and respond to emails and phone calls.

Don’t check your personal email and text messages on work time.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Ward Off Worry In Five Easy Steps

Stress Management

We’re a nation of worrywarts. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that anxiety is the most frequently reported mental health problem. Nearly 13 million Americans spend the better part of their day feeling anxious. That’s a lot of worry.

What is worry, anyway? It is a stream of thoughts focused on the fear of what might happen.

Here’s a five-step plan to minimize needless worry, developed by psychologist Thomas Borkovec, Ph.D., at Pennsylvania State University. The idea is to acknowledge that you have something worth worrying about, but limit the time you spend worrying to a reasonable level.

1. Identify your own symptoms of worry, like inability to concentrate, sweaty palms, or feeling as though you’ve got butterflies in your stomach.

2. Set aside a period of 1/2 hour every day for the sole purpose of worrying.

3. Write down a list of things that you plan to worry about during the assigned period.

4. Use your worry time as a problem-solving session, to work on solutions and remedies.

5. If you find yourself worrying at other times of the day, distract yourself by actively pursuing a chore or deliberately thinking about something else, or use thought stopping.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Addressstress In Your Life

Stress Management

* Avoid things that cause stress, as much as you can.

* Do something that you enjoy and look forward to doing.

* Develop a positive attitude.

* Relax with deep breathing, soothing music, or quiet time. Take a warm shower or bath.

* Exercise every day. Walk or do another aerobic activity. Do stretching and strengthening exercises, too.

* Share your feelings and frustrations with a good listener.

* Solve problems that you can. Learn to accept or tolerate things that you cannot change or control.

Manage Stress Exercise

* Sit in a comfortable chair.

* Close your eyes.

* Take a deep breath.

* Hold it in for four seconds then blow the breath out.

* Repeat several times.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Exercise Your Breathing

Stress Management

Breathing techniques can help you relax.

Breathing exercises promote relaxation in four ways:

1. They tense and relax muscles. Taking a deep breath tenses muscles used for breathing. A deep exhale relaxes the muscles.

2. They allow more oxygen to be absorbed. This helps the body respond to stress, as well as recover from stress.

3. They increase the amount of oxygen in the blood which allows the heart rate to slow down. This helps to calm you.

4. They give you the chance to pause and plan your response to something that causes stress.

Deep Natural Breathing Exercise:

1. Sit in a chair, arms at your sides, legs uncrossed.

2. Note any tension in your muscles.

3. Put one hand on your chest and the other hand on your abdomen.

4. Take in a breath slowly and deeply through your nose. Allow your abdomen to expand and push up your hand. After your abdomen is full of air, allow your chest to expand, pushing up your other hand. This is one long, steady breath.

5. Hold the air in for three seconds.

6. Purse your lips and exhale through your mouth. Make a relaxing, whooshing sound.

7. Keep taking long, slow inhales through your nose and let out long, slow exhales through your mouth.

8. Focus on the sound and feeling of deep breathing. Continue for three to five minutes.

Purifying Sighing Exercise:

1. Keep your shoulders erect.

2. Let out a big sigh, making a sound of relief as the air leaves your mouth.

3. Continue to sigh 10 to 15 times, one after the other.

Note: If you are prone to hyperventilating, do not do this breathing exercise.

Action Step

Test your breathing by placing your palms against your lower abdomen. Blow out all the air; then take a big breath. Does your abdomen expand when you inhale? If so, you’re on the right track. If not, you’re not using your full lung capacity.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Slow Down!

Stress Management

Most people expect too much of themselves. Attempts to accomplish too much in a short period of time causes lots of unnecessary stress. The result is something doctors call hurry sickness, a constant state of rushing around trying to meet an endless line-up of self-imposed deadlines. Stress is the inevitable by-product of this frenetic level of activity.

Here’s how to turn your activity meter to “slow” instead of “go.”

* Leave your wristwatch at home on days you don’t absolutely have to be somewhere on time.

* Practice doing one thing at a time instead of two or three things at once (like talking on the phone and reading your mail).

* Make a deliberate effort to speak more slowly. Don’t cut other people off in midsentence.

* Walk at a slow, steady pace, not a racewalker’s clip.

* Smile and greet people instead of occupying your thoughts with where you’re headed or what you’re going to do next.

* Drive no faster than the posted speed limit.

* Get used to waiting in line without getting agitated.

* Allow a buffer zone of 15 minutes between appointments, to give your brain and body some stress-free “breathing space.”

* Schedule some free time into every day. It’s not a waste of time to rest and do nothing.

* Take time to “smell the roses”-that is, to notice beauty and appreciate the little things in life.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Ways To De-Stress

Stress Management

Let your stress float away.

Do things that make you laugh.

Express your creative side. Write. Paint. Do a hobby.

Stretch muscles to relieve tension.

Take deep breaths. Meditate.

Relax with soothing music, a warm bath or shower, etc.

Escape to a place (or picture a scene) where you feel calm, happy, and secure.

Sip a cup of warm tea.

Share your feelings with others.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Be Happy Through Giving

Stress Management

Helping others releases endorphins in the brain and boosts happiness for us and the people we help.

Research consistently suggests that people who volunteer are more satisfied with their lives and have better mental well-being.

* Donate household goods and clothing.

* Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank.

* Donate blood. It could save a person’s life.

* Maintain a “Thanksgiving Day” attitude all year long.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026