HealthyLife Articles

Category: Stress Management

Float Away Stress

Stress Management

Imagine yourself effortlessly floating in water that’s about 93.5ºF-not too hot, not too cold. You’re in total darkness. All is silent except for the comforting sounds of your own breathing. In this pleasurable and totally stress-free environment, every muscle feels deeply relaxed. Your thoughts wander, but you don’t really think about much of anything.

What you’re experiencing is R.E.S.T. (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy)-more commonly known as flotation therapy. In this stimulus-free setting, your heart and breathing slow down, muscle tension dissolves, and stressful feelings disappear. To achieve this state of bliss, all you have to do is sign up for a session in a float tank at a flotation center. The tank is slightly longer than a bathtub and contains very salty water that allows you to effortlessly float on your back. Some tanks have no lighting or sound; others are in a room that is dimly lit and has recorded music of your choice piped in. Float sessions last for an hour or so.

Flotation has benefits other than reducing stress.

* Listening to instructional tapes while floating can sharpen learning skills.

* Flotation can help to control blood pressure.

* Regular flotation sessions can help to alleviate arthritic pain, other types of chronic pain, and nausea resulting from chemotherapy.

Note: Flotation may not be appropriate for everyone. Anyone who is being treated for a mental health problem should check with his or her therapist before considering flotation therapy.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Spirituality Can Help You Cope

Stress Management

Connect with your spiritual self.

In general, spirituality is a path to finding purpose, meaning, inner peace, and hope in life. It involves your personal values and how you relate to others. For some people, spirituality includes an organized religion with its set of beliefs, symbols, and rituals. For others it is being connected to nature or believing in a power greater than oneself. Spirituality can give deeper meaning to life and help you focus on what really matters.

Ways people find strength in spirituality during times of stress or a crisis:

* Prayer

* Meditating

* Expressing their thoughts and feelings in a journal

* Counting their blessings

* Forgiving and healing

* Reaching out to help others

* Practicing and receiving unconditional love

* Attending a place of worship. This can provide a sense of community and shared purpose, as well as support and understanding.

* Connecting to a higher power

Spirituality can help you lead a healthier life.

Several studies have shown that people with strong religious and spiritual beliefs:

* Have a stronger immune system

* Have lower blood pressure

* Have less anxiety and depression

* Are better able to deal with arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses

* Heal faster from surgery

* Recover from drug addiction faster and are better able to abstain from substance abuse. Self-help programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) use spiritual messages in their 12-step recovery process.

Action Step

Pastoral counselors can help with mental health and spiritual concerns. Find a pastored counselor in your area fromwww.aapc.org.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
What Is Mindfulness?

Stress Management

Mindfulness means paying close attention to your thoughts and feelings, on purpose, in the present moment, but without judging them in any way. It’s the opposite of being on auto-pilot all the time, which can take a toll on physical and mental health. With many techniques to choose from, practicing mindfulness every day may help you live a healthier and fuller life.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Be Happy Through Play

Stress Management

The benefits of play include creativity, release of tension and stress, and relaxation.

* Plan active play time with your children outdoors. Play in the leaves.

* Enjoy board games or card games with your children or friends.

* Wear a costume on Halloween − or any day, just for the fun of it.

* Playing games like chess and playing a musical instrument challenge the brain and can help prevent memory problems, as well as improve brain function.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
If You Can’T Alter Traffic, Alter Your Mood

Stress Management

Cars are inching along bumper to bumper. The weather is foul. You’ve already been late to work twice this week. Every muscle in your body is beginning to feel tense. What a way to start the morning. Boy, are you in for a bad day!

Auto commutes don’t have to be “stress on wheels,” though. Here are some ways to avoid commuter stress.

* Before you set out, listen to radio traffic reports to find out if and where traffic is tied up.

* Take less heavily traveled routes.

* Leave 10 to 15 minutes earlier, to allow for unexpected delays.

* Look at a map and plan alternate routes should you encounter unexpected slow-downs along the way.

If, despite such avoidance tactics, you end up caught in traffic anyway, don’t let stress get the best of you. Some hints:

* Loosen your grip on the steering wheel.

* Take a few deep breaths.

* Don’t dwell on negative factors over which you have no control, like rude drivers or the odds of arriving late.

* Listen to a radio talk show or all-news station.

* Play some CDs of pleasant music, narrated books, or self-improvement courses. (Learn French on your way to work, for example.)

* Keep a notebook and pencil or a cassette recorder handy to make notes for planning your day, make shopping lists, and so forth.

Not only do these strategies help you make good use of otherwise wasted time, you might actually enjoy the drive!

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Stop Family Friction Before It Starts

Stress Management

Stress resistance begins at home. What better way to help your family withstand the rapid change, constant disruptions, and various surprises life dishes out than to establish a stable “base of operations” at home. Psychologists and other mental health professionals have found that families who work and play together as a cohesive unit can survive a crisis like unemployment or illness better than those with poor coping skills.

Here are some guidelines for insulating your family against stress.

* Take time to talk things over and be good companions to one another.

* Hold regular family conferences or meetings. Use this time to set mutual goals, present grievances, or discuss future plans. Take turns heading these meetings. Plan an agenda so everyone gets an opportunity to speak and so that important issues aren’t overlooked.

* Teach the value of being a good listener. Pay attention to what others say. Learn to “hear between the lines.” And ask questions if you don’t understand what your spouse or children are trying to tell you.

* Establish family traditions tied to significant occasions, like birthdays or holidays, that can be celebrated together.

* Learn the value of compromise.

* Be flexible, and shift gears if the situation calls for it. Flexibility is especially important if one parent goes back to work after managing the household full time, or if one wage earner loses his or her job or gets sick.

* Allow for individual strengths and interests. Don’t compare brothers and sisters to one another, and allow family members to have “their own space.”

* Discourage competition between family members.

* Don’t overemphasize academic and financial status.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Your Morning Ritual

Stress Management

Starting your day with a race to get ready might be part of your routine, but it’s not doing the rest of your day any favors. A morning ritual, on the other hand, can start your day with calm, focus, and intention. It makes you more proactive, helps you manage your emotions, and implements powerful and productive habits.

Try starting off with a ritual, instead of a reaction, to help set a calm and positive tone for the rest of your day.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Be Mindful Of…Digital Overload

Stress Management

Our digital devices are ever-present, often causing much stress, along with reducing the average attention span from 12 to 8 seconds. Tune out for a while to help tune into yourself and the people you want to connect with. You can start by turning off your phone “push” notifications or putting it away during a meal or conversation.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Just Say No To Stressful Thoughts

Stress Management

When nagging thoughts or worries stand in the way of feeling good, a technique called thought stopping is an effective way to eradicate them. The trick is to recognize negative thoughts, then reduce their impact.

Here’s an example: You’re so distressed by a petty remark a coworker makes, you can’t concentrate on anything else, and you dwell on it for hours. Here’s what to do.

1. Isolate the stressful thought.

2. Close your eyes and focus on it briefly.

3. Count to three.

4. Shout “Stop!” (Or, if others are in earshot, imagine a stop sign, a flashing red light, or the word “stop” in bold letters.)

5. If the thought’s still present, repeat steps 3 to 5.

6. Resume normal activity, feeling better.

You can use this technique anytime you find yourself obsessed with negative thoughts. (If work problems dominate your thoughts, substitute an “off duty” sign for the stop sign in the exercise described above.)

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Stop Feeding Your Feelings

Stress Management

Don’t let emotional eating weigh you down.

If you run to the fridge to soothe pangs that have nothing to do with hunger, you could be an emotional eater. Studies show that both negative and positive emotions can trigger eating and overeating. Allowing your feelings to prompt you to overeat on a regular basis can be dangerous to your health, especially if you are overweight or have diabetes or another chronic disease.

Causes for your cravings:

* Chronic stress – This releases cortisol, a hormone that triggers cravings for salty and sweet foods.

* To suppress or soothe emotions – People often reach for food to deal with anger, anxiety, depression, fear, or resentment.

* Social eating – Food tempts you: cake to celebrate another staff birthday; chips and dip within your reach at a party; or a ten-foot long dessert table at a wedding. Not to mention beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks to celebrate with.

* Nervous energy – People who feel uncomfortable in social situations may eat to avoid talking with others.

* Boredom – Nothing better to do? Might as well down an entire bag of cookies.

* Learned habits – If your parents rewarded you with sweets or stopped your tears with ice cream, you may be rewarding yourself with comfort food when you want to feel better.

Break the cycle.

1. Eat as a response to hunger, not appetite. Hunger is the physical need to eat. Appetite is a psychological desire to eat. Delay 10 minutes before you eat as a response to appetite. The emotional need to eat may pass.

2. Every time you eat, write down the emotions you are feeling and whether you have physical signs of hunger. Learning your emotional eating triggers is the first step to making healthy changes.

3. Surround yourself with friends and family who support your efforts to change your eating habits.

4. Join a support group to meet other people who have similar problems.

5. Consult your doctor or health care provider if you need help controlling emotional eating.

Action Step

The next time you mindlessly reach for sweets or treats, ask yourself why. If your answer has nothing to do with physical hunger, put the food down and take a walk instead.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026