Stress shrinks your brain: How to stop it

We live in a society that is stressful. How can emotional intelligence help? Feeling stressed is an emotion. How we respond to it and how easily it is triggered in us are both signs of how emotionally intelligent we are.

There are emotionally intelligent ways to handle stress, and there are ways that are not emotionally intelligent.

What do you do to stop yourself feeling stressed, under pressure or overwhelmed? What do you do when these stressed feelings arise? How quickly can you turn them around?

Let’s look at how we can handle all our responsibilities, but still be relaxed and live an emotionally healthy life by applying emotionally intelligent ways to reduce or handle stress.

Handle Stress tip 1: Write down your priorities

Identify your priorities. Write them down. Put them somewhere where you can see them easily. And read them. And read them often. Keep reminding yourself of your priorities and attend to them first. And then, of course, the big one, do your priorities!

Handle stress tip 2: Learn to say no (politely)

In order to meet your priorities you need to be able to say “no” to other opportunities that come your way.

Do not simply agree to do activities or tasks, just because you’ve been asked. Do not simply watch an interesting TV program just because it’s on. Don’t say “yes” just because something is interesting or nice. You do not have the time to do everything that is nice. Learn to say “no, thank you” nicely and firmly; and to stick to it.

Handle stress tip 3: Look after your health

When stress and pressure increase most people stop doing what they need to do to stay healthy. This is the time you must do what you need to do to stay healthy.

• Eat even healthier food.
• Go to bed even earlier.
• Exercise even more.

Look after yourself at times of stress and then you’ll cope much better with the pressure.

Handle stress tip 4: Increase your Vitamin B intake

A clinical trial conducted at Swinburne University of Technology, by Professor Con Stough and his team, showed that those who took Vitamin B supplements over a three month period had lower levels of stress at the end of the trial period than when they began the study. In comparison the group who were given a placebo had no significant difference.

Easy meditations to calm your mind.

Are you frantic? Do you feel stressed, anxious or exhausted? Having trouble sleeping? Let these MP3s guide you through four easy-to-do meditations so you feel relaxed and calm. Learn how to use meditation to manage your emotions each day. Be calm. Be at ease. Let stress fall away. Get the “Happy not hassled” MP3 recordings here: www.theeiinstitute.com/ei-institute-store/happy-not-hassled-easy-meditations-to-calm-your-emotions.html

Handle Stress tip 5: Clear out your head

During the day most of us pick up a lot of negativity and dirt in our heads. We hear anger outbursts, we generate our own frustrations, and people are negative in how they talk to us or e-mail us.

All this dirt can stick in our minds. Just as you wash your body each day, get into the habit of clearing away your mind dirt, of getting rid of any negativity, resentments or anxieties that you have picked up during the day.

How you do this, whether through meditation, prayer, yoga, tai chi, dance, tapping, painting, voice toning, singing or other cleansing energising activity, doesn’t matter. It does matter that you do it. Don’t be worn down by negative junk in your mind. It is all part of stress and you don’t need it.

Be Happy not hassled

Worried that you can’t get rid of the stress. Try meditating. I use it regularly and it helps to keep me calm. We have some very popular meditation audio-downloads that can guide you to peace on our “Happy not hassled” MP3s.

Joke Corner

Thanks to Angelee Deodhar, in India, for today’s joke.

Driving on the Freeway.

An old man was driving down the Freeway at 22 kilometres per hour. He never went above or below. An officer noticed and followed him a while and then pulled him over. Before the officer could even get to the window the man was saying “I was not speeding, the speed limit is 22 kph and that is exactly what I was doing, I was not speeding”.

The police officer said, “I didn’t pull you over for speeding, I pulled you over for going too slow”.

The man said “But the sign says 22”.

The officer told him that he was on state route 22. As the man shook his head, the officer noticed that there were three older ladies sitting inside the car. All of them were sitting with their mouths hanging open. Their faces were very white and their hair was completely messy.

The police officer leaned toward the man and said “What is wrong with them?”

The man said “Well, we just came off state route 134”.

Summary

May your stress diminish and may you be able to stay calm in the face of negativity – let it wash over you. Learn how to slow down on the freeway of life with the guided meditations on our “Happy not hassled” MP3 recordings. Your brain will thank you.

Talk next week,
Blessings
Rachel.