Get-In-Shape Help For The Stressed
Now that warm weather is upon us and summer is rapidly approaching, many, many of us are resolving to get more fit--to have more energy for summer fun, to feel more comfortable in summer clothes, or just to fulfill those forgotten New Year's goals of staying healthier. As you may or may not know, stress does play a role in such things--it can change your cravings as well as your habits--but fear not! If you have any interest in weight loss or fitness (or know someone who does), here are some tips for meeting your diet and exercise goals, even when stressed.Stress Eating Resources From Elizabeth Scott:
Take The Stress and Weight Gain Test
Stress can contribute to weight gain in several ways. If you're having
trouble with your weight and wonder what role stress may be playing, or if
you just want information and resources for healthy change, this is the quiz
for you! The following 10 questions are each designed to help you assess a
different aspect of your lifestyle to determine if you may benefit from some
simple changes that can help you keep your weight under control when you're
stressed. At the end of the quiz, you'll find resources that pertain to your
specific situation.
What Causes Emotional Eating?
Even if we know what we're supposed to be eating, there are additional
factors that influence how much and what type of food we consume. One of
these factors is stress, which is linked to increased emotional eating.
Emotional eating has many causes. Learn about the main reasons--besides
hunger--that stressed people eat, and find resources to stop emotional
eating.
How To Stop Emotional Eating
As anyone who's watching their weight will tell you, hunger is just one of
many reasons that people eat. If you're an emotional eater, you may find
yourself eating to deal with uncomfortable emotions, using food as a reward
when you're happy, and craving sweets or unhealthy snacks when stressed.
This article can help you to cut down emotional eating and develop healthier
eating habits--even when stressed!
Diet Tips For The Stressed
Despite best intentions, many people find themselves falling short of their diet ideals due to various 'diet traps', or factors that may sneak in and sabotage a healthy diet. The following diet tips can help you to combat some of the main diet traps people encounter, and maintain a healthy diet that keeps you feeling great.
Healthy Diet Resources From About.com
Source: Bray, George. Pounds Lost. New England Journal of Medicine February 26, 2009.
Image from iStockPhoto.com
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Summer Stress Relief
- Secret Causes of Summer Stress
Summer, like the holiday season, is a time of year that most of us look forward to with childlike excitement, only to realize about halfway through that things can be much more stressful at this time than when we were experiencing it as kids. What are the new stressors of summer? Here are a few of the biggies. (Don't worry--you'll find help with them, too!) - How To Avoid Summer Stress
How does one keep summer stress at bay and keep cool, so to speak? Here are several ideas you can use to keep this summer relaxing and fun, and let any additional stressors roll off your back. - How Do You Relieve Summer Stress?
Summer stress can take you by surprise. We expect fun during summer, not stress; but added summer responsibilities--kids underfoot, travel plans gone awry, vacationing co-workers, etc.--can leave us feeling more stressed than blessed. What stresses you during summer, and how do you handle the stress?
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How Healthy Is Your Family?
Because May is Family Wellness Month, and because Summer is coming up, this blog brings you information on staying healthy, staying active and, of course, relieving stress. Here are health and stress management strategies for people of all ages.
- Strategies for Family Health
Family health is important--and increasingly hard to obtain these days. With busy schedules and childhood diseases on the rise, it's important to maintain healthy habits to maintain a healthy family. Here are some top strategies for family health. - Kids and Stress Management
We don't always think of kids as being as stressed as we adults, but children do face significant stressors in their lives, and react to that stress. Learn more about kids and stress, and find stress management strategies that can work for them. - Readers, Respond! Healthy Family Strategies
With families finding themselves busier than ever, it's often difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. As a result, obesity rates and juvenile diabetes, among many other conditions, is on the rise. That's why it's important to maintain strategies that keep your family healthy. What are some of the habits and strategies that you've adopted to keep your family healthy?
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Less-Stressed Travel Plans For The Summer
- How To Reduce the Stress of Travel
While travel has always been a somewhat stressful experience, increased airport security and other factors have made travel even more stressful in recent years. Here's how to make the experience less stressful. - How To Reduce The Stress of Traveling With Kids
Let's face it: traveling with kids is a lot more complicated, and can be stressful. Here's how to make the experience much less stressful, and perhaps even make getting there part of the fun! - How To Save Gas While Traveling
Driving used to be the frugal way to travel. Now that gas prices are at record highs, here are some tips to save gas on your next vacation and make it as frugal as possible. - More Tips for Frugal Traveling
Because more of your budget may be spent on transportation, here are some useful tips for saving in other areas of your vacation budget.
Quizzes | Ongoing Resources
Are You Having Fun Yet?
Are you having enough fun in your life? Chance are, you probably aren't reaching your required fun quota, and may be fun-deficient. And perhaps a fun-infusion is in order.I say this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but having fun in your life is actually serious business. Many people are overwhelmed right now with tough economic times, are finding themselves working harder than before to keep their jobs, may be suffering from stress in their relationships as a result, and don't make fun a priority. This is understandable, but it's important to prioritize having fun, too. Here's why:
Eustress: Fun activities provide a source of eustress, the 'good' kind of stress that keeps you feeling vital and alive. It's the sense of excitement you get from completing a project, riding a roller coaster, or meeting an exciting challenge in your life. We need regular eustress in our lives, and fun activities can provide that.
Read More About Eutress
Positive Attitude: Having regular fun in your life can help you feel less overwhelmed by the stressors you face. This can help you change your attitude toward your lifestyle stressors so that you're less reactive to stress when you experience it.
Read More About Positive Attitude and Stress
The 'Best Medicine': Laughter carries many health benefits with it, so the more laughter you have in your life, the better it is for your health.
Read More About The Benefits of Laughter
User-Friendliness: It might be hard to hit the gym multiple times a week or forgo unhealthy 'comfort foods' when you're stressed, but fitting more fun and laughter into your life is something you can do for yourself that's also easy!
Read More About Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Strong Relationships: Couples who engage in new activities together and have regular fun together may enjoy a closer bond than they otherwise would if they fell into a rut. And a healthy relationship can be a great source of stress relief in your life.
Read More About Healthy Relationship Resources
Social Support: Likewise with friends, sharing fun activities with friends is a great way to maintain a supportive circle of buddies, keeping your bonds strong and helping everyone in the group keep stress levels low. Having strong friendships in your life, and a sense of community, has been linked with longevity, lower stress levels, and more positive states of health.
Read More About Social Support
Burnout Buffering: Having regular fun activities to spice up your life can also help you stave off burnout. Feelings of burnout can result from having a stressful job with unpredictable, hard-to-meet expectations and little recognition. One of the methods I've always endorsed for finding relief from this type of job stress is to give yourself small rewards, or start a group of supportive friends to high-five each other when they accomplish goals that would otherwise go unrecognized. Giving yourself a regular dose of fun is a way to do that, and share it with friends.
Read More About Burnout and Stress
So, after looking at some of the "why"s of having fun, let's look at the "how"s. How can we all get more fun into our lifestyles? It's simpler than you may think, if you make fun a priority. Here are some ideas:
Take A 'PlayCation' For Stress Relief
Related Resources
Fun Stress Relievers
How can you relieve stress by having fun? Here are some ideas to try!
Top Hobbies for Stress Relief
Certain activities are worth the time you put into them, just for the fun and stress relief you can get out of them. Here are some of my top picks for stress-relieving hobbies.
How To Maintain a Sense of Humor
Laughing at the stressors you face is one of the best ways to rob them of their difficulty. Here are some strategies for maintaining a sense of humor in life, and having more fun as you go.
Share Your Thoughts:
Do you feel that you have enough fun in your life? What do you do for fun? Share your thoughts in the comments section, and find more About Stress Management on Facebook.
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The Link Between Gratitude and Happiness
Apparently, psychologist Jeff Larsen from Texas Tech University and Amie McKibban of Wichita State University wondered the same thing, and set out to test the theory! They studied college students and their attitudes toward one major possession: their cars. Students with cars were asked to rate how much they wanted the car they had; students without cars rated how much they wanted the car they didn't have.
The results, published in Psychological Science, prove what we all know: that people can become accustomed to what they have, appreciate their possessions less as the novelty wears off, and therefore derive less happiness from their possessions as time goes by. However, they also found that it's possible to continue to want the things you have, and that doing so can, in fact, bring greater happiness! In short, they proved that happiness is both wanting what you have and having what you want.
"Simply having a bunch of things is not the key to happiness," Larsen said in a prepared statement. "Our data show that you also need to appreciate those things you have. It's also important to keep your desire for things you don't own in check."
So how does one maintain an attitude of gratitude for possessions already owned? In my experience, maintaining a gratitude journal is key. If you write down what you're grateful for at the end of the day, you get into the habit of noticing what you appreciate and why, strengthening your appreciation for what you have in your daily life. It also takes the focus away from things you want but don't yet have. If you don't keep a journal, there are other ways of developing an attitude of gratitude, which is so important for happiness and stress relief.
Also, let's not forget the other finding in this research: while happiness is connected with wanting what you have, having what you want factors in as well, so don't give up on your goal-setting! Going after a goal (with the right attitude) can be exciting, and achieving what you want has its own obvious rewards. Here are some effective goal setting tips to help you find happiness, get what you want, and do so with less stress.
More Articles on Happiness and Gratitude:
Elaborate on your answer to the poll in the comments section, if you like!
Source:
Larsen JT, McKibban AR. Is happiness having what you want, wanting what you have, or both? Psychological Science April, 2008.
Quizzes | Ongoing Resources
Post-Mother's Day Stress Management
Mother's Day is one of my favorite holidays, as I love celebrating moms and I love being appreciated myself. However, the holiday is not as joyous a day for everyone. Aside from those who have lost mothers and grandmothers, or even those who mourn the relationships they wish they'd been able to have with their moms or children, there are those who experience Mother's Day as a blow to their marriage--and apparently there are more who feel this way than we may realize! One fascinating but sad fact that has stuck in my memory ever since I read it is that the day after Mother's Day is the most popular day for signups from women on a "popular" website for married people looking to cheat. The suspected reason is that many mothers find themselves feeling disappointed and unappreciated on Mother's Day, and want to take action to recapture good feelings for themselves. The reasons people do things are unique and complex, and cannot usually be boiled down to one theory, but the fact that this is a viable theory means that many women out there are feeling unappreciated, unsupported, or both. While most of these relationships need more help than can be provided in a blog (even this blog!), it is likely that these and virtually all relationships could benefit from a little stress management and communication training. Putting work into one's marriage is important for happiness, just as taking care of one's own needs is vital. Whether your Mother's Day was a great one or a day that left you feeling unhappy, stress management is an important and well-deserved aspect of life, not a luxury. The following resources can help you to make changes in life that can help you to feel happier, healthier, and closer to your mate. Put them into action--you deserve it, and you'll be glad you did!
Have More Fun And Enjoy Life
Life is meant to be enjoyed! Stressed moms may find themselves putting off some fun activities in favor of other responsibilities. This is sometimes necessary, but don't forget to work fun into your daily life--it's important for your resilience and stress levels. Here's how to have more fun and enjoy life.
Self-Care Strategies for Moms
You need to take care of yourself so you can take care of everyone else--and so you can enjoy life and more easily cope with stress! Here are some self-care strategies that can help you to feel less stress and more joy.
Maintaining A Happy Marriage
A stale marriage isn't as toxic as a highly conflict-ridden one, but can be problematic nonetheless. Learn what contributes to a happy marriage, and find tips for incorporating these ingredients into your life.
Fun and The Importance of Play
Do adults need 'play time', too? Quite simply, yes. Here's why, and how to get more fun into your life!
Readers Respond: Share Your Best Happy Marriage Tips!
Having a happy marriage takes work, but brings many benefits, including reduced stress. Good communication is key, as is mutual respect. But what else helps keep a marriage happy? What are your best tips for maintaining a happy marriage? See what other readers have to say, and add your best tips to the list! Share Your Best!
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National Women's Health Week: Take Care Of Yourself!
National Women's Health Week began on Mother's Day, as it does every year. This week, you are encouraged to do five things:- Schedule an appointment with your doctor and have any preventive screenings you may have missed
- Get some exercise and be active
- Maintain a healthy diet
- Take care of your mental health
- Avoid unhealthy behaviors like smoking or excessive drinking
I've linked resources in the list above, but I recommend the resources below as well. As women, especially those of us who are mothers, we tend to put others' needs before our own more often. This is kind and benevolent, and sometimes necessary, but we need to be sure that we take care of our own needs with dedication as well. (Not only are we more able to care for others when we are doing well ourselves, we deserve to have our needs met, particularly when these needs have to do with our health!)
I encourage you to subscribe to About.com's Women's Health Newsletter as well as our Healthy Monday Newsletter (which I edit)--they both have wonderful resources from all around About.com Health that can help you to maintain a healthy lifestyle in simple steps.
The following resources can help women take better care of themselves--for their own wellness and so that they can continue to provide excellent care to those that they love. Take them to heart, and send them to the women in your life!
Women's Wellness Resources:
Go Ahead, Crack Yourself Up
They say that laughter is the best medicine, and research is actually backing that up. Well, okay, I'm not saying we should replace pharmacists with stand-up comedians, but there are some real health benefits in a good laugh. Learn more about the many ways that laughter (and even smiling) can be good for you, and make a plan today to get more laughter in your life this week--and from now on. It's one of the most enjoyable things you can do for your health! Please feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section, sign up for the free stress management newsletter for ongoing updates, and have a wonderful week!
- Overall Health Benefits of Laughter
Laughter can help you live longer, and enjoy other benefits as well! Learn more about how laughter can benefit you, and get inspired to get more laughs into your day! - Laughter For Stress Relief
Laughing can help you relieve stress in several ways, which can also enhance your overall health and wellness. Learn more about laughter as a stress relief tool, and see how you can relax with a good laugh more often. - How Smiling Helps, Too
Is a full-blown bout of laughter too tall an order? Smiling is easier, and you can work your way up from grins to giggles. Read about the health benefits of smiles, and put one on right now! - How To Have More Fun
- Try Laughter Yoga
- How To Maintain A Sense of Humor
For more ongoing stress reduction resources delivered right to your wall, visit and "like" this page--About Stress Management. You'll find inspirational quotes with articles that address the same concepts, with some great comments from other stress-relief fans. You can also follow me on Twitter for the same great stuff!
Photo from iStockPhoto.com
Celebrate Mental Health Month With Stress Management Resources
When people think of controlling stress, often what they envision is making lifestyle changes that eliminate or minimize the stressors in their lives--cutting out those toxic relationships, quitting that stressful job, and somehow avoiding major crises. To be sure, these things can help (especially avoiding major crises, although this is often not as possible as any of us would hope). However, this is just a small part of stress management, and arguably not even the most important part. In fact, we can sometimes even cause ourselves more stress by attempting to control circumstances in our lives that are uncontrollable--the actions of others, for example.
So how else can we manage stress? Here are some things over which you have quite a bit of control. Place your focus here, and your stress levels can diminish.
- Your Thoughts
When cognitive psychologists started realizing that our thoughts played a significant role in our experience of stress, they were really onto something. Because the meaning we attach to an event will alter our perception of how threatening or stressful it is, and our thoughts also affect what resources we mobilize, how (and if) we approach solutions, and even whether our stress response is triggered, changing how we think about things can change our whole experience of stress. Read more about this, and how to manage stress with your thoughts. - Your Lifestyle
Your diet, your sleep patterns, and even how much exercise you get can all impact not only your health, but how you react to stress. A poor diet can lead to greater emotional reactivity, lost sleep can lead to moodiness as well as slower cognitive functioning and memory impairment. Exercise, meanwhile, can lift your mood, energize you, and and help you to be less reactive to stress in the present, as well as in the future. (In fact, even three minutes of exercise can help relieve stress!) How well you take care of your body impacts how well you are able to handle stress--and how hard it hits you! Read more about how to manage stress with self care. - Your Focus
Optimists and pessimists experience the world differently because of what they notice and how they think about it. As a result, optimists tend to be healthier, more successful, happier, and even live longer! They also feel less stressed by what happens in their lives. Optimism is about more than just "looking on the bright side"--it involves noticing positive things more, for sure, but it also incorporates a way of evaluating and explaining situations in a way that gives you an advantage in life and reaffirms your strengths. Read more about how to manage stress by thinking like an optimist. - Your Relationships
Social support can be a big part of stress management--leaning on others for resources and emotional support, and offering the same to them in return, can really lessen the impact of stress, and the level of "threat" we feel when we face life's challenges. That's why our reactions to others can make a difference with our stress levels--if we can work through problems harmoniously, we face a a different picture than if we have constant conflict with others in addition to the other stressors we face in life. Working on inner resilience is key, but being able to foster strong relationships and keep them healthy adds another layer of protection against stress. Read more about how to keep relationships strong and healthy. - What You Tolerate
Sometimes the little stressors in life can really add up. While some of life's major stressors are unpredictable, and others are uncontrollable, we all have daily stressors that are under our control. We all have little things that can drain our energy and make us feel more stressed overall--life coaches call these things "tolerations," and eliminating them can free up your energy and emotional reserves so you can better manage the stressors in life that you can't control. The first step is to learn what your tolerations are, and then start eliminating them from your life. Read more about how to manage overall stress by eliminating everyday stress.
What are your best tips for taking care of your mental health and relieving stress in your life? I invite you to share in the comments. Also, I invite you to join more conversations on our Facebook Page About Stress Management, and sign up for our Free Weekly Stress Management Newsletter.