Stressed? 5 Ways To Relieve Stress Naturally

Stressed? You're dealing with a real physical threat to your health. Stress clogs your arteries and shrinks your brain.

Unfortunately, when we're stressed many of us just make things worse. We overeat. We spend money we don't have on vacations or lavish treats. We turn to drugs and alcohol.
But you don't have to go that route.

In order to help you out, I dran from my 30 years of working with patients battling stress and put together some smart, simple, natural and safe stress relief techniques.

Relieve Stress With The Help Of An Animal Friend

When we interact with animals, it transforms our chemistry and emotional state. I've seen this first hand with children who have a history of trauma. After spending time with our animal friends as part of therapeutic animal programs, they learn to trust and relax. I've seen their tense faces melt into smiles.

Studies have shown that simply by petting a dog or snuggling with a cat, you can dramatically lower your blood pressure.[1] In one workplace study, people who brought their pets to work with them experienced an 11% drop in stress levels as the day progressed. This is in stark contrast to the 70% increase in stress levels in people who didn't have their pets with them.[2]
So if you're feeling tense, spend some time with an animal friend. The simple exchange of affection - a scratch behind the ear for an unconditional look of love is hard to beat.

Exercise To Relieve Stress

Usually when we're under the gun, our workout is the first thing to go. We feel we don't have the time or energy to do it. But that's the worst thing to do...
People who exercise tend to have less problems with depression, anxiety and stress.

It seems that when you exercise, you increase the concentration of a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. This neurotransmitter seems to help the brain coordinate your stress response better. It also buffers the effects of other neurotransmitters associated with stress.[3]
If finding an hour to work out just adds to your stress, relax. Even taking a 15 minute brisk walk or lifting weights can make a difference.

Enjoy A Warm Bath To De-Stress

Before I learned how to manage stress and my health better, I experienced serious sleep problems. Shifting my nutrition and trying to manage my schedule better made a huge difference.
But there is one technique I particularly love... taking a warm bath in the evening.

Japanese researchers have shown that simply by sitting in the tub for 40 minutes, you can lower your body's stress hormones dramatically.[4] Better yet, making this a before bedtime ritual helps you get a good night's sleep - another essential for keeping your stress hormones in check.

Play With Your Kids For Stress Relief

As a doctor and anti-aging expert, I could give you a list of medicines and supplements that will change your stress response.

But when it comes down to it, nothing works as well for your body and mind as playing with your kids.

When I'm feeling anxious about a difficult challenge at the office, I'm tempted to crank up the research time and stay late. However, if I protect some time to play with my kids, I handle the whole crunch time better.

Just by playing together, I gain perspective. Kids have a great way of helping you find the wonder and humor in life. And spending time with them reminds me of what's important.
Now this realization isn't just me. Researchers at Kansas State University made this same discovery studying stress and single mothers. The researchers were surprised to find that - independently of how stressful the mothers' lives were - the more moms made an effort to play and engage with their children, the less they displayed physiological signs of stress.[5]

Ditch The Caffeine And Try Eleuthero To Reduce Stress

When you're tired and feeling overwhelmed, you probably reach for a cup of coffee - right?

Caffeine may give you a temporary boost. But in the long run it only makes things worse. It deceives your body into thinking you're not tired, just when you're body's screaming for rest. This just stresses your body more.

Instead of caffeine, I'm a huge fan of eleuthero, a plant that grows wild on the northern Asian plains. Like caffeine, eleuthero can increase your mental alertness and help you feel energized. But unlike caffeine it doesn't do this by ramping up your body's stress response.

In contrast, it seems to actually strengthen your body's ability to adapt to stress and protect your body from the damage stress causes.

Finally, it's safe and non-habit forming.

When stressful times hit, eleuthero - not caffeine - is what I reach for and recommend to all my patients.

These Stress Relief Techniques Work

We all live with stress. It's part of life. And not all stress is bad. However, if you let stress ride you too long, it can wear you down and damage your health.

That's why these 5 stress relief techniques are so important. Put these techniques to work. They will help you reduce stress safely, naturally and effectively. So all of you - your body and mind - can stay healthy. No matter how stressful life becomes.

Sources:

[1] Vormbrock JK et al. Cardiovascular effects of human-pet dog interactions. J Behav Med.1988 Oct;11(5):509-17.

[2] Swan, R. More companies, citing benefits, allow pets at work. Indianapolis Star. February 2013.
[3] Dishman R et al. Exercise Fuels The Brain's Stress Buffers. American Psychological Association website.

[4] Mizuno K et al. Effects of mild-stream bathing on recovery from mental fatigue. Med Sci Monit. 2010 Jan;16(1):CR8-14.

[5]Tidball, J. The power of playtime: Study finds that single mothers can reduce stress by playing, engaging with children. Kansas State University press release. June 19, 2012.

3 Easy Stress Relief Exercises

Need something quick and easy to do so that you can just relax a little? And maybe you also need something that you can do in the car or where your computer is not available (or perhaps 'not wanted' for that matter!)? Well, here are 3 easy exercises that you can do on your own (or with a friend, if that helps) to enable you the ability to let go of some of the stress weighing you down. Rule #1: these exercises only work if you give them a chance! Rule #2: each of these exercises can be done lying down with your eyes closed in a dark room, or wide awake in your car driving. They'll have some effect even in the most active of your states.

1. Good Air, Bad Air. One of the harmful effects stress has on us is that it virtually fills us with toxic elements (essentially the residue of our 'fight or flight' system going for too long). This exercise will help you rid yourself of that toxicity.

First of all, take in a deep breath, imagining that the air you're inhaling is clean, pure air - the best you could ever find. Let this pristine air fill your whole body, from your feet to your head, and imagine it cleaning out your body's cells. Hold it in for a few seconds to let it do it's cleaning, and then slowly exhale. While you're exhaling, imagine that the air you're releasing is all the dirty, toxic air that the 'good' air has cleaned out from your cells. Repeat two more times.

2. Squeeze and Release. We hold a lot of tension in our muscles when we're stressed. Much of this tension we're not even aware of, which is why this exercise is so good. Think of it almost as a self-massage - something to tide you over until you can get the real thing!

Imagine squeezing all of the muscles in your left foot, and hold this for a few seconds. Then slowly release the squeeze, imagining that all the tension you've just created is being released. Do this for your right foot as well, and then slowly work your way up your body, squeezing and releasing your calf muscles, your thighs, glutes, back, abdominal muscles, chest, shoulders, neck and even your scalp. Then, if you're so inclined, work your way back down to your feet. Be careful not to over-squeeze!

3. Energy Cycling. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it's believed that your energy runs down your front and up your back. Of course energy runs to and from your arms and legs as well, but for the purposes of this exercise let's just focus on your torso and head.

Do your best to imagine a warm energy traveling from the top of your head, down your face, and then down the midline of the front of your torso. The energy should feel comfortable, possibly warm and gentle, passing through you without effort. Don't worry if you only feel it in certain parts of your body - this is normal and may change with practice. As the energy reaches your perineum (the space between your genitals and anus), gently give the muscles here a gentle squeeze, and then imagine the energy shooting up your spine to the top of your head. Repeat this cycle ten times if possible, ensuring that the energy is comfortable and easy down your front, and fast and energetic up your spine.

A Systematic Way Of Overcoming Your Fears And Phobias That Lead To Panic And Anxiety

During the height of my anxiety disorder I dived right into my fears and if I would have known about a step by step gradual system called systematic desensitization back then, I definitely would have taken this less frightful road.

Systematic desensitization assumes that fears and phobias are learned and they can also be unlearned through controlled exposure to the phobia, the process slowly takes away the persons sensitivity to the feared object. The process starts with clearly recognizing what your fear is and then making a ladder in the form of a hierarchy from least scary, to the ultimate goal with 10 action steps for each fear. In the case of claustrophobia and a fear of elevators your ladder might look like this:

1) Picture an elevator in your mind
2) look at a silly drawing of someone in an elevator
3) look at a real more serious drawing of someone in an elevator
4) look at a real photo of someone else in an elevator
5) find and look at a real elevator up close
6) take a step into an elevator and then step back
7) go up one floor with a friend with you in an elevator
8) go up to the top floor with a friend in the elevator with you
9) go up one floor on your own in an elevator
10) Finally, go up to the top floor by yourself in an elevator
As you can see the individual begins with the step that causes only small amounts of very manageable anxiety, and from there slowly exposes him or herself to more and more challenging scenarios. I've always been big on tattoos, and had a few from over the years.

One day, after a yoga session I had toward the end of my period of anxiety, I read a quote on the wall that said, "All power is from within and is therefore under our control." I couldn't think of a better quote that portrayed the struggles we overly fearful bunch go through every day. As a reminder I decided to get it tattooed on my forearm, but have to admit during that time I also got tattoos so I could meet a very real need all humans need these days, the need to be significant in the world. As I carry the message around daily,
Recently I started to look back on my struggles and notice that in the end all the tools to change my past nightmares was really within me the whole time. Once I tapped into that power with the momentum I gained from the tools I used in my new daily life, I was in the end completely able to let go of my panic and generalized anxiety disorder.

Of course I knew it wasn't going to be a straight road to freedom from anxiety, my mind and body put up a huge fight determined to suck me back in to the old worry and fear of bodily sensations cycle. Again, this quote that I have tattooed on my arm is another form of the strength that I pull from if my past pops up again in the future. Of course, I'm not telling you to tattoo a meaningful quote on your arm, but I am telling you to surround yourself with things that will keep you on the right track In times of need.

Natural Therapy To Relieve Stress And Anxiety

Natural therapy has been in use since time immemorial. It was only overshadowed for a brief period by the rapid development in medicine. This branch of health sciences is based on the principle that there is a vital energy controlling body functions and that the body has the ability to recover or restore itself. Hence, such natural therapies try to attain physical, mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing without or through minimal use of invasive treatments, drugs and medications.

Stress has become so commonplace that every second person experiences it to a certain degree. If left managed, it could prove detrimental to one's health. So, in this section we shall discuss a few natural techniques to relieve stress and anxiety.

1. Give a vent to your emotions

Purging yourself of the negative emotions becomes important when you want to reduce the burden of stress. There are different ways to do so. First, socialize. A great option to alleviate anxiety is to share your problems with a friend or family member. Second, take a break from the daily grind of life. Laughing and crying are also therapeutic activities. They cleanse the pent up tension and emotions.