Another reason I don't like venturing to faceless shopping centres or central london especially at this time of year is STRESS. People are worrying about the future, about what everyone else thinks, about others in the family/friends circle or about their own capabilities.
In the UK, anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems, and the majority of cases are caused by stress.
Stress is the way that you feel when pressure is placed on you. A little bit of pressure can be quite productive, give you motivation, and help you to perform better at something.
However, too much pressure, or prolonged pressure, can lead to stress, which is unhealthy for both the mind and body. Everyone reacts differently to stress, and some people may have a higher threshold than others. Too much stress often leads to physical, mental, and emotional problems.
There are certain things that you can do to help if you are feeling stress.
These are what I call practical things, it may be you have to sit down and
plan the way you are going to make changes, but they are all possible to do, and
once you have changed your routine, it should improve things in general.
Deep breathing:. Learn how to deep breath properly taking 2 or 3 really deep breaths.
The idea is to get more clean Oxygen into your lungs.
Health Eating: Nowadays we keep hearing about the 5 a day, it is important, you can read up about that, but if you eat lots of crisps chocolate and biscuits and do feel stress you MUST change your eating habits. Its all common sense things that you should be eating. Google "balanced diet" and you will see its not just 5 a day, it includes proteins, carbohydrates, dairy, fats & sugars, as well as the 5 a day vegetables and fruit. A balanced diet is not boring.
You should also look at what you drink, too much caffeine or alcohol is not good for you, you should drink plenty of water every day.
Exercise: Exercise does not have to be boring either, but it is important to get the circulation going, this decreases the chances of a stroke or heart attack. But you can go cycling, swimming, walking, play a sport you enjoy. There are plenty of activities you can do. I love to dance, you name it I will give it a try even if I look like a fool at least I end up with a smile on my face!
Talking of which Smile or even better Laugh. Both have been proved to decrease stress levels and release feel good hormones into the blood stream!, The more you do the better it is for you! Watch your favourite comedy programme or film or read a book that make you laugh out loud. The more you smile, the more others will find you attractive (obviously i don't mean just break out in a forced grin at people on the tube, no matter the good intention, that a bit weird!). See something beautiful (like sparkling Christmas tree lights or a chirping robin) and smile - trust me it works.
Sleep: Its important to try and sleep well, now it could be vicious circle and you are not sleeping well, because you are stressed, and if you try too hard to sleep, of course that becomes more and more difficult. But look at your sleeping habits, try and get up at the same time, and go to sleep when you are tired but not too late - no one like a grouch!
Stop Smoking: Most people who smoke, when they get stressed the first thing they want to do, is light up, and its true you do get a kick, and feels like the stress has gone. But this is fooling yourself, smoking causes stress it might not feel like it, but it is proven, it is without any doubt whatsoever that smoking is a very high factor towards our stress levels. We need Oxygen not Smoke. I could write for ever about this, but its pointless, it is a fact smoking causes stress, if you have a stress problem and you smokethen I am afraid the answer is obvious..stop smoking.
Relaxation: Take time out, just be still for a while to gather your thoughts so that you can have energy to still enjoy yourselves but do things in moderation. (except smile - even if it is just on the inside!)
"For more information on how Cognitive hypnotherapy can help you, please visit www.hypnotherapylondonnlp.co.uk"
