Ways to manage stress

Stress is natural: faced with a situation perceived as "dangerous", our body goes into a state of alert to prepare for action. Our sympathetic nervous system kicks in, triggering a range of psychological and bodily reactions (accelerated heart rate, blushing, sweating, blockage of the digestive system, etc.). When the situation returns to normal, the parasympathetic system regains control and resets the mechanisms to restore balance. Does that mean we have to live with it? 

Of course not! Because it has an impact on our quality of life, and if we suffer it too regularly, our body reacts under high tension and a series of disorders can appear. There is a whole range of techniques that can facilitate relaxation and well-being...why deprive yourself?

A few ideas:

• What ULiège proposes
• Breathing 
• Muscle relaxation and stretching 
• Self-massage 
• Meditation/ visualization/ anchoring 
• Mindfulness 
• Art therapy 
• Cocooning 

Breathing

When you're stressed, your breathing becomes faster, higher and more chest-like: you feel as if you're running out of air. Learning to refocus and control your breathing helps energy to flow freely again. It's the most direct way of working on the nervous system, regulating all bodily functions and restoring inner calm.

Exercise: belly breathing

Sitting with legs straight, lean forward slightly, without straining, head and shoulders relaxed.
Place a hand gently on your belly, just to feel the movements of your stomach.
Imagine your belly as an elevator car going up and down:

• When you inhale, keep your chest flat and inflate your belly as if you were lowering the elevator car as low as possible.
• When you exhale, keep your thorax flat, and pull your belly up, hollowing it out as if the elevator car were going to rise above your back.

Muscle relaxation and stretching

When we're stressed, certain areas of our body contract, sometimes without us even realizing it. This is particularly true of our eyes and the muscles that surround them, our shoulders and neck, our jaw and so on.
Localizing these tensions and practicing a few muscle-relaxation exercises can help you feel relaxed.

Stretching exercises:

Ref: https://osteo15.com/2015/02/05/L'ergonomie-au-bureau/

Self-massage

Instinctively, without even realizing it, we all practice self-massage in the event of pain or discomfort (rubbing a sore muscle, pressing our temples when we have a headache, rubbing ourselves when we're cold, etc.).
While this method isn't miraculous, by learning to listen to your body and regularly practicing a few more precise gestures, you can effectively soothe accumulated tension in the body.

Self-massage practices:

1. Hand: massage the palm of the hand with the thumb
2. Shoulder: Global muscle massage, elevation and relaxation, shoulder circles
3. Neck: Smoothing up and down with 2 hands, kneading with tongs, horizontal movements with 2 hands
4. Skull: Scalp massage with fingertips
5. Forehead: Horizontal movements with fingers
6. Cheeks: Rotary massage with all fingers
7. Temples : Outward circles
8. Eyes: Compression of the upper and lower orbital bones, gentle pressure along the entire length of the eyebrows
9. Rest in palm of hands

Meditation/ visualization/ anchoring

It's not uncommon for stress to be linked to "thinking too much". Thoughts and emotions go into overdrive, and we're drawn into a spiral of uncontrollable ruminations, worries and negative anticipations ("I can't do it" or "I always do it wrong"). And often, these thoughts are not the facts. Forcing your mind to focus on a specific image, idea or sensation helps to pause the brain and take a step back. Resources: www.petitbambou.com

Mindfulness

Stress is sometimes provoked and/or accentuated by questions and anxieties about the future, or regrets about the past. Caught up in anxiety, the mind is always elsewhere, preoccupied with something else. But the present is the only moment that really exists, right here, right now! By living fully in the present moment, you can avoid getting lost in thoughts about the past or the future.

Resources: www.petitbambou.com

Art therapy

American researchers have shown that taking the time to create significantly reduces cortisol (the stress hormone) levels. The level of skill and the type of activity (coloring, modeling, collage, etc.) are irrelevant: it's the act of taking time for oneself, concentrating and engaging in the creative activity that helps to release emotions and regain inner calm.

Cocooning

Stressed? Overworked? Overworked? Treat yourself to some real relaxation! Reading, taking a hot bath, enjoying a good cup of coffee, chatting... to each his own! The most important thing is to choose an activity you really enjoy, set yourself up in a soothing atmosphere (with music, scents, etc.) and take the time to enjoy it to the full. Wasted time? Certainly not! These pleasure breaks will help you recharge your batteries so that you can face the upsets and tasks ahead with greater efficiency.