Types of Stress Relief

Quieten The Mind

April 16, 2012
By

Cartesian-materialism

Cartesian-materialism (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Having trouble sleeping ?
Can’t concentrate for long ?
Becoming forgetful ?
Generally anxious and depressed ?
All of these are symptoms of a mind which is not quiet.
We live in a 21st century world which could truly be called the information age.  We are bombarded from morning until night (and all through the night) with information. We get it from newspapers, magazines, television, books, films, the radio, the internet, shops, libraries, education.  Additionally, our lives have become vastly more complex and complicated than they would have been say a hundred years ago. There are more forms to fill in, more techniques to master, more knowledge to acquire, more changes. Relationships can no longer be taken for granted.
We cannot escape. No wonder our minds become clogged as we struggle to assimilate this unprecedented flood of information.  They are constantly in react mode. The mind which is constantly busy is responsible or partly responsible for the above symptoms. They are signs of an internal disorder, brought about by our way of living.
If we could only quieten our minds, we would lead happier, more contented lives. Our lives would take on new meaning. Our health, our relationships, our happiness would all change for the better. The question is, how on earth can we still our inner turmoil ?  I believe there is a workable solution to this, but it will require effort and persistency.
We shall need to take action in the following areas of our lives:
  • Health
  • Materialism, Money and Desire
  • Power and Ambition
  • Conscience, Priorities and Gratitude
  • Music, Poetry and the Arts
  • Positive Psychology and Meditation
  • Emotions – Love, Relationships, Spirituality and Colour
  • Concentration, Learning and Will Power
This is not as difficult as it sounds. I shall shortly be publishing a book on this very topic – watch this space  !
In the meantime, here are some other views from around the web.

3 Ways Journaling Can Boost Your Creativity and Biz | Today’s … 

http://todaysinnovativewoman.com/

Journaling is a way to quiet the mind. Writing all that junk down transfers it from your head to the paper. Suddenly, you find you can actually think rather than simply react. The best part is this quiet lasts long after the journaling is done for the …

 

The Stranger At The Party | The (Convoluted) Mind of a Single Man 

http://civilityisnotdead.wordpress.com/

The (Convoluted) Mind of a Single Man. Thoughts, perspective, and observations from a … Being the quiet observer that I am, I usually pick up on characterisitcs and behavior of people. That’s what listeners and introverts do. We pick our spots.

 

Meditation not Medication: Believing in the Body | Kids Yoga Guide … 

http://kidsyogaguide.com/

You become not only a model for meditation, but for the choice that each of us can make. Suddenly the kids become interested and want to hear what you have to say. No one’s forcing them quiet or numbing their active body-minds. They make …

 

Bailey’s Buddy: Molly on Monday 

http://baileysbuddy.blogspot.com/

He was grey and had long hair. He was rather rambunctious. Things made me a little nervous. I didn’t like it when he got playful and started barking. I don’t mind when he wants to play but I don’t like the barking. I am a quiet lady after all.

 

Thoughts on a Monday morning « 

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/

So when F1 comes to a town where life is quiet, the whole place is sprinkled with “pixie dust” and becomes a little special. That is why F1 is called a circus. The only real value that F1 can bring to Bahrain is to take their minds off the troubles, …

 

DON’T LOOK NOW « SPHERES :: a world behind curtains 

http://sfere.ro/nsphere/content/

They all have a very well-defined, dreamlike and menacing style from the outlandish if slightly uneven Performance (in which he splits directing credits with Donald Cammell) to the quiet and meditative The Man Who Fell to Earth. Don’t look know sticks close to … There are several other films that come to mind when bringing up Don’t look now to the discussion, the earlier Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski) and the later Profondo Rosso (Dario Argento), to name a few. But whereas …

 

atlanta poets group: study 46 

http://atlantapoetsgroup.blogspot.com/

(sketch with hearsay) long slow quick dive semiology the mind rusts where quaint then seer linkage you melt at a quiet or at night fan out in the shape of soldiers marching they say it’s a peptide ’cause then you won’t see where the seams …

 

Green Gym Launched at Inkwell, Chapel Allerton – North Leeds Life … 

http://www.northleedslifegroup.com/

Conservation charity BTCV and mental health charity Leeds Mind have teamed up to launch a new ‘Green Gym’ project at the Leeds Mind Inkwell site in Chapel Allerton, to help people stay fit and support their emotional wellbeing through gardening. Funded by the People’s Health Trust with … With help from local green-fingered volunteers, the space is set to become an attractive setting for other outdoor activities, events and quiet contemplation. The Inkwell Green Gym runs every …

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Dealing with stress

March 20, 2012
By

Regions of the brain affected by PTSD and stress.

Regions of the brain affected by PTSD and stress. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are many types of stress and perhaps as many ways of dealing with it. We have dealt with some of these elsewhere

on this blog, and some of the following articles may prove helpful.

Dealing With Stress | Flat Hat News

flathatnews.com3/16/12

During exhausting midterms time, we all begin to feel the full effects of the demon known as Stress. An overachieving “to-do” list 3 miles long and lack of sleep combine to leave us gasping for air. But before you begin crying …

Dealing With The Stress Of Being A Parent …

virtualblackswanmarketing.org3/19/12

Commonly recommended ways of dealing with stress in other areas of life tend to involve ‘getting away from it all’, such as visits to the gym or a game of squash to release the tension. However, being a parent is a full time job …

Dealing with stress | The Naked Kitchen

www.thenakedkitchen.com3/14/12

I like to tell people that I lead a healthy lifestyle and while it’s true that I eat a very healthy diet, my lifestyle lately hasn’t been all that healthy. It seems the more I add to my plate the less able I am to cope with stress. It’s gotten so …

Forgetting the pill: Dealing with severe stress using NLP instead of …

nlp4pm.com3/19/12

Forgetting the pill: Dealing with severe stress using NLP instead of drugs. Published March 19, 2012 | By peterp. Research in neuro-science at Harvard and McGill is looking at use of drugs to alter the emotional association of memories for …

The Cause of Stress and Dealing with It | airambulancenetwork.info

www.airambulancenetwork.info3/19/12

Relationship stress is caused by problems which are experienced by everyone in the relationship from time to time. It does not only happen in the relationship.

Infertility Treatment And Issues – 7 Top Tips For Dealing With …

articles4net.com3/20/12

Infertility Treatment And Issues – 7 Top Tips For Dealing With Emotional Stress … The endless cycle of hope and despair that comes each month after trying to conceive a child can place great stress on a couple. This stress …

Work/Life Balance–Dealing with Stress

coachingtip.blogs.com3/15/12

By Guest Author David Newth We are living in an era of extreme financial restraint and uncertainty, while the associated pressure for employers and employees is at an all-time high. Formal stress management training has not …

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Stress And Personal Mastery

December 21, 2011
By

Stress And Personal Mastery

by Peter Shaw

A diagram of the General Adaptation Syndrome m...

 

Stress is an emotional and physical response that we show towards different pressures from the workplace, school and other institutions.

 

Stress reactions would include inability to focus, concentrate, headache and fast heartbeat.

Almost everybody suffers from stress, but how we deal with it is important. Personal mastery is something that can

deal with stress.

Personal Mastery

When overcoming stress with personal mastery, it is important to recognize first that stress is a present force in

whatever career we choose. But stress can be dealt with. If you are handling a business team, then you should

learn that stress can affect the productivity of workers.

The work environment can be a major stressor, but this is something which you may not be able to control. But

instead of trying to control the work environment, you can try to work out of it. You can take one step at a time

towards your goals. The question is, how do you work around stress?

Perspective

You can reduce the risk of stress by seeing things in a new perspective. What are examples of these perspectives?

An example would be learning to let go of situations where cannot have any control over it. Stress over these

things which you cannot control should be transformed instead to positive energy. You can just focus your energy to

other things which you can control.

Personal mastery also helps you to be familiar with your emotions and learn how to control it. This attitude could

also help a lot in overcoming and managing stress. There are things which you can change, while there are things

that are beyond our control.

Dealing with Stress

Actually there are simple steps and tips that you can do to deal with stress. Failing to deal with stress during its starting stage can eventually lead to chronic stress. Chronic stress is one of the reasons for frequent headaches, ulcers, indigestion, high blood pressure and heart issues.

• Saying no to commitments that would require time and energy.
• Regular exercises, especially stretching and breathing exercises.
• Meditation
• Eating healthy food
• Asking help from other people to lessen the burden.

To deal with stress, you can reduce the stressors in your life to avoid feeling the effects of stress. Aside from

stress reduction, you can also adopt stress prevention. Stress prevention removes the possibility of stress to

happen. With these two methods, it is important to identify which emotions are attitudes to stress. You can isolate

these attitudes and learn how to react to these stressors.

You have to know and understand your limits. After understanding your limits, you have to learn how to say no. You

cannot merely accept whatever other people say to you.

Succeeding with personal mastery would help individuals to work and focus their mind and spirit on their work and

other things. They remove stress and encourage peace, tranquillity and spirituality within them. You can

incorporate stress reduction and prevention in daily life.

Some people turn to medication to deal with the symptoms of stress. Since stress can be severe or disabling, there are people who take medications in an attempt to alleviate their distress, but this fails to address the real issue.

With personal mastery, you change your entire outlook and perspective in life so that this guides you to avoid

anything that could lead to excessively stressful situations.

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Relaxation Techniques for Stress Management

December 13, 2011
By

Relaxation Techniques for Stress Management

by Peter Shaw

Bath Melancholy

Bath Melancholy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Relaxing in the Midst of Stress

Stress management is an important practice that most people nowadays need to learn. With a fast paced working

environment, people are constantly subjected to tremendous pressure that result to unpleasant levels of stress in their lives. You need to be able to cope quickly with the amount of stress that you have to deal with since it produces several negative effects on your body in mind.

First off, stress can cause your performance to drop because of your inability to focus on the tasks at hand. Stress can also affect your health and body. Oftentimes, stress can escalate into depression or anxiety. Relaxation is one of the best techniques used to cope with and reduce the symptoms of stress. Relaxation methods have been utilized for stress management during ancient times and they prove to be as effective today. Therefore, learning how to relax in the midst of too much stress in your everyday life will mean a world of difference.

Starting a Relaxation Practice

As with anything, starting a relaxation practice is often the biggest hurdle that people are faced with. Once you begin to notice that you seem to quickly lose energy and constantly change your mood, then maybe it’s time to re-evaluate yourself because this can be all caused by stress. There are several relaxation activities that help combat stress in your life whether as simple as deep breathing, stretching or meditation, to more advanced relaxation methods such as yoga or tai chi.

To experience the full benefits of such relaxation methods, you need to take time each day to perform them. Only then would you be able to harness its relieving power so you can benefit from stress relief. It does not have to take so much of your time each day, maybe at least 10 minutes to as much as 20 minutes is enough for stress management.

For better success at developing this practice, take note of the following tips:

• Determine a given schedule for each day when you can perform these relaxation exercises. If possible, schedule once or twice a day, whichever is most convenient for you. Then, make sure you follow your schedule strictly.
• Refrain from scheduling your relaxation practices near bedtime since your sleepiness could get in the way.
• Never opt for an exercise method that could stress you out all the more. Find a level of practice that are most comfortable and feel relaxed with.

Stress Relief Through Deep Breathing

This is one of the easiest and simplest exercise you can perform to achieve stress relief. This would allow fresh air to get into your lungs. To perform effective deep breathing, follow these methods:

• Sit straight with one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
• Breathe through your nose, enough to make your stomach rise. Make sure that your chest produce little movements.
• Use your mouth to exhale and push the air out with as much force as possible.
• Repeat the same process. Take note of the rise and fall of your lower abdomen.

Muscle Relaxation, Yoga and Meditation

For further stress relief, you can perform different relaxation methods that involve your muscles and mind. In muscle relaxation, your objective is to tense and relax the various muscle groups in your body. To do this, find a comfortable position and start by taking slow and deep breaths. Then, create tension on your body by squeezing them tightly while counting slowly until its time to let go. Focus on the release of the tension in a specific body part until you feel relaxed. When doing this, start from foot and eventually move upwards.

Yoga and meditation are also two other techniques used in stress management methods. These are associated with slow and steady movements, as well as gentle stretching. This practice is best for relieving tension in the body and mind, which is why it is recommended for stress relief practices.

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Stress Relief for Work Overload

December 8, 2011
By

Stress Relief for Work Overload

by Peter Shaw

Overworked ?

Dealing with too much work certainly contributes to the amount of stress you are already experiencing in the workplace. Much of the stress is rooted in the problem associated with managing the amount of work. It is probably the biggest source of stress for some, and often entails heavy workload and long periods of working hours. Hence, immediate stress relief will not do it. Instead, finding a long-term stress relief plan will enable you to cope and manage it.

Stress and Work Overload

Any working individual have experienced work overload at some point. And yet, it impacts an individual greatly in that he or she experiences stress and fatigue from it. While it is inevitable, its long-term effect is not good at all.

When you begin to feel stressed out with a heavy workload or start to exhibit symptoms such as over fatigue, headaches, or muscular tension, then you need to identify the cause of stress.

First, it can be produced by pressures from your boss or colleagues. Or it could be internal, which results when you put too much pressure on yourself to meet certain job expectations. Internal work overload is a more difficult problem to deal with because it is self-induced.

There are certain methods that you can apply to relieve yourself off stress from having to attend too much work.

Time Management

The source of stress related to a heavy workload is due to lack of time to be able to squeeze in all those work. Hence, you can use proper time management method as an effective stress relief for excessive workload. A heavy routine is definitely a culprit for stress at work, so you need to develop the method of how to maximize your time without stressing yourself out.

The best start to improved time management skills is a change of attitude. You need to be focused on results since this will affect how you execute your activities. Start off by assessing how you handle your time as of the moment. Were you able to maximize the value of time? Are you meeting your priorities and their deadlines? Unless you determine this, you cannot make that initial step towards change.

Then, begin to organize your list of jobs according to the most important or urgent ones. By doing this, you’d never have to find yourself scrambling to finish something. Then, you can adjust your pace once you have accomplished those important tasks without any added pressure.

Making a To-Do List

This is a very basic yet fundamental method that you can apply for yourself. However, its success only relies on your ability to strictly follow them. One way it can help you reduce the amount of stress by providing yourself assurance that you were able to focus on the important tasks first and complete them on time.

Making a to-do list is mostly important when you have multiple set of tasks to attend to. This is one way for you to get organized, since losing focus is inevitable. More than a reminder, it is a ready guide for you to consult to with regards to what needs to be done first so you feel less burdened by having to sort things out yourself.

Performing Job Analysis

Pressures from the job typically come from your desire to meet expectations, which ends up with you accepting workloads than in reality you cannot actually keep up with. Hence, you need to re-analyze your job description to determine exactly what is expected of you. Consequently, you will also be enlightened about what your job priorities are and specify exactly what activities you need to fulfill.

Only then will you regain control over your work, instead of slaving yourself with it.

If you are so keen on making an impression on your boss, you need to understand that stress relief must be your focus. After all, stress can impact your job performance and reduce your level of productivity.

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Overcoming Performance Stress

December 5, 2011
By

Overcoming Performance Stress

by Peter Shaw

 

emperform

emperform (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What is Performance Stress ?

 

Performance stress is one of the most common sources of stress in the workplace. With a working environment that constantly subjects its employees to a given set of standards they have to meet, the amount of pressure can lead one to question his or her abilities on a given task. There’s always this feeling of not being good enough for the standards of the company.

This is especially true when one has scheduled to make an important presentation for the company. Before the actual presentation, one experiences a sick feeling on the stomach. Sometimes, the pressure is so great that one’s performance is impacted during these situations. For those who are incapable of dealing with the level of stress they are subjected to in these situations, the importance of coping and overcoming performance stress is more important to maintain your ability to deliver within the company’s standards.

Performance Planning

Whether you are taking part in small or big events, creating a good performance is always important. One of the best ways to ensure that you perform well for a given project or task, you need to come up with a performance plan. This will serve to outline what you need to achieve and how you are going to do it.

The Performance Plan will include a list of things that must be accomplished since it will be useful during the performance. Here are basic performance planning tips, covering the physical and mental aspects of it:

• Check every aspect involved in your performance so you can make necessary adjustments in case some parts do not contribute to better performance;
• If there is some travel involved, arrange it in advance;
• Verify whether you have all the items and objects you need;
• Come up with an alternative plan in case anything goes wrong at the steps you have previously outlined;
• Keep your mind focused at the task at hand and as much as possible never entertain distractions. If possible, anticipate them before they happen so you can come up with a plan to counter their effects.

Reviewing Performance

One of the best ways to ensure that you always perform at the top of your level is to constantly aim for improvement. This is one way to combat performance stress knowing that you always re-evaluate your own standards when it comes to job performance. By doing a performance review, it gives you the opportunity for the next performance so you can do better.

Planning and reviewing your performance is a good technique to follow for effective stress relief. If possible, you can ask your superior or fellow officemates for an opinion that you can use to improve your performance. Performance stress typically originates from your tendency to question your ability (or inability) to succeed at a given task. When you increase your confidence about your performance, you’d also be able to combat stress that is involved with it.

Creating A Proper Mindset

Establishing a mindset that will effectively help you before, during, and after a performance will help get rid of the stress it brings. To find relief from performance stress, you can try the following:

• Learn how to take criticism well. Instead of developing self-pity, utilize your mentor or co-worker’s opinion as a pointer for areas in which you can improve your performance on.
• Never aim for perfection. While it is a good fuel, you must rather focus on the steps you need to make instead of the end result. This will also help you be able to have fun with what you are doing, which is another way to relieve yourself of performance stress.
• Comparing yourself against your fellow workers will not help your cause to get rid of performance stress.

Instead, focus on where you are and where you intend to go.

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The Need For Risk

November 28, 2011
By

The Need For Risk

THE RISK

THE RISK (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

By Rochelle Forrest

I was in the pet store the other day and I saw a fish in a tank all by himself. He was a pretty good size and the tank wasn’t much bigger than he was. I asked about it and the lady told me that this specific kind of fish will only grow to the size of its environment.

Just like some people.

Limits on Growth

Sometimes we get settled in a situation and then accept any limits we perceive as part of ‘the way it is’. Financial limits, growth limits, we let our environment dictate what we can accomplish. What if, instead, we decided we wouldn’t let those limits constrain us? It can be a risk, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Greatness happens when we stretch ourselves. In that zone where we reach out and take risks, we engage with our real dreams and passion.

Look at the people who are in your life. So many people just show up, rather than investing and really putting in the effort. Do the people in your life support you in your passions? Do they encourage you to challenge yourself? Are these people positive and upbeat? The people who surround us have a huge impact on our daily lives and can strongly affect our perception of the possible. To give yourself the best opportunity to express your purpose in life and connect with the passion in your heart, be sure that the people you include in your life are good for you and good to you. We need people who help us learn who we were meant to be and support us on that journey.

Look at other factors in your environment. Are the books you read helping you forward your purpose? Do they make you happy? Are you learning something interesting? How you spend your precious free time is very important. Your discretionary time should be budgeted even more carefully than your discretionary income. You can always get more money, but there is never any more time. Use that time to teach yourself to grow personally and professionally. If you get into the habit of supporting your goals and caring for yourself, you’ll be surprised how much more productive you’ll feel, and that feeling will encourage you to continue to grow and challenge yourself to the next level.

Your Own Power

Find your own power. Consider your heroes. If you look at the strengths they have, their ‘powers’, you’ll find that you have all that same capability for greatness already within you. You just have to learn to let it out as they did. You need to give yourself permission to embrace your own power rather than be constrained by your current fish tank.

Live a spectacular life. If someone comes up to you and asks how things are going, how often do you just answer ‘okay’? Okay? Just okay? Why not great, fantastic, wonderful? Don’t limit yourself to a life that is just ‘ok’. Figure out what it would take to have a life that was spectacular and then do what it takes to make it happen. Know where you need to put your attention to get the biggest return on your time and energy. Invest in your passion so that the time you spend is invested wisely and is fulfilling even when you haven’t made it to goal yet. You’ll know you’re on your way and that will continue to fire your passion.

Be your best self. How often do you hold back an opinion or decline to share an idea because you think there is a risk. The risk is there, but it is often more a risk to yourself when you hold back than a real consequence of speaking out. Silencing your voice limits your personal power. It keeps you from shining. It keeps you constrained rather than helping you grow. When you let fear hold you back, you give power to your fear rather than keeping that power for yourself. What real consequences would happen if you just said what you thought and shared that part of yourself? Are they worth giving up your power for?

In this world we’re all necessary. We each of us have the capability for tremendous power and ability to affect change. We just need to get a grip on our own lives to unlock our gifts and share them with the world. Once we’re willing to push the limits of our fish tank and expand beyond our current boundaries we are able to see what we can truly accomplish.

Author Rochelle Forrest is a passionate and spirited holistic health coach who has spent a lifetime dedicated to helping other people heal their lives by teaching them to find their purpose and their power. Please visit her website at http://www.createhealthnaturally.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rochelle_Forrest
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Need-For-Risk&id=6700375

 

 

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Stress Relief Through Pets

November 21, 2011
By

Stress Relief Through Pets

by Peter Shaw

Eastern religions have postulated for thousands of years that in some way, we are all interconnected.  Christianity holds that in each of us there is a spark of the divine.  Now quantum physics tells us that at the most fundamental level we are all composed entirely of pure energy, light, if you will.

Perspective

Looked at from this perspective, the question of stress on an individual is placed firmly in the “doesn’t really matter” category.  Our seemingly intractable day to day problems appear insignificant and meaningless.  To the sufferer, however, this is not so, as usually the constant presence of stress distorts his or her view of reality (whatever that may be) to the point where his or her problems become practically insurmountable.  We therefore need to regain a proper perspective in our lives, to become far less egocentric, and to start to look outwards rather than inwards.

I believe this is precisely where pets can help.  A dog or cat demands your attention, it requires to be fed and watered,taken to the vet occasionally, and sadly at the end of its life, we often have to have it put to sleep.  In return, however, the pet gives itself totally to you.  I have had many dogs and cats, and I believe I can truthfully say that I have never experienced such unquestioning love and adoration as I have received from them.  Instinctively, I feel that quantum physics is right, that we are all connected (at least, all sentient beings are), and that pets “know ” when their master or mistress is not feeling well, or is depressed, or stressed out, or anxious.  The pet invariably reacts in a positive way, and clearly does its best to make you feel better!

I have three dogs.  I have noticed that whenever I am feeling down, or miserable, or sad, all three notice and in their own ways try to console me.  One will put its head on my lap, another curls up at my feet, the third asks to be taken for a walk.  It is a question of understanding what they are trying to tell you.

So, whenever you are next feeling stressed out – go buy a pet !  It really helps.

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Stress and Classical Music

November 18, 2011
By

Stress and Classical Music

by Peter Shaw

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's compositions charact...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's compositions characterized music of the classical era. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a very personal post in a way, but it might be useful to you and so I thought I’d share it.

The electricity bill arrived.

Now, I did my best to budget carefully, but this new bill was well beyond my capacity to pay.  I suppose it was because it was a cold winter, and our sole form of heating was a kind of economy electric heating called Night Storage heaters, which consisted of a pile of bricks in a steel case which got heated up using night-time off-peak electricity, which was cheaper.  The theory was that then, during the day, the bricks would gradually dissipate their heat thereby heating the flat.  The flat, however, was a floor of an old Queen Anne house, full of nooks and crannies, uneven floors, and very draughty.  So the heating was on max the whole time, although despite this the mean daytime temperature never exceeded freezing point.

I hadn’t a clue what to do.  My credit was pretty well zero, and to make matters worse, my wife gaily informed me that she was pregnant.  I am a natural worrier, and I remember being absolutely petrified.  I worried day and night, couldn’t sleep, secretly turning the heaters off thinking my wife wouldn’t notice. Those were the days when the man was expected to provide for his wife, and those that failed were real social failures.  I was at my wit’s end.

I found relief at that time only by losing myself in classical music, especially Mozart.  It was quite literally the only thing that succeeded in quietening my mind.  I played Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik over and over.  It got me through those panicky feelings and enabled me to relax.

The electricity bill ? Oh, that was easy – the bank had a thing called a budget account, where you totalled up your annual utility and other monthly expenses, divided by twelve, and paid that amount to the bank each month. They then picked up the bills as they arrived.  A Godsend, and one of the very few things I have to thank the banking industry for !

I warmly recommend a thoughtful book by Donald G Campbell called The Mozart Effect.

It certainly worked for me, and still does. I use classical music on a daily basis to preserve peace of mind.  Try it !  Oh, and by the way, its only classical music – pop music has the reverse effect !

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Stress, Age and Depression

November 14, 2011
By

Stress, Age and Depression

by Peter Shaw

Let me immediately confess to a close personal interest in this topic.  Those of you who take the trouble to read my

Elders from Turkey

Image via Wikipedia

history HERE will understand why that is.  It does appear to be the case, though, that suicide in our Western societies appears to be most prevalent among older males.  I expect there have been many studies about this – I don’t know, because I haven’t really researched the subject yet.  I can, though, perhaps hazard a few guesses as to the reasons for this phenomenon.

Ageing

The fact of ageing is itself a major stressor, particularly, I suppose, to those of a more macho nature – the kind we usually pity as they get older, with their feeble attempts to regain their youth.  You know the kind – wearing wigs and toupees, dyeing their hair, driving quite unsuitable sports cars, wearing clothes more suited to boys of sixteen.  Some may call this vanity, but I see it as a rather pathetic harking back to their glory days.  They are clearly under constant personal stress, because of their inevitable ageing.  They are no longer attractive to members of the opposite sex, they may have become grandparents or even great grandparents (worse), they may well be isolated socially, having retired from “work” and having lost many of their friends to death or old age homes. They are probably financially much worse off than the level they have been used to.  All of this raises stress levels.

Life Achievements

Most of us lead fairly unexceptional lives.

True, there are those who have been prominent or petty criminals, or concentration camp guards, or corrupt dictators, or have committed any of the other multifarious ways  we humans have devised of causing stress to ourselves and others. There are also the opposite, the Mother Theresas of this world, the inventors of penicillin, the people who have achieved considerable success without crushing others along the way.  There are precious few of these, though, and one problem we have anyway is in defining “success”.  Many people today view this in material terms, whereas many of those who have gained huge material success have done so at the expense and sometimes the grief of others.

So those older folk among us who review their life and achievements are usually bitterly disappointed in themselves, which naturally leads to low self esteem and depression.  This is particularly so if they are ordinary working people comparing their life to giants of industry and others with considerable material or social success.

Health and Strength

Both of these naturally ebb with age.  It is sad to compare our physical prowess today with that of our youth, and this again can lead to low self esteem and depression.  I myself came up against this with a nasty shock a few years ago when I was hiking in the mountains with a group of young to middle-aged people.  I found that I simply couldn’t keep up with the rest of them, because of fatigue, aches and pains, shortness of breath and the unpleasant feeling that my radiator had

Marsyangdi valley landscape in Around Annapurn...

Image via Wikipedia

packed up and I was overheating ! This did not make me feel good about myself, especially as I have always prided myself on my hiking abilities, having once trekked around the Annapurna range in the Nepal Himalayas.  It is galling to have to

abandon the activities of a lifetime because of physical infirmities.

Our Spirituality

Many of us go through life utterly neglecting our spiritual selves.  We need to remedy this, especially in old age as a strong spirit is well able to withstand the stress and pressures of age.  By this, I do not necessarily mean being religious in the accepted sense of that word.

My definition of a strong spirit is one who has understood their own connectedness to all other living things, who as a result treats others with the respect he would accord himself, who understands his immortal nature, and that his approaching death is but a return to our spiritual home.  Such a spirit truly loves others as himself, although not with a sexual or a romantic love, bur rather a familial love.

Given such attributes, a strong spirit can accept that all the negative aspects of ageing and of our lives are all truly insignificant.  Only the weak or the truly evil spirits suffer.