10 Tips for reducing Stress

Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. Modern life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life.

Stress can cause headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, eating disorder, allergies, insomnia, backaches, frequent cold and fatigue to diseases such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, heart ailments and even cancer. In fact, Sanjay Chugh, a leading Indian psychologist, says that 70 per cent to 90 per cent of adults visit primary care physicians for stress-related problems.

Methods of coping with stress are aplenty. The most significant or sensible way out is a change in lifestyle. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, physical exercises, listening to soothing music, deep breathing, various natural and alternative methods, personal growth techniques, visualization and massage are some of the most effective of the known non-invasive stress busters.

While there are a plethora of products and therapies and pills (and what not) to help you cope with stress, it's not easy to find out which ones are real and which of them are duds. So to save you the stress of doing that research we present the Top 10 scientifically proven stress-killers to help you bid stress goodbye.

Kill the Clutter

Even a layman can figure out that remaining surrounded by clutter only adds to the stress. Lesser the clutter in house, workspace etc., lesser the clutter in your mind. So make sure you thrive in clean, hygienic surroundings.

A Daily Planner

Once you have got rid of the clutter, it's time to organise and manage the essential stuff. We all harbour a thought in our mind that we'll remember the essential stuff but let's face it, that doesn't really happen. Do not hesitate from using a daily planner. Using a daily planner -- and sticking with it -- will ensure that your time is well-managed and you set your priorities correctly.

A Stress-busting Vacation

If the maddening hustle-bustle of the city life is getting on your nerves, it's time to pack your bag and escape. The initial planning may cause some stress but once you'll out of the town, “far from the maddening crowd”, you definitely feel better. The getaway can have a lasting impact as well.

Resist Caffeine

Caffeine is the most widely consumed drug in the world. Unfortunately (and obviously), there are side-effects and you have to be careful about them. It may help you in staying awake, but it also makes the heart beat faster, increases blood pressure and elevates the level of stress hormone - cortisol. Drink too much coffee too often, and it could contribute to the development of chronic stress.

Listen to Relaxing Music

Music evokes both emotional and physical responses in the listener. While heavy metal may jack you up for a workout, soothing music can help the body and mind unwind. However, some people say that rock and metal help them in combating daily stress and angst in life.

Psychologists are your Friends

Get over with your fear of visiting psychologists. These specialists in their domain and know how to deal with the human mind. Psychologist these days are well versed in cognitive behavioral therapies and other psychological relaxation techniques that have been scientifically proven to reduce stress.

Mind your Diet

Get those burgers and fries and samosas off your plate. It's time to include healthy stuff in your daily diet. Consider fruits, green leafy vegetables, milk, etc. What you eat is what you become. Junk food can play havoc with your health which would only give you that unwanted stress.

Try Tai Chi

Tai Chi is an ancient form of martial art which is often considered as Yoga in motion. While the principles of tai chi lie in ancient Taoist concepts of self-defense, in the modern era, tai chi is often practiced just for its amazing health benefits. Several studies proving that Tai Chi can help kill stress exist.

The Weekly Dose of Massage

Evidence exists that massages reduces your heart beat and keeps a check on your cortisol level. While there may not be any long-lasting physiological benefits, the trick is done psychologically as massages reduce the perceived levels of stress.

Hit the Bed

We know they show some really good blockbusters after 11 but then life is all about making choices. Staying up late in the night adds greatly to the stress. Stress and sleep have a cyclical relationship. Lack of sleep can cause stress, and stress causes lack of sleep. Getting timely, good, and the right duration of sleep can help eliminate stress to a good extent.

How to speak well and confidently

Are you very shy when it comes to new surroundings, such as starting a new class or moving to a new area? Sometimes, it is necessary to overcome your shyness and speak confidently. By doing this, it can help you not only to share your ideas properly to others, but also to learn communicating with others. Here are a few steps to consider when speaking with confidence.

Steps

1. Learn how to have conversations with people. Your ideas or opinions may not always be accepted by others, but this is nothing unusual. Open your mouth, express your beliefs! This will improve your courage.
2. Don’t be afraid and speak loudly. If you speak in a low voice, not only will others not be able to hear what you say, but you will also portray a submissive demeanor, which suggests the opposite of a confident one.
3. Make eye contact when you speak. For one thing, it is polite for others. Also, eye contact will help others to listen to your thinking carefully.
4. Praise yourself everyday! This will promote your own confidence, which is important when you speak. With more confidence, people will take your thinking more seriously.

Tips

• Don’t be nervous when you make mistakes. Human error is far from being a new concept — nobody is perfect! It is normal for everyone to make mistakes. Just calm down and keep speaking bravely.
• Try and try again! This may be difficult for a shy person at first, but you need to force yourself to speak, and not seclude your thoughts. If you have some ideas, then try to speak out! Don’t just keep them in your head.
• If you have self confidence issues, try to think that you are the only one who has sound knowledge about the topic. Then go ahead and impart your knowledge to the audience in an effective way.
• Remember that there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Don’t portray an exaggerated amount of confidence, or you will come off as arrogant, believing that your ideas are better than the ideas of everyone else.

How to Convince People Effectively

The ability make others believe what you believe is important for success in many fields. There is often a fine line between convincing somebody your views are valid and annoying them. In this article we'll look at some of the techniques you can use if you want to convince another individual to believe what you believe.

Steps

* Do the homework. Make sure you understand your own viewpoint. If you are going to try to convince somebody that the Eiffel Tower is taller than the Statue of Liberty, find out the facts first, don't make assumptions.

* Learn the field. For certain areas you will need to know more than just the facts, as some subjects are subjective. For example, if you wanted to convince somebody that the Statue of Liberty was prettier than the Eiffel Tower you will need to know enough about architecture and aesthetics to argue about that subject, as well as the facts, like how tall they are. If you are selling something, like a car, you will need to know all there is to know about the car you are selling. Likewise, you will need to know all about the other cars that are in competition with your vehicle.

* Engage the person politely. Maintain eye contact where possible, but don't be annoying about it.

* Establish mutual respect. You will never convince anybody of anything if they believe you do not respect them, so show the person you respect them and be good enough to gain their respect.

* Gain trust. To convince people of most things you will need their trust. They don't have to trust you as a person, but they do need to trust that what you are saying makes sense, that you know your "stuff". The best way to do this is to do your homework and fieldwork, that way you know a lot about the subject.

* Listen carefully to what your debate partner has to say. Respond thoughtfully to their point of view.

* When you can, back up what you say with real facts. Lying will only convince somebody until they find out about the lie, then you will never be able to convince them of anything again.

* Be willing to be convinced. Sometimes accepting one point from the other person and showing that you can change your mind when you are wrong will help them to be the same, and change their mind about the subject you care about.

* Practice active listening. Active listening helps you control a conversation and keeps it on track. Active listening techniques include:

· Non-verbal feedback. Nodding your head as the other talks etc.

Paraphrase what the other person has said to make sure you understand it.

* Make sure you understand the other person's objections and respond to them in an intelligent manner.

* Keep vigilant about your belief, but always respectful of the beliefs of others. Explain why your belief is important to you.

* Understand the other person's motivations. If you know what another person wants, you are more likely to be able to give it to them.

* Rephrase your beliefs in a way that the other person is better able to understand.

* Follow up. Ask questions to make sure the other person understands their new views completely.

Tips

· To hold the eye of a crowd select individuals in the crowd and hold their eyes on-and-off through your presentation.

· Never lose your cool. Nothing lacks conviction more than a raving idiot.

· Always be friendly and respectful even if the other person does not change their mind.

· Beliefs fade. You may think you have changed somebodies mind but find that in a day or two, perhaps a week, they are right back to where they were before.

· Buy and read some books on sales techniques.