Are you looking for a surprising and simple way to reduce stress? In the article “Everyday Resilience: Stress Relief In Unexpected Places” by Samantha Boardman, the author discusses how doing routine tasks in a mindful manner can enhance our mental health. To prove this point, the author mentions a study that showed people who perform routine tasks, like washing dishes, think more creatively and feel less stressed. The same study showed that people who washed the dishes in a non-mindful state did not get anything from the task. The author concludes that mindfulness is a way of thinking in which the person is focused on what they’re doing, and they are able to discover more things around them. One idea that I found important in the article is that doing simple tasks in a mindful manner can lower stress. Individuals can decrease their stress levels by mindfully doing routine tasks. Boardman notes, “…people who washed dishes mindfully …. upped their feelings of inspiration by 25% and lowered their nervousness levels by 27%.” I think what the author means by “mindfully” is a highly focused state of mind that does not allow for thoughts not relating to the task that we are doing to clutter our mind. …show more content…
After I finish a stressful shift as a medical assistant, I like to go to the neighborhood basketball court and shoot free-throws. One of the things that I noticed about shooting free-throw is you need to be pretty focused (“mindful”) to consistently make the free-throws. This includes paying attention to one’s breathing; bending your knees slightly, and blocking out any potential noise from the environment. This is why I try to focus closely on all these things, and which helps me feel less stressed and fresh mentally. I feel that if I let my mind become cluttered with stress from work and home, then I don’t think I would enjoy the mental benefit from shooting
I lived a relatively stress-free environment until I went off to college. I started to meet people that grew up in a rough childhood and I started to realize how lucky I was. This realization paired up with one of the most difficult quarters I had experience so far. The stress from school and this realization that so many of my fellow peers had experienced such a difficult upbringing caused me to have an anxiety attack for about a week. Luckily I live with two of my closest friends who were able to pick up on the fact that I was not acting myself and they helped me realize what was going on. The stress caused me to overthink everything with in turn only lead to more stress. I started to sleep less, eat less and that also only caused more stress. I vividly remember a time during that week when my roommate sat me down and said she wanted to show me something that could help relax me. She lead me through a guided meditation. At first I was skeptical. I had no idea how a simple exercise was going to help me but to my surprise it really did! Just by focusing on my breathing and shutting my mind off for a few minutes I was alleviated of my stress. Kelly McGonigal’s video on how to make stress your friend gave me a light of insight on how I can combat a situation like this in the future. She asked the audience to “view stress as a positive thing rather than a negative thing” and just by
Tummers (2013) suggest that effective stress management can have a positive impact on health to prevent psychological and mental health illnesses.
Nursing school requires an immense amount of dedication and motivation. In order to function at an optimal level, it is necessary to identify problem areas then be able to intervene and change them in a positive manner. In seminar, I used the Lifestyle and Health Habits Self Assessment and determined that I suffer from a high level of stress. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the methods and interventions I used to improve this problem, as well as explore the nursing process and how to apply it to a situation.
The secret lies in being able to gain control over your thoughts. Mindfulness has been shown to lower anxiety and stress as well as the fatigue that it causes. Over time, it has also been shown to improve memory (which is often negatively affected by anxiety) and improve reaction times.
External environments directly influence an individual’s stress level and their capacity to cope. Upon entering a public location, such as the DMV, I find myself annoyed, impatient, and stressed. By performing your meditation experience in public, you presented how efficiently controlling your own stress can affect your mindset. Rather than resting annoyed, you unearthed the beauty in a stressful situation. Through talking and postulating tips to the anxious girl, waiting to take her driver’s test, you possibly reduced her stress furthermore. This displays a growth in character and the start of mindful living.
Stahl, B., & Goldstein, E. (2010). A mindfulness-based stress reduction workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Many studies have found that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) meditations enhance well-being by building a mindful awareness. Shaprio et al. (2007), found that MBSR programs taught over the course of a semester help decrease rumination, perceived stress, negative affect, and state and trait anxiety. It was also found to help increase positive affect and self-compassion. These findings are based off the concept that self-awareness (achieved through MBSR) is the basis of self-care, as it is an unbiased observation of inner behaviors and
Oral hygiene and exercise are daily activities society has deemed essential for life. These activities keep people balanced and healthy, just as mindfulness has the potential to in day to day life. Studies prove that stress can be considerably lowered by shifting people’s response to emotional stimulus. This balance can be achieved by using mindfulness based therapy. In one review of recent studies of this therapy, they concluded that, “practicing
It is clear that throughout one’s life there will be an obstacle of stress that gets in the way of practically anything. Stress can be defined in a numerous amount ways, but there is one way that can describe it as a whole. It can be defined as a physical, mental, or emotional factor that causes mental tension. In the book Why Buddhism Is True written by Robert Wright, he explains one of the many reasons on how to get rid of stress in a peaceful and calm way. Meditation is not just a way out of pain, but it helps us exceed it by teaching us to look at it for what it truly is and make us more connected with our spiritual impulses along with the behaviors that are formed.
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Throughout life stress is a common problem whether it’s at work, school or home. The many negative effects of stress in fact affect individuals differently varying from health issues to work performance. Therefore, all individuals have different views of stress and various ways of handling it or otherwise managing their stress. Stress is when any living thing feels endangered and its homeostasis is at risk (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011, p. 74). Ways of dealing with stress are efforts of cognitive, behavioral, and psychological nature that allows a person to manage stress. Although there are different causes of stress, there are also many techniques for relieving it. The following articles are intended for the reader to
Through my personal experience with the mindfulness meditation, a lesson that I learned was that this offered a substantial amount of stress relief. Not particularly attending to thoughts that enter my mind and being mindful of the present, allowed stress from the day to dwindle away. I found the meditation to be particularly effective on high stress days and this was a welcome event when I had a very hectic day at work. Further, I discovered that in my case, this form of meditation was better at removing stress than utilizing a mantra meditative technique. Another lesson learned was that mindfulness meditation did not lessen my work anxiety to any great degree. It may have taken my mind off it during the meditation practice, but I would feel some anxiousness soon afterwards as thoughts of work began to prevail after my earnest focus during meditation came to an end. However, I think with more time to develop the practice outside of a meditative setting, it is possible that this could be
Another way one can manage stress is through breathing control and meditation. Breathing control includes the “take ten deep breaths” attempt to managing stress. Breathing helps one to calm themselves, and to think more
If you stress seems anxious, tense and worried, consider that you start to meditate. Just a few minutes of meditation during the day you can soothe and reduce stress levels.
Time management is a major way to reduce stress. If you can keep a schedule of the things you need to do and when you have to do them, this can open time for yourself. Try to focus on the important task and then do the little things. (3.) Many stress experts suggest that you begin your fight against stress by defining your values. (4.) Don’t think that everything has to be perfect. If you are a perfectionist you fuel a variety of stress-producing qualities. (4.)