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Stress

As we all return to work, I am sure many are feeling the burden of the holidays as they return to desks brimming with paperwork. So we thought we would include a short piece on stress management from a popular email which some of you may be familiar with. The story goes a follows: A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience raised a glass of water and asked "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.  So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burden you're carrying now, let it down for a moment if you can.  Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

It may not be possible to remove the stress from your life, however managing your stress may help you to get things done. Below are some ideas for managing stress:

Go for a walk or run
Exercising can be a good way of relieving stress. It helps to get rid of all that pent up energy and can leave you feeling much calmer. Any sort of exercise can be good.

Hang out with friends
If you are feeling stressed you may need to take your mind off things for a while. Hanging out with friends is one way of doing that. It may be that similar things that stress you out, also stress your friends out, and so talking about your problems with them may be helpful.

Taking some deep breaths
Deep breathing can help to relax the body and hence calm you down.

Setting realistic goals
Becoming over-stressed may make it harder to keep things in perspective. Setting realistic goals and priorities may be useful ways of managing your stress.  

Have multiple options to achieve your goals
There is never just one way to achieve something. It's important not to put all your eggs into one basket - investigate and plan other ways to get to where you want to go.

Try to avoid smoking, alcohol + caffeine
It may be tempting to use smoking and alcohol as a means of managing your stress. Try to avoid using these things as a way of coping, as in the long run they may make you more stressed out.

Watch what you're thinking
Your outlook, attitude, and thoughts influence the way you see things. Is your cup half full or half empty? A healthy dose of optimism can help you make the best out of stressful circumstances.

Speaking to someone
If you are finding you are always stressed and it is hard to carry on with day to day stuff, it may be helpful to talk to someone about it. Psychologists, friends, parents, teachers/lecturers, a school counselor or youth worker are people that may be able to help you cope.  

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