Remember to put the glass down!

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “ How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, its not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm . If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

She continued, “ The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer, and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed, unable to do anything. “

~Remember to put the glass down.

So what is stress basically? Wikipedia describes stress as:

“Physiological or biological stress is an organism's response to  a stressor such as an environmental condition or a stimulus. Stress is a body's method of reacting to a challenge. According to the stressful event, the body's way to respond to stress is by sympathetic nervous system activation which results in the fight-or-flight response. Because the body cannot keep this state for long periods of time, the parasympathetic system returns the body's physiological conditions to normal (homeostasis). In humans, stress typically describes a negative condition or a positive condition that can have an impact on a person's mental and physical well-being.”

Stress: We've all felt it. Sometimes stress can be a positive force, motivating you to perform well at your piano recital or job interview. But often — like when you're stuck in traffic — it's a negative force. If you experience stress over a prolonged period of time, it could become chronic — unless you take action. Some ways to deal with stress are as follows:

1.  Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine:  Avoid, or at least reduce your consumption of, nicotine and all drinks containing caffeine and alcohol.

2. Indulge in Physical Activity: Work off stress with physical activities  like jogging, tennis, gardening.

3. Get More Sleep: Lack of rest just aggravates stress.

4.Try Relaxation Techniques: Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries.

5. Finding pleasure:  Do something that makes you feel good like starting an art project, taking a nature walk, watch an old movie, etc.

6. Talk to Someone: If something or someone is bothering you, try to communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way.

7. Keep a Stress Diary:  Each time you feel stressed, keep track of it in your journal. As you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and common themes.

8.Take Control:  If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

9.  Accept the things you can’t change: Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

10.       And most importantly, don’t sweat the small stuff ...and its all small stuff…