They say that you are what you eat, and your diet can have a major bearing on your psychological as well as your physical health. Some stress triggers are beyond our control and we have to find ways to deal with them. There are others that we can influence to make things easier on ourselves. Your diet is one thing you can control. So, is the food you eat helping to reduce your stress, or is it working against you?

Good for Stress

• Oily fish
• Skinless chicken
• Low-fat dairy products
• Unrefined wholefoods – wholemeal bread, pasta, rice, oats
• Fruit

Bad for Stress

• Red meat
• Processed foods
• Sugary foods
• Junk food
• Alcohol
• Caffeine

These lists probably look familiar. When it comes to many aspects of health, the same foods keep cropping up as the good or bad guys.

The Bullet Points

Oily fish, such as Tuna, Herring, Sardines and mackerel contain Omega-3, which has a positive impact on the nervous system. This gives rise to the idea that eating fish makes you more intelligent. Helps to prevent against a range of other conditions. Chicken, without the skin which contains the fat, is preferable to red meat but be careful of the source. Some supermarket chicken is water and chemicals and virtually no nutritional value. I personally couldn’t have a diet without red meat but keep it lean and avoid sausages and burgers.

After several years of skimmed milk,(less than 0.1% fat), normal milk or cream actually feel oily on my palate. And I never thought I would say it, but I am starting to prefer no or low meat versions of some traditional dishes such as chili. Looking back, meals with high meat content did tend to make me feel sluggish and less ready to cope with things. There are an amazing variety of fruits available these days and everybody should be able to find something they like.

The bad list speaks for itself. I enjoy my wine and beer too much to cut it out completely but I do feel better drinking moderately. When I have a drink I savour it rather than letting it be a habit. As for caffeine, you can buy decaffinated coffee that tastes good! Honestly! And we all know that ready meals and take aways are full of sugar, salt and chemicals to preserve them and make them taste of anything. They might give you a quick high but how do you feel later?

Do you really want to go from one instant buzz to the next when you could feel good all of the time. It doesn’t take a drastic change to your diet to get it working for you instead of against you. And the more you use food to reduce your stress, the better you tend to like it. You could soon be finding that the healthier options are seeming more attractive than the junk.

We’ve all heard that old saying, ‘Out of sight is out of mind’. But when it comes to stress relief, that is definitely not true. You may have pushed whatever is triggering your stress out of your conscious mind, but it is still there in the background, eating away at you.

It is tempting to push it out of your awareness and hope it will go away, but that rarely happens. I know from my own experience that get we sometimes get stressed about things that are much less important than we imagine. But usually, there is a cause that needs to be dealt with.

A scenario

Imagine that debt is the issue. Your credit card bills arrive and you push them unopened into a drawer. You don’t even want to know the magnitude of the debt. You are able to put them out of your mind but the problem is still there, and growing. Interest is piling up and failure to make payments is damaging your credit rating.

Deep down, you are aware of this. It is like a computer program that is minimized on the task bar. You can’t see it but it is using some of your resources and impacting your ability to deal with other stuff in your life. It is taking space in your memory and damaging your capacity to make decisions.

Free your mind

Where there is a very real issue to be dealt with, you should do it and do it early. The reality is rarely as bad as you imagine it will be. Even if it is, it won’t be improved by delaying. While you are not taking action, you are suffering unecessarily.

Take out those bills and open them. Add up the outstanding amoounts and write it down. Once it is on paper, you don’t need to clutter your mind with it. You can start to think and take practical steps. Approach your creditors and explain your difficulties. They aren’t ogres, they are business people.

Working it out

It is in their interest to help you to resolve the situation so that they can recover the debt. Chances are that you will be able to agree a repayment plan that you can afford. Once you can see the debt reducing, even by a little, you feel that you have some kind of control again. It is almost like a physical weight being lifted off you.

Whatever your particular stress factor, it may be beneficial to write about it. Not for anyone else to see, just for you. When you bring it into the cold light of day, it might not seem so scary. Once it is on paper it is a case of ‘in sight and out of mind‘. This may sound weird but it works, I’ve tried it.

Here are some of the common stressors in the workplace and ways to handle them:

Unprofessional Co-Workers

Most of us have had to deal with rude co-workers at one time or another. Having to be exposed to that rudeness can be stressful for anyone, reducing their job performance in the process.

Several means of handling this type of problem exist. Here it’s important to choose your battles. If you can ignore the rude behavior and get your work done, let it go if at all possible.

If this tactic doesn‘t work, try discussing the problem with them directly. There are times when they may be unaware of the way their attitude comes across to others. An open and honest conversation can be a simple solution that brings down the stress level immediately.

If talking it out doesn’t correct the situation, make an appointment to talk with your supervisor to let him or her know the extent of it and how it’s affecting your job performance. Your boss may choose to take charge and bring correction so that everyone can do their job more effectively.

Poor Management

Maybe your nasty cube-mate isn’t the problem but your horribly demanding manager is. Tolerating a boss who’s unfair or belligerent can send your stress level through the roof. Try discussing your issues with him or her before taking any further action to remedy the problem.

Bosses have bosses too. If a manager is creating an uncomfortable or stressing work environment for you do not hesitate to involve their supervisor in your complaints. As with co-workers you will want to make sure that your complaints are factual, non-emotional, and supported by appropriate documentation. Write down offenses and document all inappropriate behavior before bringing the case to upper level management

Most companies do not want the hassle and expense of employing new staff. In most cases, if the offenses of the manager are valid they will take steps to correct the behaviors and resolve any problems. Do not allow poor management to cause you undue stress. Take action for your own sake!

Increased Workload

Having more work than you can handle will inevitably result in much more stress for you. Take on only what you can handle at one time. Ask for help from others and be willing to reciprocate and help them when they need it. A lot of things can be accomplished with teamwork.

Discovering, reducing, or eliminating workplace stress where possible is a positive step towards having a fulfilling and productive work experience. Stress in the workplace is inevitable, but correctly managing stress can help prevent job burnout and increase job satisfaction.

Get Josh Murphy’s latest free report ‘Self-Care Boot Camp’ – jam-packed with more great stress relief information at StressReliefTipsWeekly.com. Check out the site for more great info on topis like stress and marriage as well as a free weekly newsletter that subscribers can’t get enough of!

There has always been stress but our modern lifestyle has made it a common part of daily life. Technology, instead of giving us more freedom, has increased the pace of life. It gives us more stimulation; more things we need to do and makes us always contactable wherever we are. To keep on top of things and to protect our mental health, we need techniques to relieve the stress and give ourselves a break.

Forms of Stress Relief

There are many forms of stress relief work for different people when they are feeling harassed. If you are familiar with meditation techniques, it could be just a matter of sitting for ten minutes and stilling your mind and blocking out the constant chatter that normally goes on in your head. It could be a few days in the country or at the beach. It is important that this is regarded as a positive action. Taking control of the situation and not just running away from the problem.

Listening to music works for some people. This doesn’t have to be music that would normally be regarded as soothing and calming. We don’t all have the same taste when it comes to music. Some pounding heavy metal might do it for you, if you associate it with good times. Other people think that soothing sounds are better than music, for examples, rain, crashing waves, whale song and others.

Stress Relief Games

Games and pastimes can also provide respite from pressure, anxiety and stress. This again is a matter of personal preference. Many people find that mental stimulation of a different type than their work is effective. Crossword puzzles, Sudoku and other logic puzzles can be a form of stress relief. For some, even electronic games can be a stress reliever rather than a cause.

For other individuals, what works is a physical game involving effort and sweat. The reasons for this are obvious. It burns off excess energy and allows adrenaline produced by the stressful situation to be flushed from the system.

It would be a great idea to plan ahead and have some of these techniques in place before you really need them. Practice them regularly to stop stress from building into a major problem. So what’s your favourite stress relief game?