Who's in Control?

Stress sometimes seems like it's a prevalent part of our lives; that our lives are crazy and out of control, and that there's very little we can do about that. In reality, we are very much in control of the decisions we make. "The simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management" (helpguide.org). We make decisions almost constantly that effect our level of stress. When we realize how we may be causing ourselves to feel additional stress, we are in a position to change it.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a talk entitled "Good, Better, Best" that can help us understand how to prioritize our lives. You can read that here if you want help deciding what in your life is good, what is better, and what is best. You are in control of your life and you can make decisions to help you reduce your stress. What better time to start than today? Start by thinking about what is important in your life, then prioritize what is most important to you and what is essential for you to achieve your goals. You will notice as the less important tasks drop out that your stress level will decrease too.

Stress and Headaches

Constant psychological stress can lead to muscle tension, pain, and headaches. This article from the Mayo Clinic offers several helpful ideas to help decrease headaches over time. Some of the suggestions may feel difficult to implement (e.g. relaxing for a few minutes each day, taking a break) but as you try them, you will notice a difference in your overall health and stress levels. Try it out and see what works for you!

Why our bodies respond to stress

Stress & Memory

Secret Signs of Stress

Performance Rehearsal

Performance rehearsal is utilizing the power of mental imagery to bring about a better performance, or to promote successful behavior change. Performance rehearsal utilizes techniques from visualization, so if visualization is easy for you, performance rehearsal is likely to also be easier for you.

To begin, practice a previously acquired relaxation skill such as deep breathing or body scanning. When you have done this and feel relaxed, think of an upcoming situation of which you are afraid. This could be a test, a musical or sports performance, a job interview, or just about anything. Come up with a plan of how you would like to act in that situation. Anticipate problems that could arise and role play in your mind how to deal with those problems.

Be sure to imagine the scene in total detail- where you are, what you are wearing, every step, and every thought that would occur as you do the task. See yourself executing your task perfectly. Develop strategies to overcome any negative things that may occur. See and feel yourself calm, focused, and confident.

The more you mentally rehearse your role in this event, the more likely you will be to handle the situation in a successful way. In the real-life situation, you can become the person you have mentally rehearsed to be.

Body Scan

Body scanning is a quick way to relax your body. It involves going from head to toe, looking for tension in different areas of the body, then letting go of that tension.

Begin by focusing on your scalp and noticing any tension, discomfort, tightness, or pain in that area of your body. Study the tension, then slowly let go of it. Let the scalp muscles smooth out. Now move your attention to your forehead and notice any tension, tightness, wrinkles, or discomfort. Slowly let go of the tension by letting the muscles smooth out and feel relaxed. Then move to your next area of your body, the jaw. Notice the tightness and tension in your jaw muscles and let it go by letting your jaw become loose and slack.

You can do the rest on your own by going through these parts of the body:
Shoulders
Arms & hands
Upper back, middle back, & lower back
Abdomen/stomach
Hamstring & thigh muscles
Knees
Calf Muscles
Ankles
Feet

Next, be aware of your entire body and notice if some tension has slipped back in to a part of the body. Passively focus on that part of your body, then let it go.

You can take as much or as little time to do a body scan as you want to. It can take 1 minute or 20 minutes, but either way, you should feel relaxed and refreshed afterwards.