More and more people have a nervous breakdown at the slightest problem. But how is it that some people like to parachute or bungee jump when so many others are afraid of just flying? What to say to those who never recover from the death of their loved one, when others find a bright opportunity for growth in it? It is a matter of personality, attitude and life experiences. The intensity of the stress reaction depends essentially on the message sent by the brain to the endocrine glands, and therefore on the person’s perception of the situation. Here are the best ways to get rid of stress and all negative thoughts.
Understanding the Mental Mechanisms of Stress
According psychologists Lazarus and Folkman, the mental process started by the appearance of a stressor includes two steps:
- Assessing the dangerousness of a stimulus. How bad is the situation for you? The answer would be determined by an impressive number of factors: temperament, education, social norms, culture, previous experiences, values, etc. For the most part, this evaluation is made unconsciously, using eminently subjective perceptions, thoughts, emotions, concepts and reasoning.
- Assessing your available resources to deal with stress. Can you get out of this mess? Do you have the needed resources which can be physical (health, strength, energy); material (money, equipment); social (friends, relatives, colleagues who can help you fight stress), psychological (self-confidence); or time?
The more negative the answers to these two questions are, the higher the level of the alarm signal sent by the brain to the metabolism is, and the more intense the physiological reactions will get.
Doing Breathing Exercises to Relieve Stress
Approaches that aim to sustainably help people experiencing stress problems, also called stress reduction programs, often focus an important part of the work on attitude modification and respiratory control. Taking a deep breath, preferably in a quiet place, allows to reduce stress instantly and durably. You can do it any time and almost everywhere. Some people even combine breathing exercises with yoga or meditation for better effects on stress and anxiety.
On the other hand, it has been proved that intermittent breathing is excellent to relieve stress on the long run. One of the goals is to know how to breathe correctly to fight against negativity. You can learn more about it on intermittent-breathing.com. You will also find a lot of anti-stress breathing advices on that specialized website.
