by Jyoti Pandey

Created on: May 14, 2008   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Stress! Well that sounds a bit too familiar to a busy mom of a 6 year old and a 10 month old baby that I am. Lack of sleep, juggling with work and family, loads of other responsibilities to take care of as my husband mostly travels. "It must be really hard for you"?" I wonder how you deal with it". I hear these questions pretty much on a regular basis, and I would say, sometimes to the point of irritation. Earlier, even listening to it used to stress me out. I felt like telling people to mind their own business and not show me their concerns and neither are their suggestions welcome anymore!

Talk to a therapist and he'll suggest you to go get some rest and that will rejuvenate your spirit and mind. That however, is a luxury for me. People have their own ways of taking care of their problems which are unique to their situation. I devised a mantra to manage and reduce my stress as well.

Here's a list of what worked for me so well.

Exercise: That is a must. It has the power to alleviate your stress. Finding time will never be a problem if this can be inculcated into your daily routine just like brushing your teeth in the morning. Start with 30 minutes of walk daily. That nice cool breeze has the dynamic effect on our senses.

Deep Breathing: This can be done just before going to bed. Lay flat on your back and breathe deeply by filling air in your chest and then exhaling, remember to keep your mind focused only on breathing pattern throughout the process.
Warm shower: Yes, immerse yourself in that warm bath tub and feel the impact. Do it right before the bed time.

Eat Right: Lots of fruits and vegetables. And try not skipping any meals. A fit, active and light body affects our physical and mental energy.

Smile: Smile and laugh at your own problems. Sometimes that kind of work wonders. More often than not we want things in a certain way and when it doesn't happen that way, it stresses us out. Learn to laugh it out and smile through your problems. We get the best answers to our problems when we are happy and relaxed.

Perspective: "It's been raining since past three days and I hate it. I like the nice sunny days which is warm yet pleasant". Don't we say this all the time? I had exactly the same feeling when I woke up this morning, looked outside, it was wet and damp. It just put me off, and day looked more stressful. But after a while I stepped outside and started looking at that tree with leaves soaked with droplets of water, tried to keep my focus toward enjoying the weather,

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