by Jackie Bourke

Created on: April 28, 2009

Two simple lifestyle changes that will help you to eliminate stress are:

a. Training yourself to develop your sense of humour and

b. Using your imagination.

A little imagination goes a long way, and during times of stress we often lose sight of how to imagine ourselves in nice situations and find things to do to de-stress ourselves.

C'est la vie; often when we need something most it is furthest from our grasp and this is a vicious circle. So for that reason here are a few reminders and tips of easy ways to eliminate stress during this or any crisis.

1. Change your reactions little by little - bearing in mind that the traditional response to extreme stress is "fight or flight" it is important to change it up gradually.

This is a built in reaction and can often be used for situations where it is not really deserved. Check yourself the next time you feel yourself stressing out and ask yourself does this deserve a "fight or flight" reaction? When you start to see that you may be over-reacting sometimes this will put things into perspective and you will feel less stressed.

2. The world is falling apart all around us, between the economy, the very structure of society and now the pig flu. You are the only person who is responsible for your own happiness.

Remember that simple pleasures go a long way. Find something to luxuriate in, and run a bath, fill it with, my personal choice is J&E Atkinsons I Coloniali Energising Bath Cream with Olibanum. This is made up of olibanum plant extract which has very calming and soothing qualities according to ancient Indian medicine. Well works for me!

Turn on your favourite music and light a few candles, and transport yourself to another world.

3. Get out into nature......you may have heard this before, but it works. Even if the weather is not good, it is so important to make that effort, as most of us spend far too long every day in artificial surroundings and we were not actually designed for this. Although the computer generation will find that hard to believe...

4. Live in the moment one of humankind's most common mistakes is to live in the past or the future, and not in the moment.

We spend so much time regretting or looking back to the past, and apart from learning from our past experiences, the past should be left in the past. No harm to enjoy fond memories, just be healthy about this.

Or we look to the future, wondering if all will be ok, will we be successful, find love, have money, health etc. and while we're so busy with our thoughts

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