by Donovan Baldwin

Created on: July 25, 2009

Just as with so many other things, people seem to try too hard and get "stressed out" when it comes to trying to reduce stress!

When it comes to reducing stress, most people seem to want some sort of specific system, guidance, or what my wife calls a "recipe". They figure that someone will have to come along, take them by the hand, and show them the way.

Don't make it so hard! Some easy ways to reduce stress require absolutely no training or professional guidance at all!

In fact, if you want a great example of how to manage stress, take a look at a cat on a window sill sometime. I'm talking about the totally boneless appearance of complete relaxation which it achieves without benefit of bell, book, or candle.

Such simple things as laying down, taking a walk, watching birds, or reading a book for pleasure are great ways to reduce stress.

Many people worry that doing such things may be fine for the moment, but that stress will return when they put the book down, get back from the walk, or go back into the house.

Well, that IS true, but reducing stress is a learned phenomenon, and like so many things which must be learned, the lesson is not always completely understood until it has been repeated. Regularly allowing yourself to pursue other avenues which take you away from the sources of your stress, even if only for a while, will teach you ways to take yourself to a less stressful place automatically.

Additionally, each time you use some simple pleasure to reduce stress, though you return to the stress eventually, you return at a lower level and better equipped to cope with it. In fact, such simple things sometimes allow us the opportunity to solve, or at least untangle, the problems we were experiencing before we gave ourselves permission to escape for a while.

While it IS true that formal means of managing stress can be quite effective, they are not always necessary. My wife, for example, has never been able to master the art of meditation, yet can achieve an almost Zen-like peace simply by becoming immersed in her needlepoint. People find that some easy ways to reduce stress are prayer, strolling through beautiful surroundings, or simply by watching children play.

The trick is twofold: distract your mind and body from the source of stress while providing another subject to think about or activity to participate in. Studies have shown that people deeply immersed in prayer, or taking long walks, for example, get practially the same relaxation effects as someone engaged in meditation.

Whether your choice for reducing stress is to meditate or take a walk, doing it regularly as a daily activity will produce results.

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