The first thing to do is just breathe. The more stressed you are, the faster you breathe. Now you are taking shallow breaths as well. You are depriving your brain and internal organs of vital oxygen and that can only contribute to your stress — both mental and physical.

Taking slow, deep breaths of fresh air helps relax the body and clear the mind. Be consciously aware of your breaths. Count a long 10 in and a long 10 out. In a few moments you will feel calmer and the situation will not seem to be quite so intense.

Take a walk outside or find a quiet spot and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature while taking in deep cleansing breaths of fresh air. As you breathe out, visualize the tension going out of you like black smoke.

Take a few moments of silence. Turn off the TV, radio, computer, and phones for a few minutes every day. These noises, sounds and bad news that are received can be a source of stress, taking a break from them can help to relieve it. Quiet time away from co-workers and family even for just 5 minutes can be rejuvenating.

Calm the mind, or meditate. Sit in a comfortable position, eyes closed and take deep breaths, paying attention to the natural rise and fall of the chest and the number of breaths.

Sleep. If one does not get enough sleep and the body and mind are not well rested it is difficult to cope with stressful situations. Go to bed a little earlier. Take a short cat nap. Do not nap for more than 10 minutes otherwise you can disrupt your regular sleep patterns.

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Stress is stress even if the cause is a joyful event. My oldest daughter and the grandchildren moved to Florida a year ago. They are returning to San Antonio in just a few weeks. Joyful event to be sure.

I am trying to assist in the finding of a rental home. They will eventually buy something but not until they have a chance to check out the homes for themselves. Now this is stress. This is not the cheapest place in the country to live. They have a specific ceiling on how much they are willing to spend on rent and that may put them into an apartment - which is not what they want.

We have a large crack in our swimming pool that is causing water to leak at a rate of about 3″ a day. Needless to say I stopped putting in water and can therefore not run the pump or filter. I pulled 3 frogs out of the pool yesterday which tells you just how bad it is. The repair people will be here next week. A joyful event but the bill is giving me lots of stress. And having to wait 2 weeks for the repair is stressful.

I snapped at my youngest daughter today over a relatively minor thing. That is just not me. I keep reminding myself - just slow down and breathe. One way or another this will all work out and soon I will be enjoying my children and grandchildren in a sparkling pool.

Sometimes that is all you can do with a stressful situation - wait for it to pass.

Sharon

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