I’ve been taking a mindfulness-based stress reduction class at Palo Alto Medical Clinic, so the topic of using your mind to change your perception is of interest to me these days. I thought this was a good, short article on six things you can do to keep “stress in check.”
The six stress management techniques include:
- Be mindful of how you label things.
- Erase and replace.
- Use your imagination.
- Look at your life as a movie.
- Revisit what’s valuable.
- Stop by a graveyard.
I especially liked “Look at your life as a movie.” Here’s what the author has to say about this technique:
Look at your life as a movie.
You’re the director — you get to decide which events become catastrophe, and which don’t make the cut. This is a practice that involves stepping away. “Be the watcher rather than the reactor,” [Lauren E. Miller, author and stress expert] instructs. Look at a stressful moment as if it’s on screen — imagine the scene that initially caused you to feel stressed, and imagine your reaction to it. There’s a lot you can do with this power. You can add props (have the people who are making you feel threatened wear clown costumes, for example). You can make the aggressive characters in your life physically smaller, and decide that your voice is louder than all of the supporting actors of your life’s movie. Looking at a problem from this angle will remind you that you’re in control.
Here’s a link to the full article:
www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/stress-relief-tips-get-out-of-your-head_n_3562190.html
6 Mind Hacks That Keep Stress In Check (Really!)
The Huffington Post
By Kate Bratskeir
Posted: 07/16/2013 8:18 am EDT
Robin