Stress is the feeling you get when you begin to worry, breathe rapidly, and tense your scalp, face, or neck muscles. The stress response was critical for the survival of our ancestors who were constantly exposed to the dangers of predators such as the saber-toothed tiger. While stressed, large amounts of adrenaline were released into their blood, making our ancestors stronger, faster, and more alert - enabling them to escape danger.

Stress started out as a necessary response. But as humans became more and more civilized and industrialized, ultimately leaving the jungle behind, the stress response became less and less necessary.

THE PROBLEM

The problem is that the human environment evolved faster than the human body, leaving us with the maladaptive response called stress.

Currently, we're no longer being chased by wild animals trying to eat us. Nevertheless, we're being chased by financial, marital, or occupational trouble; and we react to these troubles the same way as being chased by wild animals. Though we don't physically run or fight, large amounts of adrenaline get released into our bloodstream, accelerating our breathing, tensing our muscles, and heightening our alertness.

Vigorous physical activity is necessary to help the body de-stress itself. Our ancestors did this by fighting or running away from predators. Since financial, marital, and occupational troubles don't necessarily involve vigorous physical activity, our bodies don't de-stress properly, leaving us with tense muscles, high blood pressure, headaches, skin rash, and mental agitation.

With all our pent-up stress, it's no wonder that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among present-day people.

You may be saying right about now: "Okay, I'm under a lot of stress. What can I do about it?" There are five things you can do: exercise, meditate, progressively relax, pray, and affirm.

EXERCISE

Exercise is the most natural way to de-stress your body. After all, this is how your ancestors de-stressed. The need to exercise is almost hardwired into the human body. Aerobic exercises such as walking, running, swimming, and dancing are very effective de-stressors. If you aerobically exercise daily, you'll have no trouble de-stressing.

"But what if I've no time to aerobically exercise," you say. Perhaps you work 80 hours per week, leaving you with very little time to go walking, running, swimming, or dancing. You can still exercise, if you choose a time-efficient non-aerobic exercise such as isometrics. Rather than improving blood circulation and oxygen consumption as aerobic exercise does, isometrics just strengthens muscles.

Isometrics involves contracting specific muscle groups with little movement if any.

• For example, if you want to strengthen your thigh muscles, while standing, you can bend your knees at a 90-degree angle and hold that position for as long as possible. Doing this particular exercise will only take a few seconds to a few minutes. 
• To strengthen your chest muscles, you can do a push-up to the halfway point and hold that position for as long as possible.
• To strengthen your stomach muscles, you can do a partial sit-up to a 30-degree angle and hold that position for as long as possible.
• I think you get the point. With a little creative thinking, you can come up with isometric exercises for almost any muscle group.

I exercise all of my muscle groups daily by doing isometric exercises, and it only takes me approximately 15 minutes per day!

MEDITATION

Meditation is another way to cure stress. Meditation is an ancient practice originating from the Far East. Though there are different ways to meditate, all of the ways consist of slowing down one's breathing, deepening one's breathing, and focusing one's mind on a particular thing.

Breathing and the stress response are intimately related. In order to be fully stressed, you must breathe rapidly and shallowly. The slower and deeper you breathe, the less stressed you'll be, ultimately eliminating stress altogether.

Are you feeling stressed? Ready to meditate? Okay, let's do it.

1. First, either sit down slouchily in a comfortable chair or lie down in a comfortable bed.
2. Next, relax your breathing until you're breathing slowly, rhythmically, and deeply. Make sure you're breathing through your belly and not your chest. To ensure this, place your hands on your belly. Your hands should rise up and down.
3. Next, it's time to focus your mind on a particular thing. So each time you exhale air from your belly, you're to say or think the number one.
4. Do this for about 30 minutes daily.

Meditation de-stresses you in two ways. The slow, rhythmic, and deep breathing calms your body. The saying or thinking the number one during each exhalation focuses your mind, preventing it from worrying.

PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION

If you talk to a psychotherapist about your stress problem, he'll probably recommend that you do progressive relaxation regularly to help you de-stress. Progressive relaxation works particularly well on relaxing tense muscles. Chronically tense muscles can be very painful. The tension can bring sharp pain and pressure to your head, jaw, neck, and around your eyes. It can even cause herky-jerky movements of your head or face, publicly embarrassing you.

Do you feel like your head is in a vice? Yes? Then let's progressively relax.

1. First, lie down relaxedly in a comfortable bed.
2. Then tense and relax each muscle group, starting from your scalp muscles and working down to your feet muscles.
3. Some muscle groups may still be tense. If so, begin tensing and relaxing these muscle groups only. Repeat until they become completely relaxed.
4. Do this for about 30 minutes daily.

PRAYER

Currently, prayer is a controversial practice. It's been banned from public schools. Furthermore, researchers who have studied the effectiveness of prayer are divided. Some say prayer effectively changes things; others say it's useless.

Despite the controversy and disagreement, prayer can be very effective in eliminating stress. It does so in two ways: First, prayer allows you to vent your problems to a Higher Power that never interrupts you. Second, prayer encourages you to think positive - because it makes you believe that a Higher Power is helping and empowering you.

As you know, venting your problems, frustrations, and worries to a good listener makes you feel a whole lot better - a whole lot calmer. That's why friends are important. And if you don't have any friends, you always have a Higher Power to vent to.

Negative thinkers are the most stressed-out group of people. If you've ever met anyone who is paranoid or clinically depressed, you'll know what I mean. So the more positive your thinking is, the more relaxed you'll be. And if you aren't born positive, you can always make yourself positive by praying.

AFFIRMATIONS

An affirmation is an idea that you deliberately think about over and over again. Theoretically, an affirmation is supposed to change your current situation to a more positive one.

For example, if you're a college student and want to improve your grades, you can say to yourself: "I'm an 'A' student. I always get 'A's on my tests and assignments." If you say this several times a day with feeling, you're supposed to be more motivated to study, thus improving your grades.

The Affirmation Theory makes intuitive sense: If you mentally focus on a particular thing often, you're probably going to be very motivated to go after it, eventually achieving the very thing that you were focused on.

Affirmations can be used to attain almost anything, including inner peace. Let's say that you're very stressed-out and need to come up with an effective affirmation to de-stress yourself. Let's say that you're also a Christian. Given this, you should choose a Christian affirmation that promotes inner peace. Why a Christian affirmation? Because you already believe that it's true!

Instead of working hard to convince yourself that a particular secular affirmation is true, if you choose a Christian affirmation, you don't have to work hard.

Now let's look at the following Christian passage John 14:26-27 (New International Version):

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Simply put, this passage appears to be saying that God, in Jesus' name, will send you the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit appears to be peace-giving. So you can affirm, "I'm filled with the Holy Spirit, therefore I'm filled with peace."

Don't you feel your stress just melt away?

CONCLUSION

This article discusses five high-grade methods to cure your stress quickly and effectively. Which method should you use? That depends on your personality type.

• If you're athletic, you may want to use the exercise method of curing stress. Exercise is the most natural method to de-stress your body. Even animals use this method to de-stress. If you're very stressed-out, I think that you should, at the very least, use the exercise method.
• If you're spiritual, you may want to use the meditation or prayer method of curing stress. Meditation and prayer have been used by monks, priests, yogis, sages, and other enlightened individuals to attain a deep state of peace. With practice, you too can attain a deep state of peace by using meditation or prayer.
• If you're psychological, you may want to use the progressive relaxation method of curing stress. This method is popularly recommended by social workers, counselors, and psychologists. Progressive relaxation particularly works well on loosening tight muscles.
• Or if you're scientific, you may want to use the affirmation method of curing stress. Affirmations have been recommended by Napoleon Hill (Think & Grow Rich), Claude M. Bristol (The Magic of Believing), Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking), and to some extent Rhonda Byrne (The Secret). The Affirmation Theory states that thoughts affect emotions; emotions affect behaviors; behaviors affect situations. Scientists have proven these causal links to exist.

Experiment; try them all; see which method works best for you.

By Al A. Gammate
The Guaranteed Cure Company TM
http://www.theguaranteedcure.com/

Copyright © 2008 -- Al A. Gammate -- All Rights Reserved