Stress & Relaxation Resources
Self Help Resources Stress & Relaxation
Stress & Relaxation Resources
- A "Prezi" on Stress Management
- Once in the presentation, expand to "full screen." This presentation allows you to go at your own pace: click on the forward arrow each time you wish to advance.
- Padlet: Stress Less- useful information, tips, videos on stress and relaxation
- Stress Management: 2 minute YouTube Video
- Twenty Self-Help Suggestions
- Books
- Apps & Websites
Stress Management Video
Twenty Self-Help Suggestions
- Take on a Coping Attitude
- Learn to Learn
- Hear What Your Body Is Telling You
- Learn How to Use Relaxation Techniques
- Respect Your Feelings
- Benefit from Your Thoughts
- Practice Assertion
- Confide In a Friend
- Come Face to Face with Your Problems
- Attempt to Solve Your Problems
- Act on Your Solutions
- Make Mistakes
- Employ a Self-Help List
- Concentrate on Yourself
- Respect Others
- Plan Goals for Your Future
- Recognize the Importance of Time Management
- Have Fun
- Seek Assistance
- Give Change a Chance
Take on a Coping Attitude
- Although you are unlikely to change all of the problem areas in your life, you will always be able to control how you cope with them.
- A coping attitude focuses on the choices we have available to us, even if we choose to do nothing at all.
Learn to Learn
- Understand that productive living is achieved through the application of living skills, and all skills can be learned.
- Concentrate your efforts on learning new, positive skills.
Hear What Your Body Is Telling You
- Physical symptoms such as headaches, backpain, and stomach irritation can be signs of chronic stress.
- Let your body be an HMO for good emotional and physical health.
Learn How to Use Relaxation Techniques
- Meditation, imagery, and muscle relaxation can all help to reduce the stress of a fast-paced lifestyle.
- Choose a technique that fits you and be aware of its importance to your healthy existence.
Respect Your Feelings
- Feelings can help guide and motivate us to change problem areas.
- Feelings deserve attention and validation.
Benefit from Your Thoughts
- Thinking guides your behavior.
- Thinking things out helps us decide if and how we shall act on our feelings.
- Thinking is a skill which can be developed.
Practice Assertion
- Just be yourself.
- Begin to recognize your thoughts and feelings, pay attention to what they are telling you.
- Express yourself in an open and straightforward fashion. This will increase the likelihood of others understanding you as well as your feeling understood.
Confide In a Friend
- Let yourself share your thoughts and feelings with others whom you trust.
- If it is difficult for you to share feelings, let your friends know.
- Friendship and social support can be very helpful during life crises.
Come Face to Face with Your Problems
- As difficult as it might seem, confronting problems can provide opportunities for change and greater awareness.
- Try to view your problems as challenges which will ultimately improve your life.
Attempt to Solve Your Problems
- Answers to life problems require consideration and the weighing of alternate solutions.
- There is seldom one simple, correct answer.
- Observe how valued others solve their problems.
- Remember to assume a "coping" attitude.
- Solving problems is a skill that improves with practice.
Act on Your Solutions
- Decide what action you are going to take even if you aren't sure about the results.
- Consider coming to some resolution of your dreams as well as your problems.
Make Mistakes
- Attempt to learn from your mistakes.
- Remember that mistakes reflect behaviors not your personality, so just because you make a mistake doesn't mean you are one.
- Allow yourself to take risks and realize that making mistakes is a normal part of life.
Employ a Self-Help List
- Develop a list of things to do which will help you feel better when feeling disturbed or helpless.
- Consider things which have been helpful in similar situations. Some suggestions are exercising, a soothing shower or bath, talking with a trusted friend, watching a movie, etc.
- Be sure to keep the list with you in case you need to use it.
- Maintain and upgrade the list as you begin to explore new ways of helping yourself cope with adversity.
Concentrate on Yourself
- Know what your needs are and respect them.
- Allow yourself space to be creative. Try new things to make life exciting.
- Make a point to indulge yourself on occasion. Even little things like getting a massage or going out to dinner can make you feel better.
Respect Others
- Recognize and pay attention to the needs of others.
- Kindness breeds kindness. It is likely that if you show love to others they will reciprocate.
- Caring sometimes involves taking risks.
Plan Goals for Your Future
- Know where you are going.
- Develop a list of objectives and create a general timeline for their achievement.
- Imagine what your life will be like after accomplishing these goals.
Recognize the Importance of Time Management
- Prioritize your daily activities so that the most important steps toward your future are taken first.
- Understand that people do not find time, they make it.
- Take time to make time.
Have Fun
- Set aside time for open, spontaneous, and imaginative play.
- Explore new activities.
- Engage in practiced activities which are gratifying.
Seek Assistance
- Getting help is a healthy choice if things are going badly and you believe you could benefit from it.
- Realize that we can't always do it alone - we all get help sometimes.
Give Change a Chance
- Express your real feelings.
- Allow yourself to experience some anxiety - it motivates change.
- Trust your counselor - he/she is there to help you.
Books
- Benson, Herbert and Klipper, Miriam. The Relaxation Response. HarperCollins; Reissue edition; 2009.
- Kabat-Zinn, Jon
- Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness
- Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
- Mindfulness for Beginners
- Guided Mindfulness Meditation Series 1
- Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness
- McKay, Matthew et al. The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook). New Harbinger; 6th edition; 2008.
- Oliver, Clarence. The 5-Minute Stress Solutions: Relax and Feel Great in 5-Minutes or Less. Amazon Digital Book; 2013. Only 55 pages; available electronically only. There are many relaxation and meditation books for Kindle that can be borrowed for free and/or that are available for a negligible cost-- just do a search.
- Stahl, Bob et al. A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook. New Harbinger; 2010.
Apps for Relaxation and Stress Management
- Apps for iOS
- Apps for Android
- A Student's Guide to Balancing Stress at BestColleges.com
Self Help Resources
Stress & Relaxation