7 Steps to Stress Relief and Moving Forward

Root Cause of Stress

Stress is due to uncertainty (about future or about way to proceed), which comes from lack of clarity on current situation.

It can be financial or work related, it can be about big business decisions, it may be due to poor communication with people or a misunderstanding with a partner, or emotional such us lack of relationship and/or love.

Stress manifests in various ways - some clear and obvious, others rather subtle. For example I wasn't enjoying social interactions (friends or events) or when learning new things (cooking class). I was also drinking 3+ cups of coffee per day, overeating, overall not being sharp and full of energy, and feeling certain state of helplessness.

Stress can also be much more serious and manifest itself as a very heavy depression or even suicidal thoughts, mainly due to powerlessness. The struggle with money and people can be really draining.

When something like that happened to me, I eventually realized that there is no magic key and I needed to keep working on myself: learn my lessons and create something of value, ie. pay even greater price in terms of time, energy, and money.

All those realizations took me away from the bad thoughts, which I had to acknowledge and accept to move pass them. This is a very important step, step #1 - I can't stress it enough.

If you don't feel happy by default, at all times, despite how bad do you think it is (being broke or sick), you've got some work to do.

After you've spent some time on personal development and seemingly nothing has changed in your life, yet you actually feel happy, grateful for life opportunity and admire the beauty of the world, you are on the right track.

Consider the size of the mountain in front of you. Sometimes it appears tiny, other times it is huge. The size of the mountain is always the same. It is only your perception that changes.
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The best way to predict the future is to create it.
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At this point you have a solid action plan (creating and delivering value), and you trust and believe that anything that happens, happens for a good reason (soon or eventually).

See, the way to live life without stress is to feel certain about the future. You have to do your best to design and create your own future (ie. be proactive vs. reactive). When you provide genuinely good value, things will align to support you. I know this for sure.

Stress Relief in 7 steps

Step 1

The first step to overcoming stress is to actually realize and acknowledge that you are stressed. Then make a strong decision to change that. You can say a positive affirmation to yourself, such as:

I know I am going through challenging times right now, but I am strong, intelligent and persistent; I can and I will get through this. I will make my life amazing and beautiful.

Step 2

Step two is to take a day to do something nice for yourself, have few moments of bliss, and relax as much as possible. Try to make the "something" healthy and empowering. Reflect on your body for a moment, feel what hurts and how, what is the emotion, what is missing. Then give it to yourself to your best ability. You may want to write all this down.

The idea here is to get your mind ready for thinking clearly and constructively, so you can act with enthusiasm, creativity and positive action.

Step 3

Step number three is take your time and get absolutely clear on what you REALLY WANT. Be careful not to slip into the area of what you don't want - focus on what you DO WANT. What is the best-case scenario, the ideal situation - think like anything is possible!

See my "Why Should I Change?" article for inspiration and howto.

Step 4

Step four is to eliminate uncertainty right now. Research whether someone has already dealt with similar dilemma and documented it on the web or in a book. Study all related options, solutions, biographies, success stories and if possible seek an expert who can guide you through it.

Sometimes you can remove uncertainty by making a simple phone call or having an open and honest conversation with someone. Quick tip: talk in the "I-language": "I feel hurt when...", "I feel neglected when...", or "I feel misunderstood when..."

Step 5

Optional step five is to think about your worst-case scenario, make a contingency plan, really prepare for it the best you can (eg. have backup and required tools), and be absolutely mentally ready to execute that plan. Then realize that your worst-case didn't happen yet, so you can let go of worrying about it; however, now you are fully prepared to handle it.

When I was ready to file for bankruptcy, aside from doing thorough research and organizing all my paperwork I mentally let go of all my current possessions and various benefits.

Step 6

Step number six is to contrive a long-term solution, plan, or purpose (step 2 & 3) so that this uncertainty doesn't happen again. It is very important to be ready to follow it, even if it means sacrificing certain things (social meet-ups, unhealthy foods, unhealthy habits, etc).

Also prepare your work environment for action (declutter and dust-off surfaces, organize your desk, get healthy food and snacks, put on your favourite/relaxing/action music).

Step 7

Start! Follow the plan not matter what. Just do it, even for 2 minutes. This tiny progress will magically shift your mind into a productive state and you will be on your way. JUST START! Whenever you slip back into stress, repeat all steps as necessary.

One of my friends made this important observation:

After the amount of stress I've been through the past few weeks, I still carry the lesson of letting go. You can't take any of the stress with you. While you're IN IT, it seems like you'll never make it, but then when it's OVER, it's nothing but a story to tell...

* just make sure to make the story inspirational, or forever hold your peace.

More information
Click here for the complete article on Stress Relief.

UPDATE: I posted a money eBook about getting started with making money online. If you are subscribing to the Practical Wellness Guide newsletter, you probably already know about it. Otherwise please visit my Products and Resources page for the Getting started with making money online eBook.

Help the body heal itself - Healing Energy

On the regular basis, the mainstream medicine to diagnose and treat medical ailments and acute illnesses is the way to go. All the various scientific studies, quality control, rigorous standards, and widely tested effectiveness makes the conventional medicine a logical and safe choice.

However, in addition to the regular scientific ways, I am fascinated by the complementary alternative medicine and treatments as a way to enhance the self-healing power of the body. I have personally experienced the healing power of various pressure point and energetic therapies.

When recovering from my accident I utilized a lot of Shiatsu massages, acupuncture (neck, feet and knees) and Chinese medicine. I followed all that with chiropractic adjustments to put things back the right way. Many consider my speedy recovery to be a miracle.

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture promotes health and alleviates pain and suffering by achieving effective blood circulation and normalizing the flow of the life energy ("Chi") in the body. By stimulating the body's network of meridian lines through which Chi flows, acupuncture accelerates the self-healing capability of the body and boosts the immune system.

My skiing accident caused my Chi to be completely disrupted (I felt very weak) and my neck muscles were completely seized. I couldn't move my head either sideways or up and down. In addition to physiotherapy, I also had acupuncture sessions (4 per week) and take-home custom-prepared Chinese Medicine (it was awful, but it worked). After each session my neck movement range was greater and my thinking speed and personal power was improving.

I also used acupuncture to heal my chronically hurting knees. After just a few sessions, I no longer felt the cold related or the severe pains in the knees, my arches were no longer hurting, and my daily lower back pains were completely gone. I could now walk around much longer distances and with my posture perfectly straight I felt overall healthier and more confident.

After about 15 sessions, all the pains were completely gone. I even noticed an improvement in the arches of my feet. They were less flat! That was an unthinkable transformation after having flat feet for years!

See a comprehensive list of conditions that acupuncture treatments can alleviate.

Shiatsu Massage

One day I got up feeling like I need something, a boost, a fix, a shift, something. I took a bath, but it didn't help. It was a beautiful and sunny today, which did help a bit. I tried just deciding to feel different, but I was too far down the joy scale. After trying a few more things I finally concluded that I needed to cleanse and detox my body. I decided a Shiatsu session would take care of that nicely, a side-benefit of a deep tissue pressure.

At the Shiatsu Clinic I go to I asked for a cleansing session. Shortly after and another hot bath (recommended after Shiatsu), I felt so much internally lighter, cleaner and smoother - like I just had an oil changed to a high-end synthetic. Posture was back, power voice was back, and strong eye contact was back. Definitively felt better and more grounded (legs felt more solid and heavier on the ground), and the crappy feeling dissolved from the inside.

Shiatsu deep tissue massage is also ideal a day after an intensive workout (power or cardio) to loosen the tight and tense muscles and prevent forming of knots. It also relaxes you, improves mood, and improves the flow of Chi in the body - the healing life force.

Benefit for women: Shiatsu helps to alleviate menstrual cramping and discomfort by calming the nervous system, relaxing muscle spasms in the uterus and promoting the smooth release of blood.

Quality varies between places and practitioners, so ask a friend for recommendation or do your own research. Some health insurance plans cover Shiatsu massage if the practitioner is registered (RMT) - check with your insurance provider.

Reiki

Reiki is a Japanese healing and relaxation therapy administered through a very gentle touch. Practitioner places hands along energy centers and pathways on the head, neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, legs and feet. Reiki balances the body's energy on physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels, thus speeds up the self-healing processes of the body.

My first Reiki session was incredibly healing. The light, the heat, the relaxation, the peace, the calmness. When [the practitioner, my very good friend] was done I said: "so that's what heaven feels like!" I felt so good after: stronger, more confident, more whole, very grounded and centered, posture and solid walk was back.

She told me I have 2 areas of concern: knees and throat. I gotta use the knee heaters more. For throat I need a singer's advice how to take care of it. She also told me that I love open space and distance, and I am fascinated by fire. Yep! Plus showed me Dalai Lama's take on self-worth. I have it and just must really realize it.

She also felt the energy that I long for a companion. Thus the message I received in meditation: "say yes to reasonable offer, say yes to love," at least for some time.

Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is a relaxed, slow-paced and meditative type of yoga, yet still physical and challenging. It involves simple breathing exercises, whole body stretching, static strength poses, and above all it is very relaxing.

It is perfect after a long day at work or when you need to relax in a healthy and productive manner (as opposed to watching TV). Classes and instructors vary, so try different few and pick the one which works best for you, ie. puts you in a heavenly state.

Every time I attend Helen's Hatha Yoga class (2-3 times per month) it does me so well. The class has the perfect pace, the perfect flow, the perfect transitions, the perfect stretch, and just the right difficulty level. It is also the perfect energy boost and provides me with a great maintenance of the body, mind and spirit.

Few random tips from personal experience:

Hot Hatha Yoga has the extra bonus of heat, which makes stretching easier and you also break some serious sweat. For me Heat Yoga is very bearable, but it's not for everyone. Trick is not to eat heavy before the class and drink plenty of water during the class.

Slow and calm yoga is good and relaxing, but one must practice the overall balance (ying-yang) and do some energetic and explosive exercise as well (eg. circuit training or fast active sports).

When doing the tree pose, one must focus on one spot in order to stay balanced and maintain the pose. One must be fully alert and present, yet relaxed.

Consider Qi Gong (Chi Kung) or Tai Chi as alternatives to Hatha Yoga if you're slightly older.

More information

Click here the complete article on Healing Energy and Alternative Medicine.

Personal Health Care and Wellness

True health is harmony between the individual (body, mind, heart and soul) and his or her environment.
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Your personal health care is the most important thing as it is the best long-term investment you can do for yourself. In the short term it fixes the discomfort and the mood. In the long term it sharpens the mind, improves sleep patterns and boosts the energy. Body is getting older everyday, so you're doing yourself a favour by getting it to the top shape now.

Also don't be a tough guy or girl and ignore the pain. Have ANY DISCOMFORT checked as soon as possible. Don’t allow your ego to ignore the problem! Fix it NOW before it’s too late! Healthy body feels good. Ideally, under normal circumstances, it should be free of any pain and discomfort.

Put up your best hopes and intentions and become your own doctor applying fixes on as many fronts as possible. Healthy diet, multi-vitamins, gently increasing exercise intensity, positive mindset, and some self-hypnosis can play a huge role in your health project. Either one of the fixes will work, or the accumulation of many small things will add up to a grand result (Kaizen).

Try to get to the root of each problem and fix it long term - not masking it with drugs. Start with a physical exam: check your chemistry, blood and urin. Then start researching and fixing whatever is broken.

If you're recovering from an accident do a lot of sleeping, physiotherapy, Shiatsu massage, acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and multi-vitamin. Follow all that with chiropractic adjustments to help the body with the healing process. The spinal cord, which is enclosed in the spine, carries all the healing impulses from the brain to the entire body, so it is crucial that the spine allows the central nervous system to operate flawlessly.

Here are some useful tips on Top Performance Health:

• Become your own doctor, do your own research, assume responsibility


• Talk to doctors from the angle of super health and top performance


• Check your spine for any problems and see a chiropractor to fix them if any


• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water and 1-3 cups of green tea throughout the day


• Have a shot of Wheatgrass juice and Acai berries smoothie few times a week


• Consume uncooked/raw vegetables and eat healthy as much as possible


• Replace white rice/bread/sugar with brown and whole wheat equivalents


• Significantly limit dairy, meat, salt, simple sugars, coffee, alcohol and bad fats


• Exercise 3 to 5 times per week, walk and take stairs as much as possible


• Breathe through your nose and into your lower abs as often as you can


• Find your purpose – a worthwhile reason to get up joyful every morning

You will feel good, light, sharp, clear, and full of energy within days. You will effortlessly lose excess weight in a matter of weeks without dieting (ie. eating just the right size meals regularly throughout the day). You will look and feel healthy. Your body will start to heal immediately and you will see the top health progress after a few weeks. After a couple of months you will feel exploding with energy and jumping for joy!

Get pH Balance strips (little orange paper strips available at Health Stores) and measure your body's alkaline/acidity level (touch the orange paper to saliva on your tongue for a few seconds). With the top performance diet (lots of blueberries and green tea) you can easily achieve a healthy range (around 7.0). Acidic level (below 5.5) is a perfect environment for illness.

Pay attention to what your body is trying to tell you. At one point I started getting a sugar-ill feeling. It stayed with me for a few hours at a time. I kept being hungry all day and my teeth became super sensitive to sugar for no reason. Finally I figured that it was a nudge to watch my sugar intake when I relaxed my strict healthy diet regime after about a year. As soon as I limited my sugar and sweets, everything was fine within a day!

I wish you a super health and top performance of your body, mind, heart and spirit :)

See the complete Personal Health Care and wellness article for more information.

This site is about a total wholistic wellness in 4 major areas of life: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Practically speaking, it is about Health and Fitness, Business and Wealth, Social and Relationship wellness, and living on purpose.

This site will host the bottom line tidbits about total wellness.
For now, please have a look at http://www.practical-wellness-guide.com for most up to date version.

Thank you and All the Best!

Kamil