Feng shui and stress management by decluttering your surroundings

Mess relief = stress relief
It seems strange but it is true that clutter or mess around our homes or work space makes our lives more stressful.
Feng shui says 'If your home is cluttered, that flow and balance is hampered and the feel of your home is less peaceful than you may desire. In fact, the more cluttered your home, the more stressed you may feel.'
                             

Decluttering our environment, home or office is a natural stress reliever. It is a surprisingly powerful way to regain simplicity and balance in our thoughts and our behaviors. It seems to clear away the extraneous so that the important and fundamental aspects of our lives can more easily shine forth. Even the simplest acts of cleaning and organizing can make a huge difference in how you feel about the space. Clutter eats away at the sense of peace and tranquility that can exist in the house, as it is a constant reminder of disorganization in life.

Clutter at your work space:

Clutter in your office is the number one blockage of positive energy as it disrupts your focus and concentration. Clutter is both a cause and a symptom of stuck energy. When using feng shui at work getting rid of clutter is the most essential step to creating a smooth, gentle, nurturing flow of chi (vital energy) through your office, and should be the first thing you do to improve the feng shui of your space .

How to start organizing?

Start Small:
Start with the cluttered, disorganized drawer in the side table next to the sofa instead of the entire room.  Start small and then move on to bigger projects. Another step to clearing out the clutter and making your house more feng shui oriented is to clean a little at a time.

Instead of tacking the entire room, start by spending five minutes each day picking up pieces, putting things away, and getting rid of trash.
By taking just a little bit of time each day, by the end of a month, your home will be significantly less cluttered and you will be excited to see what else you can clear out.

Closet Clutter
Another culprit of non-feng shui living is having cluttered closets. Clothing closets are usually the biggest culprits, because many people have trouble getting rid of old pieces of clothing. When you have less cluttered clothing closets, it takes a lot of the stress of trying to find what to wear out of the morning routine.

Start by going through every piece of clothing and determining if it is a piece that has been worn within the last year or will be worn in the very near future. If it has not been worn within the last year, donate it to charity. Your clothing that is no longer being worn, can be a treasure for someone else.

The Top Two Rules for Decluttering are:

1. Don’t add to what you already have.

2. Throw things out as MUCH as you can. (It feels great once you get the hang of it.)
If you can’t throw it away, BOX it and then, months from now, when you don’t even remember that box,you’ll see how much you don’t need that stuff – and you can then toss it out. (Label the contents of the box if it contains anything important.)


Useful links:

* A lot of decluttering tips at 'Declutter your space'


* Decluttering your home office

How to manage stress related weight gain?

 When depressed you loose the control over your eating habits. It results in more calorie count to produce high cholesterol and weight gain.  Studies prove that there is a link between our stress level and weight gain. So what are the techniques to manage stress related weight gain?

 Try these stress management techniques to combat stress-related weight gain:

• Recognize the warning signs of stress, such as anxiety, irritability and muscle tension.
• Before eating, ask yourself why you're eating — are you truly hungry or do you feel stressed or anxious?
• If you're tempted to eat when you're not hungry, find a distraction.
• Don't skip meals, especially breakfast.
• Identify comfort foods and keep them out of your house or office.
• Keep a record of your behavior and eating habits so that you can look for patterns and connections — and then overcome them.
• Learn problem-solving skills so that you can anticipate challenges and cope with setbacks.
• Practice relaxation skills, such as yoga, massage or meditation.
• Engage in regular physical activity or exercise.
• Get adequate sleep.
• Get encouragement from supportive friends and family. 
Source: How do I control stress-induced weight gain?

How to identify the sources of stress and manage it?

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses.
Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?

Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”).

Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.
How we become victom of stress?

There are many causes and reasons of being stressed among which may be:

Life Crisis: Research has proven that the experiences that we have encountered over the years are likely to cause diseases which do not manifest until later on in life.
The death of a spouse or a truly loved one causes the highest level of stress, followed by divorce and a marital separation.
The conflicts intertwined with relationships with people close to you cause you the most stress.
Occupational Stress: As humans, more of our time is spent working compared to any other awake activity.
Occupational stress is a result of a factor or a combinations of factors at work. It impacts the worker, disrupting their psychological or physical wellbeing. It can be caused by a number of factors including work overload and stimulus underload. Work overload results from the burden of excess work. It may also be caused by the ambiguity of the task required of the worker. Stimulus underload happens when there are not enough tasks for the worker to undertake. It can cause job dissatisfation, post traumatic stress syndrome, and increase the level of cholesterol and the heart rate.
Social Networks Disintegration:  Relationships have been proved to be one of the more important aspects of our human life, especially to our psychological and physical well being.
Thus if someone who you truly cherish passes away, your social network begins to disintegrate as feelings of loneliness start to take over. This is because as humans, we need the warmth and love that relationships bring to us and the removal of one of these relationships can be heartbreaking.


What happens to you when you are stressed?

Diseases - Stress has been the reason for 50-80% of diseases.


Insomnia - The inability to fall asleep.

Hypertension - High blood pressure, which can lead to lethal complications.

Aging - Research has proven that people age faster when they experience more stress.
 
Quotes: ~ to help you relieve stress in your life ~

"Blame is a senseless action. You are the master of your own destiny, you can achieve whatever you desire and the only force that stands in your way is your own fear. So utilise your power to decide and do it!"

Foods help us in stress management

Today's fast going life gives us stress and depression, which we are used to face for hours, days, months and years. But prolonged and unnecessary stress can harm us badly. For stress relief we are usually suggested to keep our life simple, adopt technique to stay tension free and take medicines in some severe cases.

Eating can be a form of stress relieves and at the same time it aids in boosting our immune system. Stress relieving food is a way we can use to promote healthy emotional functioning of our immune system. Certain foods eaten can increase our stress levels whereas some foods can aid in relieving stress.
Food can help us stay stress free and healthy. We know that low-fat, high-fiber, carbohydrate-rich meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables are good for our health as they soothe us without sapping our energy and give us the nutrients we need to boost our immune system.

Foods to Include in your diet:
High-fiber, carbohydrate-rich foods: Scientists believe carbohydrates cause the brain to produce more serotonin, a hormone that relaxes us. And lots of fiber is helpful in preventing late-night binging. Some examples of healthy comfort food include baked sweet potatoes, minestrone soup, or sautéed vegetables over rice.

Fruits and vegetables: The vitamins and minerals of fruits and vegetables can calm the nervous system, control blood sugar levels and help the body cope with stress.
Chronic stress can weaken our ability to fight disease. By upping our intake of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, we can boost our immune system. Acorn squash and carrots, for example, are great sources of the antioxidant beta-carotene. And citrus fruits provide plenty of vitamin C, another stress-busting antioxidant.
You may add these foods in daily diet plan for stress relief: 
banana, nuts, Quinoa (Keen Wah)-A super food from South America, Brown rice and pasta, ginger tea, porridge, hot water(this might seem like a strange stress relieving tool but it works), vegetables, and salad (Salad can be a great way of giving the stomach a rest from rich food)
                                                                                       
Foods to Avoid for stress management

High-fat foods: Fatty foods such as meat or cheese dishes and many baked goods thicken our blood which in turn makes us feel tired, even lethargic. This is clearly not a good way to reduce stress! Even just one high-fat meal can increase our risk of a heart attack.

Caffeine: Many of us deal with a stress-induced lack of sleep by turning to coffee, tea, and colas. Unfortunately, caffeine stays in our systems longer than many realize. Cutting back on caffeine can help with both sleeping problems and jitters.

Sugar: As a carbohydrate, sugar tends to calm us. The problem with sugar is that it's a simple carbohydrate so it enters and leaves the bloodstream rapidly, causing us to, in effect, "crash." On the other hand, complex carbohydrates?such as pasta, beans, and lentils, the starchy parts of foods?soothe without bringing us down.


Useful sites and links:
* 'Stress reducing receipes'

* 'Nutrition MD'

* How to Reduce, prevent, and Cope with Stress

* Stress Management for Effective Ways to Manage Stress

* 7 foods to relieve stress

Tips to reduce your stress

It is difficult to get rid of stress but there are ways to lower it. Every person has its own personality thus manangement of stress may be different for each one, but these tips can really help you in managing your stress/depression. These tips and ideas look very simple and may be you would think that these can not product good results, but believe me that these has worked like miracal for me.

* Learn better ways to manage your time. You may get more done with less stress if you make a schedule. Think about which things are most important, and do those first.

* Find better ways to cope. Look at how you have been dealing with stress. Be honest about what works and what does not. Think about other things that might work better.

* Take good care of yourself. Get plenty of rest. Eat well. Do not smoke. Limit how much alcohol you drink.

* Try out new ways of thinking. When you find yourself starting to worry, try to stop the thoughts. Work on letting go of things you cannot change. Learn to say “no.”

* Ask for help. People who have a strong network of family and friends manage stress better.

* Exercise. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress. Walking is a great way to get started.

* Write. It can help to write about the things that are bothering you. (I found blogging a great help in reducing stress for me)

* Let your feelings out. Talk, laugh, cry, and express anger when you need to. (Introvert persons suffer most, so cry or laugh like normal humans)

* Do something you enjoy. A hobby can help you relax. Volunteer work or work that helps others can be a great stress reliever. (It is the best remedy)

* Learn ways to relax your body. This can include breathing exercises, muscle relaxation exercises, massage, aromatherapy, yoga, or relaxing exercises like tai chi and qi gong.

* Focus on the present. Try meditation, imagery exercises, or self-hypnosis. Listen to relaxing music. Try to look for the humor in life. Laughter really can be the best medicine. (Meditation is the first effective strategy, which helped me to cope with depression and stress. I am still a regular meditator for more than 3 years)

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Check Your Stress Level To Save Your Life

Challenging modern life demands more from us and thus results in high stress or depression levels. Major life changes are also main cause of stress either the stress is positive or nagative. Positive stress gives us strength and motivation to achieve goals. But we should carefully judge if our stress level is crossing the positive levels and showing the nagative signs of stress. It is clear that 'Stress is a medical condition and it can have a serious effect on your health.'

This article would help you learn about signs of negative stress which can help you understand how much it can harm you and what happens when you are stressed and at the bottom of the post you would be able to know your stress level using an interactive tool provided by MSN Health and fitness.

Short-term (acute) stress can keep you awake at night and make you feel irritable and edgy. High stress levels over a long period of time (chronic stress) can cause serious health problems such as high blood pressure, and it can weaken your immune system and make it difficult for your body to fight disease. Stress is linked to health conditions such as depression, heart disease, and asthma.

What happens when you are stressed?

When you are stressed, your body responds as though you are in danger. It makes hormones that speed up your heart, make you breathe faster, and give you a burst of energy. This is called the fight-or-flight stress response.

Some stress is normal and even useful. It can help if you need to work hard or react quickly. For example, it can help you win a race or finish an important job on time.

But if stress happens too often or lasts too long, it can have bad effects. It can be linked to headaches, an upset stomach, back pain, or trouble sleeping. It can weaken your immune system, making it harder to fight off disease. If you already have a health problem, stress may make it worse. It can make you moody, tense, or depressed. Your relationships may suffer, and you may not do well at work or school.

What can you do about stress?
The good news is that you can learn ways to manage stress. To get stress under control:

Find out what is causing stress in your life.
Look for ways to reduce the amount of stress in your life.
Learn healthy ways to relieve stress.
How do you figure out your stress level?
Sometimes it is clear where stress is coming from. You can count on stress during a major life change such as the death of a loved one, getting married, or having a baby. But other times it may not be so clear why you feel stressed.

It may help to keep a stress journal. Get a notebook and write down when something makes you feel stressed. Then write how you reacted and what you did to deal with the stress. Keeping a stress journal can help you find out what is causing your stress and how much stress you feel. Then you can take steps to reduce the stress or handle it better.

To find out how stressed you are right now, use the tool offered by MSN. This interactive tool gauges your stress level based on the number of life changes you have had recently. Your score shows a rough estimate of your current stress level and the likelihood that you will have health problems due to stress in the next 12 to 18 months.

MSN Health and fitness presents the interactive tool: What Is Your Stress Level?

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- Stress hazards and more