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Stress - What Stress?
For many new non-smokers, handling their daily stress often becomes a burden. It can be the straw that breaks the camel's back: the undoing of their commitment and determination to living the remainder of their life smoke-free. Stress seems to appear in our lives on a daily basis, and sometimes it can be triggered by very small and unimportant situations - running late for work, forgetting an item on the shopping list, or just missing the bus - can all cause stress in our lives. It's vital that in the initial weeks of being smoke-free, that you come up with new ways of dealing with your stress on a daily basis.
If you previously used to smoke in stressful moments, then the best thing for you to do now is to exercise that stress away: don't worry, we are not talking about joining the gym or doing a marathon - light exercise is an excellent stress-buster, and a great way to help improve your overall health and fitness. If you start to feel tense get up and move about - go for a quick walk around the block - if you have a dog, even better, grab that lead and take your faithful friend for a walk: a canine companion is much more of a friend to you than a cigarette ever could be anyway!
You should be aware that it is not only new non-smokers who experience stress in their lives - it is a part of all of our lives, and if you find ways of dealing with stress effectively in every day situations, you will find that your life becomes much more harmonious and enjoyable. Before you started smoking, like everyone else, you had your own way of overcoming stress. The difference between a smoker and a non-smoker can be as simple as the fact that when a smoker gets angry he has a cigarette, whereas a non-smoker takes a deep breath and goes for a walk around the block.
Regardless of whether you are a smoker or not, you need to take control of stress, otherwise it will take control of you. You need to look after yourself - although your body is extremely resilient, stress will affect you more if you are not feeling 100%.
A few tips…
- Be aware of your body's needs - following a healthy, balanced diet will provide you with more energy to deal with stress.
- Get plenty of sleep - keeping your body rested and relaxed is a sure fire way of being better able to handle stressful situations.
- Put things into perspective - don't get stressed unnecessarily: if there's nothing you can do about it, just accept it.
- Be positive! You've just achieved a major change for the better in your lifestyle, so reward yourself.
- Remind yourself continually of the positive rewards of stopping smoking - you're going to feel better, be healthier, live longer, smell better and have more money!
- Don't go for the long haul - take it in small steps. Congratulate yourself every day for getting through yet another day successfully.
- If you find yourself in a stressful situation, take a deep breath, go for a stroll, or simply take yourself out of the situation.
- Exercise not only combats stress, but also lifts your mood by increasing Serotonin levels in the brain, and helps you relax too.
- Take a lovely, relaxing hot bath to unwind, especially in the evenings just before going to bed.
And remember not to worry - they say that we spend 80% of our time worrying about things that never happen, 15% of our time is spent worrying about things over which we have no control, which means that a mere 5% of what we worry about is actually substantiated. Acknowledging and recognising the stress factors in your life is a vital starting point towards taking control.
In addition to seeing clients at the clinic, Martin and Marion undertake private, home visits, both in Spain and internationally, subject to availability and negotiation.
Click here to go back to the Stop Smoking page
To arrange a free, initial consultation, or for further information, please contact Elite on 951 31 15 91, or click here to e-mail us.
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