The International Stress Management Association launched their 2008 National Stress Awareness Day with their top ten stress busters:

1. SMILE – it’s quick, easy and free!  When you smile your body releases feel-good hormones.
   
2. EXERCISE – you get a treble whammy through exercise: better health, improved blood flow to the brain, helping you think more clearly and reduced stress levels.
   
3. GET ENOUGH REST & SLEEP – hobbies and holidays counterbalance work and everyday stress and sleep helps restore energy, concentration and general health.
   
4. POSITIVE THINKING – remember external events don’t determine how you feel, rather it’s your response to external events that determines how you feel.  Try adopting a positive response and thinking positive thoughts.  It may take a bit of practice, but it’s worth it.
   
5. REACH OUT TO OTHERS – Make sure you have a support network of friends, family and co-workers you can call on to help take the strain.  And remember to be a good support to them too.
   
6. ACHIEVE A GOOD WORK-LIFE BALANCE – All work and no play makes Jack and Jill a dull boy and girl.  How you spend your time away from work can improve your performance and effect in work.
   
7. RELAXATION – Make relaxation a regular part of your daily routine because relaxation is an easy and effective anti-stress weapon.  Check out the many books, CDs & DVD that can help.
   
8. EAT A HEALTHY DIET – Cutting down on coffee, sugar, alcohol and nicotine will help you avoid mood swings and a balanced diet will have your body functioning at its optimum level and more able to deal with stressful situations as they arise.
   
9. HUGGING – Hugging feels good and has been proven to reduce the stress hormone, cortisone, so make sure you give and get your fair share of hugs.
   
10. SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IF YOU NEED IT – If you’re coping with more than one big event in your life – moving house, divorce, the death of someone close, big issues at work, ill-health – you may be so busy coping with the situations that you don’t notice their effect on you.  Don’t be shy about seeking professional help – your GP, a counsellor, a stress management professional, etc may help you cope better maintain your physical and mental health.

Pick one items from the list and put it into practice and see how well it works for you.

Or you could come for a relaxing Reflexology or Indian Head Massage and let someone else take the strain for a change. Just call Doris on 07724 197627 to book your appointment.  And remember there's a special JULY OFFER: £10 off your first treatment - but only if you book in July (appointments can be scheduled for August).

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. - Albert Einstein

Do you have problems that you just can't seem to solve?  Are there issues in your life that seem constant, regardless of how hard you try to overcome them?  Do you feel you stuck in a rut, getting nowhere fast?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome.  I mean really, wouldn’t you need to be mad to think that somehow, magically, one time, if you keep doing the same thing, you’re going to get a different outcome?

So if you want to get a different outcome, you need to do something different.  If you want to feel differently you need to think or act differently.  But what do you need to do?  Well perhaps you already know... have you've been saying to yourself – “If I just did A, B or C it would help me to X, Y or Z”, so for example –

• If I was less anxious, it would help me to sleep better
  
• If I looked after myself better, I'd be healthier
  
• If I did something new, I'd feel in less of a rut
  

But how to you stop getting anxious, look after yourself better and do something new?  It’s not always easy.  

I'm a great believer in the path of least resistance.  Why put huge amounts of effort into overcoming resistance when you can just go round it with no effort at all.  It's not about being lazy (well not much!), it's about being sensible and efficient - why make things hard for yourself if you don't need to.

And that's one of the reasons I love Reflexology!  Reflexology is a physical approach that can impact on mental and emotional states.  Our mind, body and emotions are not separate entities, they're all part of us and if one part is out of balance, all of us is out of balance.  So, Reflexology is not just for those wishing physical benefits (although it's great at providing that), it's for anyone who feels an imbalance in mind, body or emotion.

For example, if you are going through a challenging time emotionally, and all the talking about it has taken you nowhere, perhaps a relaxing Reflexology treatment will allow you to feel more in tune with yourself and less anxious, angry, fearful, or whatever other emotions are implicit in your situation.  And if you feel less anxious, angry, fearful, etc you will respond in a different way and your problem will appear in a different light to you.

So, if thinking about something causes you to feel a certain way, then changing the way you feel can cause you to change the way you think.  No effort, no resistance, no problem (or at least less of a problem).  And with Reflexology, you just sit back and let someone else take the strain.

So, if you're making things hard for yourself, give yourself a break and if you haven't tried it before,  give Reflexology a chance.  To book an appointment, contact me (Doris) on 07724 197627.