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How to Beat Serious Stress

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Every day of our lives we face events that cause us stress. Although most of these events are minor in the grand scheme of things, there are situations that clearly can be considered major sources of stress.

When you're faced with a highly stressful event in your life, the following strategies will help you cope:

Avoid unnecessary changes in your life . Instead, reserve what energy you do have for dealing with the stressor at hand.

Quiet your mind. In times of stress, the mind makes things appear worse than they are by creating endless versions of impending disaster.

Keep in the present. You can calm both your mind and your body by keeping your mind in the present, which is seldom as stressful as an imagined future or regrettable past.

Courageously and aggressively face the stressor . Resist any temptation to ignore the stressor. Instead, carefully appraise the seriousness of the problem without magnifying it out of proportion.

Take inventory of your coping responses. Confidence is a valuable ally in combating stress, and it builds on memories of past successes.

Take action. Commit yourself to a reasonable course of action to deal with the stressor. Research shows that the body lowers its production of epinephrine, a powerful stress hormone, when a person shifts into action.

Take time out to relax. At least once or twice a day, take time to decompress by relaxing –– perhaps by listening to soothing music, taking a walk, gardening, reading, exercising or meditation.

Get Help from the EAP for Managing Stress

Contact Canopy for more information.
Call us at 800.433.2320 or email at: info@cascadecenters.com