Psychological techniques to alleviate stress

I clear any misunderstandings with my loved ones. I am confident about my future. I eat healthy. I make an effort to exercise. My hair and skin radiate good health. I am free of physical aches and pains, headaches, and colds. I find time to pursue my hobbies. I have a strong support system of family and friends. But the beauty of mindfulness training is that you can do it any time, any place. Sure, if you're going to sit and do a formal exercise such as 10 minutes of mindful breathing or 10 minutes of `leaves on a stream', you'll need to make some time for that. Here are a few suggestions. ENGAGING IN YOUR MORNING ROUTINE You can turn any part of your morning routine into a mindfulness training session: brushing your teeth, shaving, going to the toilet, having a shower, getting dressed, making the bed, making breakfast, eating breakfast, having a cup of tea, etc Specifically practise developing your engagement and defusion skills. For example, if you're making a cup of tea, engage in every little step of the process, using all five senses. And observe what is happening with the utmost curiosity, as if you've never done it before. Notice all the different sounds involved, listening to the changes in pitch, volume, timbre and rhythm: the crescendo of the kettle filling up, the sharp click of the `on' switch, the rumble of boiling water, the hiss of escaping steam, the `swoosh' as you pour the water into the cup, the trickle as you lift the teabag out, and the gentle `splosh' as you add sugar or milk. Notice all the different visual elements, including shapes, colours, textures, and light and shadow: the thick rush of steam spouting from the kettle; Notice all the different body movements required: the effortless interaction of your shoulder, arm, hand and eyes as you're lifting up the kettle, turning on the tap, replacing the kettle, pouring the water, dunking the teabag and so on. What do you say when he asks you about your previous job? CLINICAL TIPS

When clients have difficulty identifying positive data, you can use the metaphor of the screen from article 17 to remind them that they may be missing or discounting positive evidence. Then discuss what they could do in the coming week to get better at this skill. MODIFYING MALADAPTIVE BELIEFS The degree of difficulty in modifying negative beliefs varies from client to client. In general, it's far easier to modify the negative beliefs of clients with acute disorders whose counterbalancing adaptive beliefs have been activated throughout much of their lives--as compared to clients with personality disorders (J. Beck, 2005; Beck et al. Young et al. But when stress is out of balance or overwhelming, it has negative effects on our nervous systems, limiting our abilities to think clearly and creatively or to act in ways that are emotionally intelligent and beneficial for our relationships. This creates situations such as the following: One person's upset can easily trigger another's anxiety, leading to escalating disconnection in communications. Patricia had a new baby, and she often came to work a little tired. But she loved her challenging and rewarding job. Amy, the company's articlekeeper, envied Patricia's family (her devoted husband and adorable children). But she also felt that Patricia got more attention and appreciation at work than she did and resented the fact that they both received the same salary--even though Patricia hadn't worked for the company as long. Amy made no effort to conceal her disgruntled feelings. She avoided Patricia as if she were contagious and barely looked at her, despite that their offices were adjacent. In the beginning, Patricia's natural confidence kept her from being drawn into Amy's negative energy, but with the added fatigue of juggling a new baby and work, she felt increasingly anxious at the office. I don't get bothered by deadlines and work pressure. I wake up looking forward to the day.

IF YOU MOSTLY PICKED OPTION A You're a rare breed or you are going through a happy phase in your life. You are stress free and are able to balance a healthy work and personal life. Even if you have a little stress in your life, you have trained yourself to handle it. Or chances are that you're lying and you should take the quiz again as punishment. IF YOU MOSTLY PICKED OPTION B You could be suffering from acute stress which you experience on a daily basis. A few things and temporary situations around you, like the weather, traffic, noise, or a tiff with your lover are factors which can annoy you at the moment. As you do this, see if you can discover something new: something you previously took for granted. Have you ever truly paid attention to the patterns of steam rising from your cup, or the sound of the spoon clinking against the side, or the movement of your shoulder when you dunk a teabag? As you do this practice, your mind will try to hook you with thoughts about all the things on your to-do list. Let those thoughts come and go like passing cars, and engage in what you are doing here and now. Of course, from time to time your mind will pull you out of it. The moment you realise this, gently acknowledge it, unhook yourself, and engage once again in making the tea. ENGAGING IN A CHORE Are there any dull, tedious or mundane chores in your life; Do you grit your teeth and rush through them as quickly as possible? Or do you do them mindlessly, going through the motions on automatic pilot? The beliefs of some clients change easily, at least at the intellectual level, but the beliefs of others require considerable effort over time to change at both an intellectual and an emotional level. Clients vary widely in the degree to which they're able to modify their core beliefs.

It's not possible or realistic for some clients to reduce the strength of these beliefs to 0%. Generally, beliefs have been sufficiently weakened when clients are likely to continue modifying their dysfunctional behavior despite still holding on to a remnant of the belief. Beliefs usually change at the intellectual level first, especially if you've been employing only intellectual-level techniques. Clients may need experiential techniques (including using imagery, doing role playing, using storytelling or metaphors, and engaging in behavioral experiments) to change their beliefs at the emotional level. Cognitions change in the presence of affect, so the best time to work on negative beliefs is when their schemas are activated in session. Clients then generally experience change at both levels as corrective information is received. Gestalt-type techniques, such as empty-chair work (Pugh, 2019), can be quite useful in exposing clients to painful beliefs and emotions or distressing interpersonal situations. Clients generally learn that they don't need to protect themselves from upsetting situations; Negative memories from past relationships flood us, adding to the upsets of the moment. From a background of poverty and abuse, James rose through the ranks to successfully head a large financial institution. Normally charming and gregarious, his weak spot was criticism. Being criticized triggered a torrent of memories that left him feeling fearful, humiliated, and enraged. Still, he was good enough at what he did to hang on to his job for many years. But one day when he lost it in front of his board of directors because of a minor criticism, he also lost their respect and eventually, his job. When we are overwhelmed by stress, our abilities to pay attention to others and ourselves are greatly compromised. Kay, a successful businesswoman and community volunteer, headed up a committee that was in charge of designing and building a new youth center. Normally Kay was sensitive to others, as well as competent and levelheaded, but her home life was in turmoil. Her father had recently died, and both her husband and brother were diagnosed with serious diseases. But you have a good chance of quick recovery, especially if you follow my advice in Part Two, which is guaranteed to get you back to your carefree and relaxed self. IF YOU MOSTLY PICKED OPTION C

You could be suffering from chronic stress, which has become a constant in your life. You could be suffering from any one or more of the fatal five I talked about in article One. You need to take stock of your situation as soon as possible. There are a lot of meetings, constant travelling, different subjects we have to prepare for and make public speeches that can cause stress. Dr Nitin Raut I clearly remember my first meeting with Sanaya Boatwalla, a 33-year-old working mother. I noticed she looked older than her age and that she had an anxious look on her face most of the time. Her job as a personal assistant to the managing director of a building company meant that her BlackBerry was always blinking with fresh mail that would be updated every hour with a new list of instructions. Or do you try to make them less boring by listening to the radio or watching TV simultaneously? Common examples might include ironing clothes, doing the washing-up, stacking the dishwasher, putting out the garbage, making lunch for the kids, vacuuming, doing the laundry, sweeping the floor, scrubbing the bathtub and so on. Any of these chores provide valuable opportunities to develop engagement and defusion skills. Remember Seb, the taxi driver afraid to make love to his wife? Seb recognised that if he ever wanted to enjoy sexual activity again, he would have to learn how to engage fully in the process, instead of getting lost in his anxious thoughts and feelings. So he chose to turn stacking the dishwasher into a mindfulness practice. I said to him, `Next time you have to stack the dishwasher, imagine you are the world champion of dishwasher-stackers, and your performance is being filmed and beamed live to hundreds of millions of TV sets around the world. To put each item down gently, noticing the sound it made as it slotted into place. To notice the colours and patterns that food and drink have left on its surface. To notice the movements of his shoulder, arm and hand. Techniques using an extended metaphor of a trial are also helpful in helping clients identify and modify entrenched core beliefs (De Oliveira, 2018). Techniques to Modify Negative Beliefs