Stress Dynamics

http://www.stressdynamics.com

A quality website dedicated to bringing you accurate information on Stress and a means to Relax via tips and techniques and high quality effective and sometimes unusual products!

If you like my lens, please rate it by clicking the stars above...5=Best! Thank you. Mercedes.

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Share Your Favorite Relaxation Tip, Book, CD, Vacation Spot, etc.

Mercedes

Don't be shy, add something here about your methods of relaxation. One way I relax at night is to sprinkle a few drops of lavender on my pillow, this works better than a sleeping pill to promote a restful slumber.

Posted June 19, 2006

Great Sites to help you find Balance

Recognize the effects of stress and how to relax every day

Stress is all around us, when the body takes in stress and does not reduce its effects via relaxation, the accumulative effects to the body, mind and soul are devestating. We are dedicated to bringing you accurate information and a means of relaxation.

Stress Dynamics: Stress Dynamics was founded in 2000 by its owner, a registered nurse of 20+ years. The website offers its customers accurate information on stress, stress management and relaxation tips and techniques via the use of high quality products such as aromatherapy, use of essential oils, sound therapy and nature's soothing sounds machines to promote rest, soothing eye pillows and children's relaxation products including our exclusive blend of Sleep Baby essential oils to help your little one naturally fall asleep.
Free Mandala Coloring Downloads: Mandala designs date back to ancient times. By concentrating on the circular design of the mandala, an individual will become more centered and focused, allowing for more peaceful inner thoughts.
Yoga: Yoga is a vast collection of spiritual techniques and practices all aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit and achieving a state of enlightenment or oneness with the universe.
Holistic Healing Web Page: A nice website dedicated to bringing the reader concise information on a variety of subjects within the Holistic Healing and Natural Medicine Categories. He has a great links section too! Enjoy!
Prevention: This is a great information site offering a wealth of information on many health related topics.

Stress Statistics

Know why it's important to recognize your stress.

Here is a quick list of Stress Statistics to help you understand why it is important to identify your stress, what stresses you through the day, how stress effects your productivity and why it is important to learn techniques for stress relief.

80% of all illnesses are related to stress in some way - New York Times Physician Survey
High stress is a risk factor for heart disease - Well-Now Series
82% of Americans surveyed indicated they needed to reduce stress in their daily lives but did not know how - New York Times Survey
Stress that is not relieved can lead to depression and a weakened immune system making you more vulnerable to other disease processes - Well-Now Series
Job related stress costs the American Industry over $200 Billion dollars annually in lost worker productivity and increased absenteeism - American Institute of Stress

Quick Relaxation Tips

Some things you can do to manage daily stress

Deep Breathing - can be done at any time and anywhere. Inhale slowly to a count of three through your nose, pause, exhale slowly to a count of three through your mouth. Do this several times each day to decrease your stress by providing more oxygen to vital organs.
Take a short break - It is helpful to take a 5-10 minute break just to change position and get a new perspective on your day or the project at hand. Walk away from your desk, stretch or just gaze out your window.
Listen to music - Music was one of the earliest forms of communication. Different types of music stir different emotions.
Use Aromatherapy - At home or work, use of essential oils can help with relaxation (lavender) or increased concentration (orange, lemon or lime.) One of the easiest ways to disperse the aroma is with a fan diffuser.
Organize clutter - Eliminating clutter helps you find things faster and saves time. Think of your time as a valuable resource and you will not want to waste a bit of it. Hopefully you will have more time for fun activities.

Dark Chocolate is Good for You

Why?

Even if you are on a strict diet....eating a small amount of dark chocolate can offer you a huge benefit.

The key is the cocoa content! It is full of anti-oxidants....those lovely little agents that work wonders in the body in terms of HDL concentrations in the blood which is the good part of cholesterol. What else does it do? Researchers at the University of California found that it also has high concentrations of flavonoids which have been found to lower the risk of heart disease, lung cancer, prostate cancer, asthma and type 2 diabetes.

Don't confuse your chocolates though...milk chocolate is not the same as the dark....the dark chocolate has the high cocoa content and the higher the cocoa, the better!

Don't run out of here thinking you will eat a full bag of Dove Dark Chocolates, limit the intake to just 1 oz. per day...if dieting, every other day.

Tip on where to find great dark chocolate: Lake Champlain Dark Chocolates! Yummmy.

Serenity Spots

Destinations for Relaxation

I travel a fair amount. Many times with my family, so as this module develops, you will most likely see pictures that include different members of my family. We offer a section on our website called "Serenity Spots," and here we offer a detailed description of why we feel a particular location was optimal for relaxing.

Carolina Beach, North Carolina Driftwood by mmartis1

Finding unique perspectives in simple objects lying on the beach.

Carolina Beach, North Carolina Fence by mmartis1

A quite morning before sun-bathers and kids arrived provided this moment of cont...

Carolina Beach, North Carolina Beach Baby by mmartis1

Mandy on her boogie board in the surf.

Taken on the 2nd Anniversary of 9/11. On this day, all was Calm.

A beautiful day, breezy, warm, sitting on the beach with some iced tea and a goo...

Photos are all about capturing the moment and perspective...kind of like our ind...

This is one of my favorite areas of my yard, the fence is hiding our trash area....

I have always said that I must have lived near the ocean in a prior life. Since ...

My husband built this deck and I have planted gardens all around it....I love th...

Hand carved through stone hundreds of years ago and found in the heart of Nassau...

Beach on Paradise Island, Bahamas by mmartis1

The weather is a breezy 75 degrees, white sands and crystal clear aqua-blue wate...

Found at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. You can sit, sip on an island drink...

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Stress Free Interview

Here are some quick tips for the Job Interview Process

Hunting for a job can be very stressful, but what is more stressful is actually getting the job and then finding out that the corporate culture does not fit your life-style, principals or ethics. Read on.

Do your Homework! I can not emphasize this enough. If the company you want to work for is publicly traded, there will be alot of background information you can gain before going for that interview.
Be Confident. Before going to the interview, look up some information about the company. Just about every company has a website now-a-days. You'll want to know the mission statement, background history, where the company is head-quartered, etc.
Dress for Success. Even if you feel like a fish out of water for the interview process, dress nice and you'll feel more confident. If this style of dress is something you can not live with day in and day out, ask about the company dress code. Many corporations are going less formal in the work-place.
Don't Assume Anything! Ask many questions, interviewers love this, it means you are interested. Appropriate questions involve hours of operation, benefits provided, vacation time and the all important, Salary!
Be Prepared to Negotiate. There is nothing wrong with asking for more vacation time, especially if you are coming from a position of experience and you need more time off to be with family or friends. This is called "Work-Life" issues and you need to get that on the table in the beginning.
Know the Law about what an interviewer can ask you. Some questions that are "off-limits," meaning you DO NOT have to disclose this information is: if you have children, how many and your day-care situation, if you are pregnant, if you are going through a divorce, if you have a disability or illness that is not readily apparent, your political views and other personal information.

Play at Work

All work and no play makes for a boring day

Ok, I'm going to try writing this one again, it never appeared again after some of my modules disappeared one day. So, let's talk about work, work stress and play at work. Did you know that taking short 10-15 minute breaks to play can actually make you more productive? Well it can. Why? Because excessive stress at work will cause fatigue and loss of concentration which zaps your energy and your productivity. One of the ways to combat that fatigue is to take a few minutes throughout the day to give your mind a rest. I keep a large crystal bowl of toys on my desk to help me relieve work stress throughout the day or during a large important project. You know, the soft stress balls, puzzles and such. One of my favorites is the Bop Oh. This little guy comes with a suction cup that fixes to your desk and you can punch him with your finger and he just keeps coming back for more. The most important thing is to listen to the physical signals from your body. It will tell you in physical terms when you need to take a break, some of the signals come in the form of neck and back muscle aches, tension headaches and / or blurred vision. It is important to take care of you, and playing for a little while at work is an excellent way to do just that.

Aromatherapy Do's and Don'ts

New to Aromatherapy....Read This.

I became a Certified Aromatherapist from the Joyessence Aromatherapy Centre, Inc. in Guelph, Ontario, Canada in May of 2002 because I wanted to understand the mechanism of action of how natural oils from plants could help with physical and mental ailments.
Because I was already in the healthcare field, I knew that many of today's medications were derived from plant extracts. What most people need to understand about use of essential oils is that the therapeutic effect is most pronounced only if you use pure unadulterated essential oil extracts from plants. These oils are the pure liquid essences from the plant's leaves, flowers, roots, bark and different essential oils promote different therapeutic effects on an individual's mind, body and spiritual nature.

Use of aroma for healthcare dates back thousands of years. Remember Frankincense? Well that essential oil is steam distilled from the bark of Frankincense trees/brush. It promotes a warm, sedating and spiritual effect and is excellent for meditation. One of my personal favorites and it seems to be the most widely accepted aroma in the general population is Lavender. This essential oil is primarily used to promote rest, relaxation and feelings of calm and security. We use our Sleep Baby blend, which is lavender and roman chamomile with our little girl who often times is afraid of the dark and has nightmares. The two essential oils of lavender and roman chamomile are the only two essential oils many aromatherapists recommend for use with young children.

Like everything else, there are cautions to take when using pure essential oils. Some in their "neat" (pure) form can be irritating to the skin, some when used cause photo-sensitivity, some can not be used by people with hyper-tension or during pregnancy. I have a pretty good listing of all the major essential oils with pictures, history, uses and cautions at my website page on Aromatherapy. If you are curious, check it out. More later. Have a "less stressed day." Mam.

Gardening for Relaxation

Digging in the Dirt can be very Relaxing

I am a garden fanatic, sure it's hard work but the results, the fruits of my labor are well worth it physically, mentally and spiritually. Hobbies are good, they are a great form or relaxation because an individual's hobby is unique to their own perspective of how they want to enjoy that activity and what form of satisfaction they will derive from it. For example, lots of people golf, it is a wonderful cardiac activity and certainly there is satisfaction from the "hole-in-one" experience, but golf is not for me, it's exhausting and frustrating. Gardening is my bag, I have several different gardens that I tend to. One of my favorites is my herb garden of savory herbs such as Bay Laurel and Rosemary, there is a small container garden strategically placed just outside my back kitchen door for easy access during cooking. Gardening is a good physical work-out, however, you need to know what your limitations are, so as not to throw out your back lifting bags of rock and soil around. All in all, what I'm trying to say here, is that everyone needs a hobby, something fun to look forward to after a week of hard work, job stress, kid stress, school stress, whatever stress. Go to the movies, paint, sing, play an instrument, read, journal, scrap-book, take photos, garden. You get the picture!