Relief For Stress

I want to tell you about my very earliest experience of handling and controlling stress and how it shaped my life.   This was long before I read the amazing 400 Strategies for a Stressfree Life.which really changed my life for the better!

In my mid twenties, my manager was taken ill just about one hour before he was due to speak at a seminar in front of over 500 delegates. I  was asked to step in!   Now that was really stressful- my first attempt at public speaking.

As soon as he disappeared in the ambulance with less than 60 minutes to go, my symptoms of stress appeared although I didn’t realise what they were at the time:

Pounding heart

Sweaty hands and body

Racing pulse

Irregular shallow fast breathing

Desperate need to go to the loo

A full-scale Panic Attack!  I knew I needed to do something to calm myself or I would not be able to speak at all!

I had helped write the speech so understood what he had wanted to achieve.  But that did not help my total panic, I had to get a grip on myself and quickly at that!

I went to my hotel room and pulled down the blinds.   I frantically tried to dredge up from the recesses of my mind what I had read about relief for stress when faced with these physical feelings and symptoms.

I sat down, closed my eyes and started deep, slow breathing from my abdomen at about 6 breaths a minute.  After 5 minutes or so, my body had quietened and my pulse was down to near normal. But that was just the start, I knew I’d never be able to stand up in front of the audience and talk for an hour, I’d be shaking too much!  I had to believe I knew how to reduce stress and stress management was the key.

So I went to the mirror and looked at myself.  I talked to myself about my feelings towards making this speech and consciously threw away all the negative thoughts (figuratively!) that were affecting me.  I then pointed out to myself all my positive skills that would help me make this speech over the next hour.  I started to feel some belief in myself and felt that perhaps it would not be as much of a disaster as I had feared.

I could not believe that it would work but it did!

I really started to feel that I could do it!! I skimmed through the speech notes and realised it was better than I had expected. I understood and agreed with the arguments he had made and would be able to speak with some authority and confidence.

Fortunately, the audience knew what had happened and, apart from a few nerves at the start, I was fine and was given a heart-warming round of applause at the end.

I gained more from that experience of being thrown in at the deep end than anything else in my whole life.

I realised that if you believe in yourself and trust your own ability and common sense you will be amazed at what you can achieve – even public speaking!  That belief has shaped how I approached my working day ever day since.

I would urge you every day, if possible, to find a few minutes to spend working on your breathing exercises.  It doesn’t take long and brings a wonderful feeling of calm and strength of purpose.  It makes a huge difference to your ability to cope with stress and anything else the day and life is going to throw at you!

If you want to practise this simple breathing exercise to reduce stress but find it difficult to do without help, there is an excellent breathing aid that could be very helpful to you.

Although the system was developed primarily to help lower blood pressure, it was discovered that it was also very helpful to anyone else who wants to reduce stress and adopt a routinely calm approach to their day.

The system aids intensive relaxation, provides relief for stress and chronic anxiety, improves sleep and strengthens relief for anxiety and panic attacks.

For more information about this clever Breathe Easy procedure and to try out the free demo to see how well it works for you, please Click Here!