7 Tricks to Deal With Stress When You Have a Habit to Break

"I’m so stressed! We have all said it at one time or another in our lives. Stress can be caused by the responsibilities and worries that we all have in our everyday lives. When you have a habit to break your stress levels may increase so it’s important to know some tricks to deal with any increased stress levels when you change habits.

Sometimes our way of coping with stress is to rely on the bad habits that we have developed. This means that as you change habits you need to develop other ways to cope with the stress in your life.

In order to make your habit change work you can try some, or all, of these habit breaking tricks:

1. Awareness. Be aware of the triggers that cause stress in your life. Is it a particular part of your work? The people in your life? Trying to fit too many things into your day? Money worries? Once you are aware of these triggers then you can begin to work on reducing your levels of stress.
2. Symptoms. Listen to your body and know how stress affects you. Do you become irritated easily, have trouble relaxing or sleeping or find that you catch every cold that comes into the office?
3. Exercise. Our bodies are made for moving. The cravings you may have when stressed to light a cigarette or eat that block of chocolate are usually physical prompts of an entirely different nature. You may think your body is telling you to treat yourself and buy that expensive new dress and shoes and handbag when in reality your body is trying to tell you to get moving.
4. Relax. Work out which method of relaxation works best for you. You may prefer to do something quiet like a yoga class or it may be that something more active is what you need like doing a circuit class. Smokers be aware that nicotine stimulates brain cells so if you thought smoking relaxed you its time to think in a different way.
5. Deep breathing. This is a great trick to use anywhere. Simply take a deep breathe in your nose and breathe slowly out through your mouth. Repeat at least 5 times.
6. Get organised. Create a stress reduction plan for yourself using the triggers that you have identified above and the methods that you have are discovered best for you. Review that plan to ensure that it is working as you need.
7. Seek help. If stress gets too much for you then seek help. Find a friend who is good at listening or contact a coach. I have found coaching invaluable when I have dealt with stressful periods in my life as your coach will be non judgment.

Although it may not feel like it at times, you do have choices in your life and can take charge of the things that are causing you stress. Focus on the things in your life that you can control and change and let go of those parts of your life that are outside of your control.

Andrea Jordan is the Author of "Habit Breaking Facts: How to Change Your Bad Habits, Forever!" (now available electronically). Andrea is also a Corporate Lawyer and a Coach.

If you would like to learn more of her coaching tips about making lasting changes to your bad habits and creating a healthier lifestyle then visit http://www.habitbreakingfacts.net for more information and a FREE chapter of her book.

(C) 2010 Andrea Jordan. All rights reserved

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrea_Jordan
http://EzineArticles.com/?7-Tricks-to-Deal-With-Stress-When-You-Have-a-Habit-to-Break&id=3832133