Stress is a double-edged sword and we need to properly manage it!

You might ask I know stress can be bad, but how is it a good thing? Well, its useful in that a healthy amount of stress helps us put our life in perspective. It can motivate us, make us feel satisfied in accomplishing goals and give an overall sense of well-being. However stress can also be a negative thing if we have too much stress in our lives. Not only can too much stress affect our performance but it also affects our health and causes us to age prematurely. Years and years of overwhelming stress can turn any lively young woman into a bitter old maid. To be specific, it can result in headaches, stomachaches, high blood pressure, stroke and even heart disease. It can also affect your immune system which translates into being sicker longer and even being open to getting sick more often.

The following are some helpful ways to relieve or give you a healthy dose of stress:

Pick up a hobby
Choose something that you will love learning about and helps you relax. This can be anything such as knitting/crocheting, playing a sport, expressing an artistic talent, starting a business, etc. The key is to find something you love.

Take a nap
A simple 30 45 min nap can really leave you feeling refreshed.

Change it up If youre always busy at work in a stale cubical go out, take a walk or ride a bike. Do something nice for yourself. If you find that youre always out and have little time to rest your feet then try to take time out for yourself to relax at home, take a hot bath, or relax with a good book/movie.

Get a massage
Everyone loves a good massage. They can help relieve some of the tension in our muscles but they wont do much good if you dont also make it a point to relieve the mental stress as well.

Sex
Yes, even sex is a great stress reliever. Many women feel it helps clear their mind, as well as relieves them from cramps. This doesnt necessarily need to be with a partner. If youre single it might be a good opportunity to get better acquainted with you body and desires. Many sex therapists also suggest learning about and selecting a toy for self play. Sex is indeed natural and its not healthy to go for long periods of time, even years without any sexual release.

Music
Music can be a great stress reliever. Even children are mesmerized and pacified by music. Take a break in your busy day and play some nice soothing music. You may find yourself swept away by the songs and your worries seem less important.

Breathing
We often take quick shallow breaths. Take a moment and breathe in slowly and deeply. Many feel this is useful and do it as a part of meditation.

HARMFUL Stress relievers. Many use the following methods to relive stress, but in the long run they only make matters worse and diminish our health in the process.

Denial/Avoidance: Avoiding a problem or acting as if it doesnt exist might seem like a good choice but it will eventually eat you up inside and cause many health problems that were previously mentioned.

Alcohol: Sometimes it feels great to have a drink after a long stressful day. Alcohol tends to change out moods, not our problems. Also, if you like to get seriously hammered you may create stress for yourself as you may wake up to find youve done something you regret. Alcohol can also cause health problems, specifically with the colon, but thats not where it ends.

Drugs: We dont just mean illegal drugs... all drugs and stimulants, etc. These things are ok to use in rare occasions to help you get through an unusual day. However if a problem persists its best to look for a more healthy method. Whats a common stimulant? How about that morning coffee we cant live without? Our bodies have a way of balancing things out. If you rely on these things for too long your body will eventually depend on them just to stay regulated.

Overeating Many women use food for comfort. This is a bad habit. Now its ok if you treat yourself to a cookie and maybe something nice to drink but if youre reaching for that tub of Hagen Daz (and plan to finish it off), you better think again.

Body Image

As women we live in a busy world and its often difficult to manage all of our responsibilities as well as making time to eat right, exercise and keep a positive self image. Positive self image is everything, because if you feel strong and confident about yourself others will as well. What exactly is body image?

- How do you feel about your body and appearance
- How do you think others feel about you

If youre wondering how can I improve my self image? than now is as good a time as any to really examine your life. Now we all have imperfections, so the goal is not to be perfect. The goal is to feel healthy, strong, attractive/sexy, confidant and happy with ourselves and our lives.

Weight is often a big issue with us but starving yourself will never accomplish this. Eventually youll get confident at a certain weight and then EAT EAT AND EAT causing you to regain the weight or gain even more.

Diet is of extreme importance to a good figure. And I dont mean diet in the sense of going on the latest diet recommended by Cosmo. I mean diet in terms of what you eat on a daily basis. Vitamins are a good place to start. The body needs many vitamins that often arent present in the quantities we need in our every day foods. So spend some time researching this. It may even be a good idea to look for vitamins that focus on your specific needs as a woman and possibly even your age. Men and women have different needs in terms of the vitamins and minerals our bodies absorb. This need also changes with age, such as a young 20 year old will have different needs than a 60 year old. So read a few magazines, check out your local stores, and even investigate online.

Now while this is a good start its also good to take a look at the foods we eat everyday. Many of the traditional foods weve learned to cook from our parents that may have been handed down through the family are far from healthy especially if you eat it everyday.

Do you find yourself feeling a little tired after you eat? This is not a good sign. Animals generally eat until they are tired because of the situation in the wild. You never know when your next meal is going to come so you eat as much as you can when you have the chance. But we dont have that problem.

Not only can we eat when we like, we can also choose what we eat. Instead of taking that heavy meal during the day look into having a salad, some fruit and/or mixed nuts. How would a nice full salad with a fruit smoothie sound for lunch? You dont always have to go for that heavy meal. It might taste really good but its also putting on those pounds you want so much to take off. Now no one is saying you cant treat yourself to a nice heavy meal once in a while just dont make a habit of eating like this everyday.

Exercise is another good route. Many of us have jobs that require us to be stationary for long periods of time with very limited movement. Take some time during the week for some exercise. You dont even have to spend long amounts of time. A few times a week for 30 60 mins can do WONDERS. You can buy equipment to use while youre at home from work and on weekends, or even go out for a nice bike ride.

So, if you keep all of these things in mind not only will you feel great but youll look great too!!