Be Stress Free!

Are you a worry wart? Self magazine offers these six ways to stop your stressing:

Hop off the worry train -- Just because you have an idea ("I might get fired") doesn't mean you need to ride it to its terminus. "Worry can waste energy you're trying to fix every possible problem, even if none exist," psychologist Robert L. Leahy says. Instead, thing of a few tasks that will help whatever happens, like bonding with coworkers.

Plan to fret -- "Take half an hour to worry intensively, then move on," says Penn State professor Tom Borkovec, Ph.D.

Keep a journal -- Jot down your worry, then in a few days or weeks, write down the outcome. What you'll find: Things usually turn out better than you think they will.

Challenge the likelihood of your worry -- If your husband is late coming home and you imagine he has been hit by a bus, think about the emotion behind your worry. (You are anxious because you love him and want to keep him around.) Once you have identified the emotion at the heart of your worry and allowed yourself to experience it, see if it's a reasonable worry hint: probably not. Then let it pass rather than allowing anxiety to ruin your quiet night at home.

Peel an orange -- The next time a thought threatens to snowball into a stressfest, grab an orange or grapefruit. Press your nail into the skin, peel it back and smell the citrus scent, focusing on every sensation. "Rather than worry about the future, you can bring yourself into the moment," Leahy says.

Get nostalgic -- Visualize your key life events of the past 10 years. You probably can't recall the worries linked with these experiences, or, if you can, you may see that most never happened. Tell yourself that current worries will fade from memory, too.

Ladies, next time he complains about the stress at work, throw this in his face!

Woman feel more stress. 44% of the day, vs 39% for guys.

Stress fell for both sexes after age 60

Woman stress over people and family, men over work

Under 40 feel heavy stress from arguments or interpersional communication

Midlifers were most stressed over money, not the lack of it, but how to use what they have.

Woman have 30 minutes less free time than men. Mother's have the least free time.

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