Change your mindset to reduce your stress

Stress Management Strategy #3: Adapt to the stressor.

If you can't change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

You can start by reframing problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.

It also helps to focus on the positive. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all of the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.

Here's a tip to help you adjust your attitude: each time you start to have a negative thought, pay attention to it. And eliminate words such as "always," "never," "should," and "must." These are tell-tale marks of self-defeating thoughts.

How you think can have a profound effect on your emotional and physical well-being. Each time you think a negative thought about yourself, your body reacts as if it were in the throes of a tension-filled situation. If you see good things about yourself, you are more likely to feel good; the reverse is also true.

Always one to be in tune with how her clients feel, Laura Perez, one of our massage therapists, describes her approach:

"What I think is special about being a therapist is to have good intentions in your heart when you work on someone-- the intention will transfer from your hands to the client."

You can be the one with good intentions by sharing the benefits of a relaxing massage with someone you care about. Either delight in a couple's massage, or select a gift certificate that they can use for the services of their choice. We now have new themes for the holidays that you can download and print directly from your computer.