5 Tips To Boost Your Spirits

If you�re feeling like everything is getting on top of you, or you�re finding it difficult to cope or function, or you�re feeling down in the dumps, then try these 5 easy-to-do tips to relieve tension and stress and boost your spirits:

1. Take a relaxing bath. Add music, candles and a glass of your favourite drink: beer, tea, hot chocolate, wine or even champagne. Close the door and forget about everything else for an hour or so. This helps to increase levels of calmness and the calmer we feel, the less likely we are to get stressed out or depressed.

2. Comedy night: get in your favourite nibbles: chips, tortillas, salsa, crackers, cheese, pizza, chocolate, cookies, ice cream etc. Crack open a bottle of wine or pour yourself a beer or two and spend a full evening watching your favourite funny films or comedians. Laughter raises our spirits and is a great antidote to the stresses and trials of modern living.

3. Get out of the firing line: Take off for some peace and quiet for a day or better still a weekend or a week. Take a journal, relax and gather your thoughts. When we�re under pressure or struggling to cope with a major situation or event in life, seeing solutions to our problems can be really difficult. Distance from problems can bring clarity and relieve tension. I love going to the coast when I feel like this and it always, without fail, helps me to calm down and find solutions. I don�t know why but there�s something really soothing about being near the ocean. Being near water, come to think of it.

4. Increase calmness and feel great by indulging in massage. Share a massage with your partner � create a relaxing atmosphere by softening the lights and have oils and towels to hand. Lavender oil is particularly relaxing. Or, treat yourself to a massage from a professional masseur or masseuse. For a really invigorating massage, visit a Turkish baths if you�re fortunate enough to have one nearby. Massage is very relaxing and increases intimacy between lovers. It�s one huge stress buster as well but be warned, it�s addictive! Not a bad thing to be addicted to though, and it will do you no end of good.

5. Spend a week without watching any television. Television can fill your mind with negativity, bombard you with image manipulation via commercials and give you a distorted view of reality by showing you everything that�s bad about the world. Famines, disasters, murders, violence, war � the list is endless � and news programmes and soap operas are full of such events. So give your mind a break from this assault on your senses. Abandon the television for a week and do something more rewarding instead: Read a book, listen to music, socialize, workout, go for a walk or try your hand at something new. If you need to hear the news, listen to a radio news bulletin once a day. But try and avoid them for one week, replace them with something more life enhancing and see how you feel.

The above ideas are very simple to implement but they are also very effective in helping to relieve stress and tension. Give them a try and watch your mood levels rise!

Until next time.

About the author:
Chris Green is the author of the new acclaimed book "Conquering Stress", the complete guide to beating stress, depression and anxiety, quickly, naturally and permanently. Click Here>http://www.conqueringstress.com

Source: Article Directory

Fit For What?
Copyright 2005 Tanja GardnerUnless we�re talking about our bodies, and the amount of exercise they can do, we usually talk about being fit in relation to something. An object is �fit for use�, clothing is �fit to be worn at work�, and food is �fit to be eaten�. My parents used to have a running joke that they were fit � fit to drop! Everything else is fit 'for something'. So why do we insist on describing ourselves as �fit� or �unfit� without relating the concepts to anything else?GENERAL PRINCIPLESIt�s a basic truth that the human body wasn�t made to sit still for any length of time. We spent tens of thousands of years evolving in an environment that required us to move � to find shelter, to catch food, and to keep ourselves safe from predators. We�ve only been living lifestyles that allow us to be sedentary for the...

The Main Cause Of Insomnia?
Copyright 2005 Wendy OwenWell in my opinion the main thing that keeps us tossing and turning at night is worrying about not going to sleep.Sure there might be other reasons for sleeplessness; chronic pain, restless legs syndrome, partner disturbance, too much coffee....But at the end of the day you're lying there worrying about how you're going to get through the next day if you don't get to sleep *right now!*Worry and the stress it causes, are by far the main causes of sleeplessness, and the sad part is, the more we worry, the more wide awake we feel. But what can we do about it?We have to empty our conscious minds of worrying and stressful thoughts (yeah right! Easier said than done!)Stress and worry can affect your sleep quite dramatically. It can be an isolated stressful incident which k...

Aromatherapy For Stress Relief At Work
Most people work a 40 hour week so we can estimate that we typically spend about 2,000 hours at work each year. And many people work even more than this. Yet we often don�t take the time to ensure that our job setting is a pleasant place to be. Our jobs are often very stressful and stress is a known trigger for many common ailments...

Anxiety And Depression
are the emotional disorders of two different kinds. Anxiety is a type of an emotional disturbance caused due to imbalances in the body. Depression, on the other hand, is a psychological problem caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. In both the conditions, a person becomes lethargic and his or her appetite decreases. Anxiety and Depression has a variety of symptoms. Feeling of hopelessness, negativity, persistent sadness, feeling of guilt, worthlessness, lack of concentration and decreased energy levels are the common symptoms of De...

Research Confirms Drinking Relieves Stress
The results are in, the clinical trials have spoken. Drinking relieves stress--drinking green tea, that is. There's something in green tea that helps us relax. And it may start turning up in other foods soon.The legendary benefits of green tea--weight loss, cancer prevention, immune system...

Plan To Succeed!
To get what we want in life we need to have a plan. Goals are an important part of making plans and being successful. If we want to lose weight, we need to set goals and have a plan. If we want to be fit, we need to set goals and have a plan. If we want to have less stress, we need to s...

Stress Research The Fight-or-flight Response
In 1932, Walter Cannon offered some of the earliest research on stress and established the theory of the "fight-or-flight" response. His work proved that when an organism experiences a shock or perceives a threat, it reacts instantly by releasing hormones that help it to survive.In human beings and other animals, these hormones allow for greater speed and strength. Heart rate and blood pressure increases, delivering more oxygen and blood sugar to support major muscles. Sweating increases to better cool the muscles and allowing them to remain efficient. Blood is regulated to reduce blood loss if there is any damaged. Hormones focus our attention on the threat, to the exclusion of everything else. All of this commands a heightened ability to survive life-threatening events.We can also trigger this same reaction...

Zeroing In On The Prevention Of Heart Disease
Copyright 2005 Octocat LtdMore Americans succumb to the effects of heart disease than any other illness. Rated the number one killer, heart-related ailments are brought about by a variety of circumstances � some of which are preventable.The power that each individual has to ensure their own heart health is amazing, when you consider the factors that play a role in the variety of diseases that target...

Canine Md: Six Ways Your Dog Can Save Your Heart
Science has finally caught up with what dog lovers have known for years--that having a dog is great for your health. Here are six ways science has proven that living with a dog promotes better heart health. Decreased cholesterol and triglycerides. Lower cholesterol and triglycerides reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Resultsof a three-year study of over 5,700 people showed that those who lived with pets, including dogs, had lower blood pressure andtriglyceride and cholesterol levels than did non-pet-owners, even after accounting for add...

The Fuel Of Stress, Anxiety And Depression
In the 21st Century, it is predicted that stress and stress related illnesses such as depression and anxiety will become the biggest killers. Despite significant advances in housing, standards of living, quality of food, and medical science, the pressures all of us have to face in today�s world are as demanding as any pressures experienced by our predecessors.Why are these illnesses on the rise? And why do some people become so ill through these illnesses, they can find it hard to function?Well they sure don�t happen overnight! You don�t suddenly wake up one morning and feel stressed or depressed. It�s not like flicking on a light switch! And by the same rule, if you�re suffering, you can�t just wake up one morning, flick off the switch and say �Great, I�m better now.�Many people who don�t suffer from these i...

How To Reduce Stress That Causes Hair Loss And Bad Hair
Your hair will be radiant and shining if you are healthy physically as well as emotionally. Your hair becomes dull and lifeless if you are upset emotionally. Your hair will begin to fall out, and it will become waxy with the overproduction of sebaceous glands.Stress can affect your hair the same way that affects your other major organs such as your heart. Stress can cause hair loss and many times cause hair problems 3-6 months after some trauma event occurred. ...

Seven Easy Ways To Do Aromatherapy Skin Care At Home
When there is easy way to do your aromatherapy skin care at home, why do you have to do it outside your house. You can save money and you can treat your skin properly. You will look fresh and your skin will be healthy although you do it at home.The important message is that you must not careless with your skin. Although you feel you have complexion and glowing skin, you must understand that�s not forever. You still need to care your skin in order to be healthy because the longer you allow your skin to go without caring, the longer it will get damage. Well, aromatherapy skin care is a good choice.Why do skins get damage? There are different causes, but generally your skin gets damaged because of allergic, make-up you wear and the sun exposure you endure or maybe stress. In ord...

Set Yourself Stress-free
Stress in our personal and professional lives is everchanging and constantly on the rise. Everyday we�reexpected to do more and more with less and less - lessresources, less energy and less time. In order to master theability to manage stress, it�s important to first remove one ofthe biggest obstacles that stands between chaos and calm -SELF. Ofte...