Author: Ally

Deep Breathing To Manage Stress

Post author By Ally
Post date August 20, 2022
No Comments on Deep Breathing To Manage Stress

Sadly, we’re bombarded with multiple stress-inducing factors on a daily basis. From incessant pressure at work to responsibilities at home that never seem to end, life is hard.

That said, stressors don’t have to be small things that build up over time. They can also be one big life event that comes out of nowhere and turns your world upside down.

Whichever way stress burrows into your life, the problems of dealing with it are the same.

Luckily, one technique that’s proven to be successful at managing stress is deep breathing. This calming technique has many benefits besides lowering stress levels, such as improved blood flow and helping you sleep better.

So, keep reading to discover how deep breathing can make you healthier, stronger, and less anxious.

What Is Deep Breathing?

Deep breathing is a technique used to help you achieve inner peace and a sense of calm. The whole point of deep breathing is that it allows you to breathe through your abdomen, rather than the shallow breathing we typically do through our chest.

What abdominal breathing does is help control the nervous system by reducing the release of stress hormones. Thus, it encourages the body to calm down and relax, decreasing anxiety levels.

Consequently, this enhances your overall well-being. Deep breathing through the abdomen also prevents various illnesses and conditions, like high blood pressure, obesity, and Type-2 diabetes.

Moreover, deep breathing helps you focus more on what you’re doing. So, rather than make rash decisions, you can take your time to think things over.

How Does Deep Breathing Work?

Deep breathing allows you to boost the amount of oxygen in your bloodstream. Having more oxygen means your cardiovascular system works double time.

Then, as soon as your brain detects this substantial amount of oxygen in your system, it responds by doing several things. The first of these things is that it reduces the concentration of stress hormones. So, as a result, you calm down, and you become less stressed.

Follow these steps to perform basic deep breathing exercises:

First, put your right hand on your abdomen near your navel.
Next, place your left hand on the center of your chest.
Some people find it helpful to close their eyes, so you can try that and see if you feel comfortable.
Inhale and exhale fully a couple of times to shift from chest to abdominal, or diaphragmatic, breathing.
Next, inhale deeply while focusing on the rising of the abdomen as the lungs fill with air.
As you do this, it should cause your belly to expand about an inch.
Then, slowly let out your breath.
While exhaling, most of the movement should be in the area underneath your right hand. Your chest should only move slightly.
Each time you breathe in and out, focus on how you feel.
Repeat anywhere from 5–7 times.

Benefits of Deep Breathing

When you’re calm and relaxed, you breathe through your nose and take slow, even breaths. But then, something stresses us out, and our ‘fight or flight’ response kicks in.

This is when our breathing becomes more rapid and shallow to increase our oxygen supply. More oxygen means more blood rushing to our extremities, allowing us to run for cover or fight for our lives.

Yet, in today’s modern world, we neither run nor fight. Instead, we create this imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide that has no way of escaping, which affects our health and well-being.

Here are a few physiological benefits of controlled, deep breathing:

Lowered heart rate and blood pressure
Reduces lactic acid buildup in muscle tissue
Stronger immune system
A boost in physical energy
Reduced levels of stress hormones
A renewed blanched of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood
Increased feelings of calm and relaxation

Deep Breathing Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks you can use the next time you’re using the deep breathing technique to help you reverse your stress responses and feel calmer.

The trick to going from chest breathing to abdominal breathing is those first two full exhalations.
Pushing out the air from the bottom of our lungs creates a vacuum that will allow you to switch to abdominal breath on your next inhalation. Next, pause for a second or two before inhaling slowly.
The recommended breathing is through the nose. Yet, it takes a while for some people to get used to nostril breathing. So, in the meantime, you can breathe through your mouth until you’re more comfortable.
Avoid taking more than five deep breaths. More than five breaths make most people feel light-headed. If this sounds familiar, take 2–3 breaths at a time to avoid feeling giddy or off-balance.

Tags anxiety, deep breathing to manage stress, resilience, self care, stress

Introverts

How to Make Networking Events Less Stressful as An Introvert

Post author By Ally
Post date August 10, 2022
No Comments on How to Make Networking Events Less Stressful as An Introvert

Do you know many people who actually enjoy networking?

If you’re like most people, you find it awkward or uncomfortable, and if you’re an introvert, it might even feel excruciating.

However, you are aware that effective networking is critical for your career, whether you are looking for a new job, a promotion, or to grow your business. If you want to advance in your career, you must have strong networking skills.

So how can you make it less stressful? Try these tips to get more out of your network, and maybe you’ll even enjoy it!

1. Do your homework

You wouldn’t dream of going to a job interview or an important meeting without preparing, would you? Treat networking events the same. Find out as much as you can about the event, who’s organizing it, and who will be there. Study the sponsor’s website and arm yourself with knowledge, so you have two or three topics of conversation to help break the ice and start connecting with other participants.

2. Find yourself a role

If it’s appropriate, see if there’s any way you can volunteer to help out. If you have some official position, you have a ready-made pretext to connect with people. Make sure to check in with the organizers first, but maybe they could do with some extra people to staff the registration desk or set out welcome packs. Perhaps you could offer to take event photos or live Tweet. At question time, you could help pass the microphone.

3. Take a friend

Who says you have to go to networking events alone? It will feel much better if you invite a friend or colleague to share the learnings. Not only will you feel braver about connecting, but you’ll also likely look more approachable than if you’re standing alone radiating anxiety.

4. Find the key networker

You can take the stress off yourself by looking around to find the extrovert, the natural networker who knows everyone. In any big group, there will always be one or two people who are enjoying connecting with people. Find that person and benefit from their positive networking. Follow in their wake, and you will find it much easier to join in the conversation.

5. Turn it into a game

Try taking the heat off yourself by turning networking into a game. Before you go, make yourself a list or even a bingo card of things you want to achieve. Your networking goals can include things like connecting with two people, handing your business card to five people, connecting on LinkedIn to three people.

Uncategorized

5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Yourself

Post author By Ally
Post date August 8, 2022
No Comments on 5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Yourself

Prefer to listen rather than read?

You’ve probably read dozens of articles on how to develop healthy relationships with others. However, we don’t see many articles that discuss how to work on improving your connection with yourself.

The irony is that no other relationship is as important to your health as your relationship with yourself. You may not realise it, but this relationship governs your entire life…

It influences how you manage relationships, interact with colleagues, deal with conflict and even sleep at night…and so much more.

Today, I’ll show you how improving your connection with yourself can make you a happier and more fulfilled person.

woman beside white vehicle during daytime

Let’s get started…….

So, how do you go about improving your relationship with yourself?

To begin, you must take your beliefs, feelings, and goals seriously. Then you must recognise that your flaws and your strengths are two sides of the same coin. They coexist to form the unique individual you are today.

It’s critical to remember that no one knows what it’s like to be you. This is why you must be your best friend. Learn to be compassionate to yourself and to others.

Begin with these five techniques to boost your self-esteem so that you are confident in yourself and believe that you are worthy of others’ respect.

#1: Recognise Your Likes and Dislikes

Self-acceptance is defined as knowing what you like and dislike.

It also implies that you do not alter your way of life or the way you do certain things just to please others. Allow yourself to be seen for who you are, flaws and all.

That can be difficult at times.

Our society teaches us that following the rules of others is the only way to fit in and be accepted.

Recognising that we are all unique requires accepting your uniqueness and learning to embrace it.

Understanding your likes and dislikes, as well as your strengths and is essential. Once you’ve identified those, you’ll be able to do more of what makes you happy.

#2: Be Kind To Yourself

We are sometimes our own worst enemies. We are merciless in our criticism, pricking and prodding at our perceived flaws.

Our weight is usually at the top of the list. But there are other things we obsess over including the shape of our bodies or the bags under our eyes.

For a change, why not try something new? Find one thing you like about yourself the next time you look in the mirror. Praise yourself and express your appreciation for it.

Now this may not be easy. In fact, you might not even think of anything to be thankful for at first

You are not alone, so don’t be surprised. Almost nine times out of ten, your gaze will be drawn to the aspects of yourself that you dislike.

But don’t be discouraged. You’ll be able to make a list of everything that makes you beautiful and unique with daily practise.

What about all the other things you dislike? Accept them as they are. They are still a part of what makes you the special and unique individual that you are.

Just be your own unique beautiful self.

#3: Pay Attention to Yourself

Pay attention to your gut instincts when something feels off. Even if it’s difficult, uncomfortable, or contradicts what others say.

Allow yourself to feel and become at ease with your emotions and beliefs. When you listen to your body and gut instincts, you will experience inner peace and a sense of belonging.

You’ll get better at understanding your body’s cues and signals after a while. Only then can you begin to strengthen your connection with yourself.

# 4: Create Good Habits

Developing healthy habits is an easy way to improve your relationship with yourself.

Your healthy habits can begin with when you first wake up in the morning and end when you go to bed at night.

These healthy habit practises could include any of the following:

Journaling and/or a gratitude journal
Make a list of positive affirmations to increase your self-worth.
Regular exercise – this is essential.
Plan healthy, well-balanced meals on a regular basis.
Meditation should be done mindfully.
Smile! It elevates your mood and relieves stress.

#5: Encourage Positive Behaviour

Many of us are all-or-nothing people. We decide to do something, and as soon as we begin to hit a tough patch , we call it quits and vice up!

Perfectionism can be a part of this. And depression can be caused by perfectionism. It traps you in a cycle of self-blame and negativity, which can lead to a dark and lonely place.

To break free from this toxic cycle, first accept that you are not perfect. You will make mistakes, and your day will not always go as planned. That’s fine!

Assume you set a goal of going to the gym for an hour five times per week. The first week goes as planned, but you miss a day (or two!) the second week.

You then have two options: just give up and cancel the entire event….. or continue where you left off. If you find that five days a week is too much by week three, reduce it. Instead of a full 60 minutes, try a half-hour.

This does not have to be limited to exercise. It also applies to your diet, sleep, and work objectives. Do the work while showing yourself some love and encouragement. Everything else will fall into place.

Conclusion

Having high self-esteem helps.

Good self-esteem enhances your sense of self. It’s one of the most effective ways to cultivate a positive relationship with yourself and, ultimately, with others.

Each of the five techniques aims to improve your relationship with yourself. That should be your top priority.
These techniques can boost your self-confidence and keep you grounded if you practise them on a daily basis. As a result, you can form a strong, balanced connection with yourself. Only then can you begin to live in accordance with your true self:)

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