Play Office Party Bingo for Easy Stress-Free Gatherings

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Play Office Party Bingo for Stress-less Office PartiesThis technique works well if you are going to a party with a friend but you can also play on your own.

Create a list of sterotypical party behaviours prior to the party and then see how many you can spot.  For example:

  1. Inappropriately/trashily dressed
  2. Couple hooking up for the first time
  3. Sucking up to the boss
  4. Having an argument
  5. Getting stuck talking to the biggest bore
  6. Married but flirting heavily with the opposite sex
  7. Too drunk to know they are being an idiot
  8. Career suicide conversation
  9. Old man leering at younger woman
  10. First woman to ditch her heels
  11. Someone drinking a “Shirley Temple”
  12. Table or chair dancing
  13. Best dancers
  14. Worst dancers
  15. First person to fall asleep

Have fun and make up your own categories.   Having a silly Party Bingo list will assist you to stay interested in what is occurring and provides lots of internal amusement when you spot something on your list.

This technique works equally well for office parties and family gatherings.  Let me know what categories you come up with!

Grabbit, Wrappit, Zappit

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Got stress? Here’s a handy little technique to get control when you’ve got something bothering you. I must warn you that you’re going to need a trusty weapon. I like the index-finger laser pistol as my weapon of choice. I’ve heard that the invisible, shoulder-mounted bazooka works well too. (wink,wink)

1. Grabbit! Snare the bothersome issue in your hands. Hold on tight because some issues are really squirmy.

2. Wrappit! Take the problem and wrap it up really securely so it can’t get loose. You might choose newspaper, plastic wrap or even cement. Choose a wrapping material that you think will contain the problem from here to eternity.

3. Zappit! Now pull out your trusty pocket weapon, toss your securely-wrapped problem in the air, and zap it to smithereens!

This is a great visualisation technique, but I like to actually go through the motions on this one. I envision that the problem I’m grabbing is a little gremlin. I hold him very tightly in my two hands. I wrap him securely in plastic wrap and then throw him in the air like I’m serving a tennis ball with my left hand. I do a quick draw with my right hand and POW, I blast him with my laser-index-finger-pistol. I’ll have to admit I even blow on the end of my finger, before re-holstering.

There you have it, stress control in three easy steps. It makes me smile every time, and I just love zapping my problems!

One Year Yardstick

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When I was a kid and really upset about something, my mother always used to say to me, “what difference will it make in a year.”  I hated that question.  I thought she wasn’t paying Stress Relief at Cognitus (UK) Ld.any attention to my problems.  As I’ve gotten older I realized that this was a really excellent rule of thumb.  The big things in life will still be important in a year, while the little things; like a ruined dinner, being late to a meeting or choosing a vacation destination aren’t really worth the negative impact of stress and anxiety.

So when something is really stressing you out, stop and ask yourself the question:

“What difference will it make a year from now?”

   

If one year feels too long for a ‘will-it-matter’ yardstick, then choose the interval that works for you; 1 week, 1 month, 3 months or 6 months.  Carefully consider whether the issue is important enough to demand some of your limited and precious time & energy.   If the answer is yes, by all means give the issue everything it requires.   However, if the answer is no, stop stressing un-necessarily.  

If today’s choices have no impact a year from now, just roll with the flow and let it go.

What to Do When a Lack of Choices Creates Stress

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I was speaking to a friend this week who was complaining about feeling rather stressed.  She commented that she felt out of control.  But she quickly went on to say that it wasn’t the “I’m a control freak and I need to be in control of every single detail, kind of thing; it’s something else that I don’t recognise.”  We talked for a while about what was going on in her life; choices narrowing, lack of good options, pressure to do things that she didn’t want to do at a time that didn’t suit her.  She suddenly had an ‘A-ha’ moment and said, “I’m not out-of-control, I’m out-of-choices.”

‘Out of Choices,’ what an absolutely brilliant turn of phrase to describe one of the major creators of stress.  Stress Relief with Cognitus (UK) Ltd. Read more »

De-stress Your Feet

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One of the side effects of my new contract job is having to wear “proper” shoes to work, the kind with 3″ heels.   When I work at home I live in slippers (and yes, they do have Winnie the Pooh on them!)  After three consecutive days in high heels my feet were protesting loudly.  You can’t always stop for a foot massage in the middle of the working day.  So if your feet are bothering you, what can you do?   I’ve found 3 great techniques that you can do under the desk to give your tootsies a break.   And gentlemen, these will work for you too!

Stress Relief from Cognitus (UK) Ltd.

I highly recommend that you slip off your shoes under the desk.   You might want to make sure you have no holes in your socks and that your feet aren’t too pungent!  For all three techniques, make sure you are sitting  comfortably, with your back straight and feet on the floor about hip width apart.  Note that all three stretches can be done in a standing position as well.

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Stress Relief in Just Ten Sounds

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Sometimes when we are stressed we go inwards and get stuck in an unproductive whirlwind of thoughts, emotions and feelings.   This was brought home to me recently during a very fraught and hectic commute.   I was due to chair a meeting and my public transportation choices were not co-operating with my aim to arrive on time.  All the signs of stresVisit Cognitus for great stress relief techniquess were there; shallow breathing, racing heart and spiralling thoughts. 

As I paced at the train station, I was comparing all the possible connection options, weighing stairs and time against cost and taxi ranks.   Then I started on a cycle of questions; is it un-professional to be late, would I be forgiven, did it really matter and why hadn’t I started earlier?   

I really needed to “get out of myself” and calm down.   I opted for one of my favourite techniques, Ten Sounds.    This technique is based on stilling the mind, tuning into the world outside yourself and raising your awareness of sound in the world around you.  Read more »

5 Simple Steps for Reducing Stress

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People often ask for the secrets to reducing stress.  You don’t have to sit cross-legged and chant ‘om’ to make a difference in your life.   Simple changes can produce BIG results. Practicing these 5 simple steps for thirty days will build new habits which support a “stress-less” life.  Read more »

Why do Stress Balls Work?

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Why do Stress Balls work?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many companies selling stress balls?   It seems like a daft product.   How can a squidgy ball help reduce your stress?

Believe it or not, there is some really good science behind the stress ball.  

Psychological theory suggests that when we are under stress we take information in through two channels. One is the basic, primal sensory channel: the sights, sounds, sensations, and smells of the situation. The other is an intellectual channel: our brains trying to make sense of what’s going on, and put it into words and a context that we can talk about.   Read more »

Rev Yourself Up with the Energy Racers Technique

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Have you ever had one of those days when your energy is flagging and it’s an enormous effort to put one foot in front of the other?   And then joy-of-joys, you are called into a meeting that is going to take hours longer than necessary.   When you are bored to your eye-teeth and are afraid you might fall asleep in front of the boss, what do you do to wake yourself up? 

Obviously, some jumping jacks or a brisk walk are out of the picture.  When you are stuck in your chair try a little energy Formula 1 racing with the Energy Racers technique. Read more »