How to cope with stress and anxiety

Worldwide there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people struggling with increased stress and anxiety. It is estimated that over 60% of the population are victims to it.

The reality is that high levels of stress and anxiety are harmful to human health and wellbeing. To relieve the levels is critical for improved quality of life.

I have been coaching and training people full time since 2008 and have never experienced such a high number of people struggling with high stress levels and increased anxiety. After coaching numerous people to cope with this, I have created a process that has shown great results in my clients, and I teach this process to my Coaching students. Find out more about NLP courses.

I will explain the process, steps, and reasoning for each step in this article and I trust many will find it useful. It is vital that you follow these steps in exact sequence.

Here is the process:

1. Start by realising and accepting that stress and anxiety are influencing your life and make a conscious decision to change. Stress and anxiety take years to develop to a state where it requires time to stop progression and rewrite the neuron pathways created in the  brain.

    2. List 20 activities you can do that are easy and relaxing.

   Some examples are:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Taking a bubble bath
• Going for a walk
• Gardening
• Playing with pets
• Listening to great music
• Enjoying a cup of tea
• A great meal
• Time with friends
• Light exercise
• Craftwork
• Decorating
• Etc

Find and list 20 that you think you might enjoy. Don’t overthink the list, just let it flow easily.

3. Now order the list in any sequence from 1 to 20

4. For the next 20 days actively enjoy doing one of the activities

• This will start interrupting the stress pattern in the brain
• It teaches variety and spice to the brain
• It creates a new and varied pattern of understanding that there are many experiences to enjoy.This understanding does not happen on a  logic/conscious level but becomes a subconscious awareness.

5. After completion of each activity, decide if you really enjoyed it. If you did, you may add it to your daily routines.

6. After 20 days of actively doing 1 new activity for relaxation, repeat the process for another 20 days, but with a small alteration.

During each activity notice how, it serves you. It could bring calmness, a new deeper understanding or even a spiritual awareness. Allow yourself to fully experience the relaxing activity and find how it serves you.

• Finding how it serves you forces your mind to embrace the moment in time.
• Embracing the moment teaches you how to live in the moment.
• It retrains the mind that is filled with stress, because stress and anxiety are future based states and feelings.     They force the brain out of the “now moments” into “possible future outcomes”.
• By training the mind to experience NOW, we subconsciously empower ourselves to “reframe” the future because we are better equipped.

 7. On completion of the second set of 1 activity per day for 20 days, take a moment to access your own state and notice what positive change has already happened.

 8. At this stage the brain is ready for the next phase of reprogramming itself. Start by creating an easy achievable goal. Something that will require no more than 5 days to achieve.

 9. On achievement, allow yourself to self-celebrate by spoiling yourself with something small.

10. Now create your next goal that can be achieve in 2 weeks.

• This setting of goals rewrites the neuron pathways to become more positive about the future.
• Self-celebration and reward on completion installs a better self-identity and hope.
• Hope is the opposite of stress and rewrites our experience.

11. In the meantime, daily continue the relaxation activities that you found most rewarding and enjoyable.

12. Slowly start introducing bigger goals that take a little more time to achieve than the previous goals. Ensure each goal has active steps to complete each week.

13. During this process you can journal your experiences for improved results.

14. I often advise clients to create gratitude boards to assist and remind them of the great things in life.

I know that this process is easily achievable for any person and experience has proven that it will only bring improvement. Following this process has no risks and will improve your state and experience.

Read more: Five tips to avoid stress