Guidelines For Low Stress Living

1. Make time your friend, not your enemy. Develop time management techniques.
2. Learn and practice the skill of relaxation.
3. Engage in activities that give you a chance to do something relaxing or creative without having to have something to show for it.
4. Don't develop one area of your life to the exclusion of others. Seek rewarding experiences in all facets of living.
5. Find some time every day for privacy. You need to be alone with your thoughts away from work or other pressures.
6. Associate with people who affirm your individuality and respect your wants and needs.
7. Form at least one or two high-quality relationships with people you can trust. Learn to express your true feelings to them.
8. Don't continue in stressful situations with family and friends. Take action to find a resolution in problem areas.
9. Guard your personal freedoms - to choose your friends, to love whom you choose, to structure your time as you seem fit, and to set your own life goals.
10. Review your "obligations" from time to time and make sure they are also bringing rewards to you. Get rid of the things that only bring satisfaction to someone else.
11. Don't live for or through your children, spouce or anyone else.
12. Open yourself up to new experiences.
13. Develop and keep sensible eating habits.
14. If you smoke, cut down or stop completely.
15. Use liquor sparingly, if at all. Don't let it use you.
16. Free yourself from dependencies on tranquilizers, sleeping pills, headache pills or other depressant drugs. Be cautious of the use of laxatives and cold remedies. Teach your body to relax and normalize its functions.
17. See the humor in life. Laugh at yourself whenever you get a chance.
18. Practice making positive statements. Remind yourself the YOU are a worthwhile and deserving person several times daily.