Sports training is a way of stressing the body in a desirable manner to enable the athlete to adapt to high levels of stress in competition.
A great deal of these training methods and adaptations are very useful in helping you cope with stress, both in sport and daily living.
Stress Management can improve quality of life whilst complete stress avoidance can make you more exposed to future stresses.
These points can offer awareness into managing stress:
1. Any Method of Stress Management will work, irrespective of Scientific Logic, if you believe in it.
2. A Method that is accomplished at high cost in terms of effort, money or commitment is more likely to work than one that is gained at little or no cost.
3. A Method that is taught or accomplished in an inspiring, emotional or challenging way will be more successful.
4. A Method that appeals to the beliefs, background and preconceptions of the consumer is more likely to work.
5. No Method is superior or inferior to another. A given method is better for a given individual in a given situation at a given time.
6. Stress is a dynamic psychological and physiological process which needs to be managed by dynamic methods.
7. To improve your quality of life, you must optimize stress and not necessarily avoid or diminish stress.
8. Planned exposure to controllable stresses (e.g. challenging exercise) enables you to cope with greater levels of stress (both manageable and unmanageable).
9. Movement and Exercise is priceless when it comes to managing stress.
10. Specific altered states of consciousness through music, meditation, breath work, exercise etc can have huge influences on dealing with stress.
11. The Analysis or anxiety of stress or pain is often times worse than the stress or pain itself. This can change our mindset on how to deal with the stress.
