Too Busy for Your Own Good (11 page)

Anxiety or a feeling of impending doom

Resignation to difficult situations

If you have five or more of these symptoms along with persistently sad and empty feelings for two or more weeks, please get professional help. See a mental health care provider or your primary care doctor, as most cases of depression will not be helped by stress reduction alone.

As you can see, excess stress has a powerfully negative effect on your life—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Read on to learn a simple, easy, and quick way to counteract the little stresses before they deplete your natural resources. The following exercise can be used any place or time—except when operating heavy machinery or driving a car—and as often as you want, without unpleasant side effects.

Under certain conditions, a small cut on your arm could kill you—for instance, if the cut was in an artery and you were anemic, in which case your blood wouldn't clot, and you could do nothing to stop it. Likewise, everyday busyness leads to stress, which can lead to potentially life-threatening health problems if you're not careful. Luckily, there are several small adjustments you can make that will stave off these health problems. That's why I'm giving you a powerfully simple first-aid tool for your antistress kit. As with a pressure-relief valve (or the little jiggler on top of a pressure cooker), benefits of this exercise are immediate. It is faster and longer acting than popping a pill and without the lingering consequences of a tequila shot.

I've been teaching this five-minute first aid at my workshops for many years to men and women of all ages and from a variety of work and life positions. No matter if my topic focus is dealing with difficult people, gender conflicts, or stress reduction, I always throw this exercise into the mix. I get e-mails, letters, and comments from people telling me that it works so well that they now incorporate it into their lives and teach it to others. Several managers have taught it to their staff and have taken to handing out their own version of a “first-aid pass” that gives a worker permission to take a five-minute first-aid break
now
. Another manager of a particularly stressed-out department turned an unused closet into an SFA (stress first-aid) room—complete with chair, pleasant posters, light switch, and an “occupied/available” sign on the door.

Bonnie runs her own catering business, often with more than twenty people working for her on a job. She started using this process when she found herself hyperventilating and nauseated while working with one particular high-profile “bridezilla” who could potentially influence
many more jobs. Bonnie confessed in a letter to me later that she came incredibly close to losing her cool with the young woman (and her mother), but then she locked herself in the bathroom and applied this five-minute first aid. She was able to pull herself together, resolve the hovering difficult situation, and even get all the people involved laughing and lightening up.

While you might not always have as much at stake as there was with Bonnie, this exercise can be very helpful since your health is at stake in the long run. Do this exercise whenever you need immediate pressure relief. If you're too busy and you find yourself on the verge of becoming stressed-out, it's time for your five-minute first aid!

Go to a place where you won't be disturbed. (Trust me, unless it's a dire emergency, the world will survive without you.) Bring an eight-ounce glass of water at room temperature.

1
. Loosen any constricting clothing, such as a tie, neckline, waistband, or belt. (Go ahead, nobody's looking.)

2
. Drink your water.

3
. Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground and close your eyes. Put your hands in your lap or hang them loosely at your sides.

4
. While allowing your stomach to “pooch out,” take deep, slow breaths. Inhale through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat ten times.

5
. Starting at your toes, “tighten” and hold them tightly for a count of ten. Move slowly and concentrate only on the muscles that you're tightening.

6
. You are now going to be moving upward on your body, holding the “tighten” step for a count of ten. When you're finished with each body part, inhale and exhale slowly:

Tighten and relax your calves.

Push your knees together tightly and release.

Tighten your buttocks and release.

Tighten your stomach and release.

Squeeze your fists tightly and release.

Flex your biceps and release.

Squeeze your upper body with your arms and release.

Scrunch your shoulders toward your ears and release.