An adrenaline rush is when your adrenal glands pump an excess amount of adrenaline into your body in response to high amounts of stress, such as when you are being attacked or responding to a disaster. After the situation has passed, your adrenaline levels go back to normal. However, if you are constantly stressed, be it by work or your environment, your body will stay in a constant fight-or-flight mode, which can be very bad for your health. If you have been experiencing intense adrenaline rushes that are caused by stress rather than actual threatening situations, it is important that you practice relaxation techniques to calm yourself down while also finding ways to make your life less stressful. Scroll down to Step 1 for more information.
Steps
Practicing Relaxation Techniques
- Be able to recognize symptoms of an adrenaline rush. When you experience an adrenaline rush caused by stress, there are certain symptoms you can look for to confirm that you are experiencing this rush. When you know the symptoms, you can more quickly move into relaxation techniques to combat your increased stressed levels. Symptoms to look out for include[1] :
- A ‘pounding’ or ‘racing’ heartbeat. When you get stressed, your heart will beat more quickly than normal.
- Shortness of breath. You may feel like you can’t get enough air or that you breathing is faster and shallower than normal.
- Sweating. You might experience an increase in your sweat levels, particularly on your palms and in your armpits.
- Blurred vision. You can tell if your vision is blurred by trying to read or look at something familiar.
- Headaches or pain in your chest.
- Trouble concentrating or performing normal tasks well.
- Fatigue paired with trouble sleeping.
- Focus your breathing rate. When you start to experience an adrenaline rush caused by stress, focus on your breathing rather than on the thing that is causing you stress. When you focus on the breath flowing in and out of your lungs, you will be able to calm yourself down. Breathe deeply, hold the air in for 5 seconds, and then release. Repeat this process for 10 minutes or until you feel calmer.[2]
- When you focus on your breathing, your brain stop detecting the tension or stress that is causing your adrenaline levels to increase. Because of this, it will stop sending messages to your adrenal gland so your adrenaline production will decrease.
- Use counting to help control the stress you feel. When you feel stressed, remove yourself from the stressful situation and then count to 20. Counting will help your mind to focus on something other than the thing that is making you stressed.[3]
- When you focus on something other than the stressful situation, your body will stop producing adrenaline.
- Practice a full body relaxation technique that will help you to feel calm. When you start to feel stressed, you can practice relaxing your whole body to decrease your stress levels. Lie down on the ground and spread your arms away from your body so that they are not touching your torso. Clear your mind and focus entirely on clenching and relaxing the muscles in your body.[4] Start with your feet:
- Tighten and contract the muscles in your feet for five seconds, then let the muscles slowly ease into deep relaxation. After 10 seconds, tighten the muscles in your feet for another five seconds and then let them relax.
- Move on to the muscles in your legs. Do the same process for each muscle group, making your way slowly up your body towards your head.
- Relax your mind by thinking positive thoughts. If you find yourself confronted by a stressful situation and adrenaline starts to pump through your body, you can actually use the power of positive thought to calm yourself down. Envision the best possible outcome of the stressful situation and then think about the ways that you can make that outcome happen.[5] For example:
- You find yourself dealing with an angry customer at your job. Imagine that the best possible outcome is making the customer happier by solving the problem. Now come up with all of the ways that you can make that customer happy (for instance, by offering him a coupon for the store, etc). Now that you have envisioned all this and know that you are capable of handling the situation, put your thoughts into actions and overcome the stressful situation.
- You can do this after you have relaxed your whole body (see the previous step) and alternating back and forth between physically relaxing and mentally imaging a positive outcome until you feel completely relaxed.
- Talk to someone about what you are going through. Sometimes, voicing your feelings and thoughts about the thing that is causing you stress is the best way to overcome the adrenaline rushes you’ve been feeling. Talk to someone that you trust, be it a family member, best friend, or therapist, about what you are going through.[6]
- Someone outside the situation can often see a logical way to solve the problem more easily than someone (you) who is in the midst of the situation.
- Get a massage. Massages feel great, relax your muscles, and regulate hormone levels (including adrenaline). If you are feeling very stressed and are experiencing adrenaline rushes, get yourself a massage and let the massage therapist work out your stress.
- 45 minute massages can help to reduce your levels of cortisol and vasopressin, two hormones that are associated with aggressive behavior and stress.
Making Lifestyle Changes
- Try to change the thing that is making you stressed. If there is one particular event, person, or situation that is making you stressed, make changes so that you do not have to deal with the stressful thing as much.[7] For example:
- If a friend is causing you stress because she is causing drama, decrease the amount of time you spend with that friend.
- If a situation at work is causing you stress, as someone on your team for help in dealing with the situation—two heads are always better than one.
- Promote better sleeping patterns. High levels of stress combined with too little sleep can turn into a vicious cycle: the stress you feel during the day can lead to a restless sleep, which leads you to feeling more exhausted and stressed the next day. To break this cycle, give yourself time to unwind at night.Try to get at least eight hours of sleep each night.[8]
- Reading a book, watching a movie, taking a bubble bath, or spending time talking with your partner can all help to clear your head of the stresses from the day.
- Make time to do things that you enjoy. One of the best ways to stop feeling as stressed is to focus on things that make you happy. Try to give yourself time to do things that make you happy every day. Simply going on a sunny walk before work can put you in a better, calmer mindset to face the stresses of the day.
- You should also make time to laugh every day. Laughing actually has healing properties—when you laugh or smile, chemicals in your body, including serotonin, endorphins, dopamine and norepinephrine, get secreted and work to combat feelings of stress or sadness.
- Surround yourself with people that make you happy. Like doing things that make you happy, being near people that make you laugh and smile is also an essential thing to do when you are feeling stressed. A simple kind word from someone you love can help to calm you down and remind you that you can overcome the stressful situation.
- Give hugs regularly. While this might sound silly, when your experience good physical contact, your body releases oxytocin, which makes you feel happy and reduces stress levels.[9]
- Exercise regularly. If you feel your adrenaline levels rising, go get some exercise. Putting the adrenaline you feel to good use by going on a run can keep you from experiencing overwhelming feelings of stress. Try to exercise for 30 minutes at least three to five times a week.[10]
- Go on a run or walk, for a swim or bike ride, or do some other sport with someone else, like tennis or rock climbing.
- Eat healthy. In particular, try to eat less sugar. Adrenaline increases the natural sugar levels in your body, so you don’t really want to add more sugar on top of your already spiked levels. Try to eat a balanced meal of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products. Stay away from junk food and unhealthy processed foods like chips.[11]
- Decrease the amount of caffeine and alcohol you consume. Both caffeine and alcohol have been known to increase adrenaline levels. In particular, caffeine is a stimulant that can make you feel even edgier when you are dealing with stress.[12]
- Help others. Volunteering and bettering the lives of others can often be an excellent way to solve your own problems. By seeing the plight of others, and by helping them to find a silver lining to their struggles, you may just find that you can also see the resolution to your own issues more clearly.
- Spend time helping at a food distribution clinic (such as a soup kitchen).
- Volunteer at a women’s shelter.
- Work with children who come from low income families.
- Do yoga. Yoga is an excellent way to unwind both your body and mind. Yoga actually helps to increase the oxygen levels in your body and brain, which in turn gives you more energy. Practicing yoga also helps to increase your endorphin levels (the chemical that makes you feel happy) while decreasing your adrenaline levels (which make you feel stressed).[13]
- Enroll in a yoga class or practice yoga at home with the use of an instructional yoga film.
Tips
- Another way to use the process of visualizing a positive outcome is by imaging a very peaceful scene, such as a field of flowers, and placing yourself in the scene.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you are going through something that is causing you to feel high amounts of stress, talk to someone about it.
Warnings
- Talk to a doctor if you are experiencing frequent and strong adrenaline rushes.
Sources and Citations
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source How to of the Day http://ift.tt/1qVatIq
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