7 Tips on How to Provide Stress Relief to a Friend

By Ann Stewart

We are living in a stressful age and many folks are having a hard time coping with it. Stress can creep up suddenly and unannounced, and is exceptionally hard on those who live alone. You can do your part to provide some stress relief for a friend or acquaintance that you know is in a stressful situation:

1. Realize that most people suffering from stress don't want to show it or ask for help.

Instead of feeling offended at being snubbed, be alert as to the reason of your friend's gloomy attitude and show support. Making light of situations and displaying a positive attitude helps alleviate stress.

2. Look for warning signs of stress, or deeper depression that could be a result of stress.

Some telltale signs of stress are lack of appetite, a gradual drawing away from friends and family, absenteeism from work, extreme fatigue, lack of interest in hitherto favorite pastimes, and sudden changes in appearance. Once you have determined that stress indeed is the reason for your friend's change in behavior, you are then in a better position to help relief the burden.

3. Assure your friend that you can be counted on as a true friend and will be there right to the end.

Keep in touch regularly to encourage and offer a listening ear. Assurance of friendship is very powerful and, until your friend is ready to acknowledge any tangible help, it may be all that's needed at that moment.

4. Provide a listening ear.

Being a good listener helps the stressful one to unload and look the problem square in the eye and come to terms with it.

5. Offer to do something tangible, like babysitting a single mom's child for a couple of hours of respite.

Very often the stress is due to being overwhelmed with too many tasks. Wherever possible, you can help your friend identify which heavy, time consuming or difficult task can be alleviated, delegated or even discarded altogether.

6. Invite your friend out for dinner, a movie, or a board game.

Especially for folks who live alone, it is important to get out and do some form of physical activity. This will help increase appetite as well, which is so vital. Keep the conversation light and uplifting.

7. Provide energizing nutrition.

The stressful person generally has neither energy nor desire to cook a nutritious meal, eat healthy snacks or take nutritional supplements. If at all possible, depending on the circumstances, an important thing you can do is to provide your friend with an easy to take, pleasant tasting nutritional, high antioxidant smoothy or juice. This will bring spark back into the cells and help reinforce the zest for life.

Stress maintenance and the immune system are interdependent. When you are stressed out, your immune system needs to be reinforced. The reverse is also true. That's where antioxidants come in. They are the immune system picker uppers par excellence.


Author Resource:- Ann Stewart is a nutritional health coach. Ann recommends: http://health-s-care.com and http://youthmakeover.com for anti aging and stress management.