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Stress Reduction 101: 5 Easy Ways to Reduce Stress Now

After years of enduring the stress of co-hosting a successful, high profile morning show, radio personality Bill Simpson (aka Sanborn of Carter & Sanborn on Power 99 and WDAS) sought out ways to reduce stress in order to keep up with the demands and pressures of his job/life. He became so passionate about his journey that he is now a Stress Reduction Coach and shares his knowledge and experience to help others reduce stress. Bill also knows first hand the effect of unemployment as he has been unemployed in radio since September 2008 as a result of a format change at Smooth Jazz WJJZ in Philadelphia.

In his presentation Stress Reduction 101: 5 Simple Ways To Reduce Stress Now, Bill demonstrates how to take responsibility in dealing with stress. You may not be able to change a stressful situation but you can change how you respond to it. There are many ways to handle stressful situations. Bill offers 5 simple ways in which you can immediately begin to reduce stress. All of these can be done anywhere at any time:

(1) Change Your Thoughts-This is not simply thinking positive thoughts and repeating affirmations (which can be helpful). It is also important to accept the negative thoughts/feelings and act on your values. For example, you may have negative thoughts or feelings about your coworker. You want to yell at him or her. You accept that you are angry and want to yell but you act on your value of not being aggressive toward people; or you value your health and act in a way that doesn't get your blood pressure up; or you value acting professionally in order to maintain your job and act in a way that does not get you fired; etc.

(2) Breathe-Learning to breathe abdominally is one of the best ways to instantly reduce stress. It calms the mind, heart and the nervous system. As you inhale push your stomach out and as you exhale let your stomach collapse. Concentrating on breathing in and out helps to calm body & mind and keeps you in the present moment. Use stressful situations as a cue to breathe. For example, you are late for work and you run into a red light. Use red lights as a cue to breathe rather than act out.

(3) Move Your Body-Exercise comes in all shapes and sizes. It doesn't mean you have to join a gym or a sports team. Any activity that involves a good amount of movement is exercise. Gardening, walking in the park, dancing to your favorite music, etc. are all ways of exercising. Find out what kind of movement you enjoy and do it regularly. Movement helps to send positive hormones to the brain which helps reduce stress.

(4) Quiet Your Mind-Take time each day to sit quietly and calm your mind. With thousands and thousands of thoughts bombarding us constantly, it is a good idea to quiet the mind of these thoughts. There are numerous ways to quiet your mind or meditate. One of the easiest things to do is to concentrate on your breathing. I am breathing in and I am breathing out. This will help calm your mind and body by slowing down the inner dialogue that is going on in your brain.

(5) Self-Soothe-Many of us don't take time to nurture ourselves. Some think of it as selfish. We are not taught as a culture that it is ok to nurture ourselves so we go about our daily lives piling on more and more duties and stress. One way to self-soothe is to take time to massage your whole body and nurture yourself. It is the next best thing to someone else doing it for you. The results leave you invigorated and feeling stress free!

Bill offers this presentation to businesses and corporations, civic groups and organizations, schools and universities. He also offers individual stress reduction coaching as well.

For rates and more information please call Bill at 215-264-8890.

Stress Happens.

It's How You Respond To It

That Makes The Difference.