Conquer stress first before any other New Year's resolution

 

[caption id="attachment_18325" align="alignleft" width="290"] Social worker, likely to have increases in caseloads that causes stress[/caption]

Minimizing or conquering stress is the first step in making sure you are able to meet other New Year's resolution, for as experts remind us:  stress kills and is also responsible for many health problems.

Many people vow to lose weight every year but have trouble doing it.  Others look toward increasing physical activity or finding new ways to meet people or to expand creative outlets.  Yet all of these things can be impacted by stress, for good or ill.

There are a number of ways to reduce stress, experts remind us.  Much of that good information is from health-related sites, like the one managed by the Mayo clinic.  There are also recommendations given by professionals who specialize in helping people resolve emotional issues.

The basics of reducing stress, culled from many areas, include:

1.  Stop bad habits, gossiping, watching negative news and indulging in conspiracy theories and other areas where the emphasis is on the worst behaviors, not the best.

2.  Find like-minded people whose company you enjoy and who offer positive diversions, such as book discussions, visits to museums, dinners out or just a casual evening at home watching a favorite program.

3.  Comedy is a stress-reducer, as research has established.  It also promotes longevity.  If you have a bad moment or bad day, turn the channel away from the negative news to the Comedy Channel instead.

4.  Find time for yourself, even if it's a few minutes throughout the day.  Short snippets of time sandwiched between other activities that require attention, and sometimes involve stress, where you can meditate or relax your mind are important.  Having short intervals throughout the day that allow you to escape the pressures of everyday life is as important as the proverbial eat a number of small meals as opposed to big meals, for the frequency coupled with time allow breaks for the mind to be restored from the stress of its daily chores.

5.  Read a book, watch a play, find ways of creating things that help to restore the mind and heart.  Right-brain activities such as music, drawing and painting are activities that help reduce stress.

So the time that stress strikes, vow to conquer it with as many return "strikes" instead, that offer escapes of the heart, mind and soul that can make way for other New Year's resolutions to come true.

 

Remembering the message of 1946 with hope for the New Year

[caption id="attachment_16990" align="alignleft" width="326"] A New Year is like a baby with hope for the future[/caption]

Carol Forsloff---Was this year bad for you?  If it was, you aren't alone.  Weather disasters, conflicts the world over, social and economic stress filled the pages of the news every day, with humanitarian issues touched upon, but without the impetus among many to highlight what can be done to make the world a better place for you and me.  But while we worry about our past, if we are like the people in 1946, we will glance behind and know that we have before us a New Year of hope from which we can gain new pathways to peace and understanding.  For 58 years ago, President Truman announced the end of World War II.

Every year in recorded history has seen changes in many directions, and every year people worry that it can't get worse or better.  But we learn, as we grow older, there are things we can change and things we cannot.  And when we learn this important precept, we know where to place our frets and worries and where to place our hope.

Hope, as the poet said, springs eternal.  So 2014 is a year in which we all can hope.  We can hope to make the changes we wish for individually as well as for our communities.  We can use that as a beacon to shine our way to the victory of making that hope materialize into the changes needed to make our personal paths better and also for those others whom we care for everywhere.

Those who fought in World War II had hope when they returned, and when it was announced to the world the end of the war had come, people rejoiced as they looked forward to new beginnings.  What the nations of the world accomplished in those 57 years since has been remarkable in the sciences, technology and human affairs.  While we see where we are lacking, were we to turn back the time and observe the events of yesteryear, we would glow with pride with what we have done.

The Journal of Humanitarian Affairs begins closing the year with the hopes we wish for everyone:  that peace, understanding, goodwill and harmony among peoples be the ultimate goal and that we all lend ourselves to accomplishing that goal one person at a time.