Squash is an exciting sport which demands complete concentration throughout. Because of this, playing squash is one of the best ways to reduce stress in life.
Previous studies on mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (MAC) interventions/programms have demonstrated positive effects for both college and professional level athletes, but this particular research utilizes it with national sub-elite squash athletes.
Self-awareness
Squash can be an excellent way to relieve tension and anxiety by moving your body and releasing endorphins – natural feel-good chemicals found within our bodies that produce feelings of wellbeing. Plus, socialising outside can bring many other advantages! For maximum benefits it is advised that players play at least one session of squash each week in order to lower stress levels and improve mental wellbeing.
Self-awareness is key for effectively managing stress because it allows you to recognize how emotions and thoughts influence behavior, improving stress management and relationships more efficiently as well as identifying stress triggers and developing coping strategies. Some techniques for developing this awareness include mindfulness meditation, journaling, body scan meditation or seeking feedback from trusted family or colleagues.
Studies indicate that self-awareness may help protect working memory (WM) in those experiencing chronic stress. Researchers found that priming with self-awareness helped enhance performance on an attentional control task known as the N-Back task, measuring sustained attentional control processing and memory encoding. Participants in the study were then exposed to stressful situations before being primed with either self-awareness or control primes; during this task the self-awareness group showed more accurate responses with larger P2 and LPP ERP components elicited than controls; suggesting self-awareness enhances allocation of attentional resources to combat such events preventing impairment to WM caused by chronic stress.
Self-awareness has the added advantage of increasing emotional intelligence. Being emotionally intelligent allows you to manage and understand your own emotions better and respond more appropriately in stressful situations, making smarter decisions, and understanding others’ emotions, leading to healthier relationships and decreasing stress levels.
Self-awareness is an essential element of emotional intelligence – the ability to comprehend both your own and other people’s emotions – which is an effective means of enriching both life and career. Self-awareness helps identify stress triggers, develop coping strategies and maintain physical wellbeing; in addition it can aid with managing relationships as well as finding support when needed.
Focus
Squash is an indoor racquet sport which has experienced considerable growth since it first emerged in England over 150 years ago. Now enjoyed in over 150 countries around the globe, this game requires intense physical exertion but can also serve as an effective stress management technique by helping refocus attention onto present moment; whether that be through playing squash, exercise or simply walking down a street: paying attention to sights, sounds and sensations around you can be a great way to lower stress levels and enjoy life more fully!
Stress is a natural part of life. Unfortunately, however, sometimes it can get out of hand. When an unpleasant event takes place, your brain responds by activating physiological mechanisms in your body which causes tension to increase – heart rate increases and blood pressure spikes as a response. Your body does this to protect itself against perceived dangers that exist either physically or figuratively.
Mindfulness practices aim to teach individuals to pay conscious, nonjudgmental attention to the present moment in an non-judgemental way, with the purpose of developing more adaptive, measured responses to stressful events. Studies have demonstrated how mindfulness can significantly improve mental health by decreasing anxiety and depression as well as chronic pain severity, increasing emotional regulation and decreasing arousal levels.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and designed by him over eight weeks, employs three formal mindfulness techniques that promote stability of cognitive perspective: body scan as an attention-focusing technique; hatha yoga; and sitting meditation. MBSR’s primary benefits may be found through attenuated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation and autonomic activation as well as reduced inflammation.
As part of your stress relief regimen, informal mindfulness exercises may also be effective. Activities like playing the piano or juggling may serve as mindfulness activities when done mindfully with attention paid to what’s going on around you.
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to adapt to and overcome stressful situations. Resilience is vital as our brains naturally trigger our “fight or flight” response in response to perceived threats, whether these be real (like cars rushing up behind you) or imagined ( like worrying about an exam result). Resilience allows us to manage short-term stressors such as fear and anxiety associated with short-term stressors so we can make healthy decisions such as taking time for self-care, eating right and getting enough restful sleep.
Resilient people have the ability to rebound quickly after experiencing life-altering circumstances such as job loss, illness, death of loved ones, natural disasters or major injury. While they still experience grief and anger due to these situations, resilient people are able to move past these emotions by accepting what’s out of their control, changing what can be altered and “living one day at a time.” In addition, family and friends offer invaluable support during difficult times.
Resilience can help mitigate symptoms of chronic stress such as high blood pressure, weak immunity, anxiety and depression. Furthermore, resilience may even help avoid chronic illnesses like heart disease, fibromyalgia and obesity by being aware of when feeling stressed is occurring and knowing what actions they can take to alleviate it. A resilient person knows when they’re stressed out and what steps to take next in order to combat their emotions and manage stress effectively.
Strengthening resiliency requires time and effort. Consulting a mental health professional about your current state may be beneficial in making changes that will boost overall well-being. Practice mindfulness, create lasting relationships, and get moving are all ways you can increase resilience.
If you want to increase your resilience and learn how to better manage stress, check out our audio-only Crash Course on Stress Resilience! Originally developed from a half-day workshop, this 90 minute class will teach you what resilience really means and how it can be built through meditation practices. Furthermore, you will discover 10 proven strategies to counter stress, redefine its relationship with you, and find workable solutions.
Stress management
Stress is an unavoidable part of life, yet prolonged high levels can be detrimental to health and lead to problems like anxiety, fatigue, headaches and stomachaches. Stress management is vitally important to achieving overall wellness and can help ensure a more fulfilling, healthier existence for you and your loved ones.
Though your bills, work deadlines, and family responsibilities might seem out of your control, you have more power over your stress than you realize. All it takes is some practice in learning how to regulate emotions and behaviors effectively.
To effectively manage stress, the first step should be identifying its sources. While this may seem like a daunting task, recognizing one’s own patterns may make this easier than expected. If you find yourself worried about meeting with your boss soon, take some time to reflect upon past similar encounters: did worrying so much interfere with concentration or eating habits? This would indicate you might not be handling things well.
Once you’ve identified what’s causing your stress, try to find ways to alter or adapt them. Sometimes avoiding something may help, but often altering or adapting something in some way is possible too – for instance if commute time stressors have you worried, maybe taking another route or shortening office visits could help alleviate some of it.
Finally, practicing mindfulness techniques to relax the mind and better handle stress is also beneficial. Deep breathing exercises may help, as can engaging all five senses such as viewing an old photo album, listening to soothing music or tasting something delicious like gum!
Learning how to manage stress effectively can make an enormous difference in both how you feel and perform. Just like playing squash, building resilience will lead to success in all aspects of life – so why wait any longer? Start building it now – the rewards will more than justify their effort!