Click here to see the De-stress your life segment on the Today Show
Australians are among the most stressed out people on the planet. Nearly 80 percent of Aussies say they feel stress on a regular basis.
TODAY Show life coach Andrew May explains the symptoms of stress and shares his top five tips for managing stress.
”We are definitely facing different catalysts of stress these days and stress is on the rise as a consequence,” explains Mr May.
Traditionally stress was mainly caused by environmental problems such as drought, fire and floods however today lifestyle factors and work are causing us to stress out.
”Stress has always excited however in the past it came and went, today it’s constant,” he says.
Mr May believes people feel controlled by work, debt, technology, time and other people's demands which leads to feeling overwhelmed and as though we can’t switch off.
”Although different people respond to stress in different ways there are common physical and emotional signs to look out for,” he says.
Manifestations of stress generally fall into four categories: physical, mental, emotional and behavioural processes.
Physical symptoms include: fatigue, headache, insomnia, muscle aches/stiffness (especially neck, shoulders and low back), heart palpitations, chest pains, abdominal cramps, nausea, trembling, cold extremities, flushing or sweating and frequent colds.
Stress can impact our mental processes and lead to decreases in concentration and memory, indecisiveness, mind racing and confusion.
”Another common symptom of stress is the loss of sense of humour,” May explains.
On an emotional level stress can lead to feelings of anxiety, nervousness, depression, anger, frustration, worry, fear, irritability and impatience.
”Stress will also impact on behaviour,” he explains. “Common characteristics of stress include pacing, fidgeting, increased eating, smoking, drinking, crying, yelling, swearing, blaming others and in severe cases people can become violent.”
Mr May believes in many people stress builds up because people do not take time out to de-stress and unwind.
”Managing stress is an essential skill to thrive in today's frantically paced world,” he says. “There are several simple ways to decrease your stress levels which will make an unbelievable difference on your quality of life.”
Mr May’s top five ways for managing include relaxation, taking time out to recharge, asking for help, improving your personal skills and putting things into context.
”A great exercise to reduce stress is to make a list of all the things that make you feel stressed,” says Mr May. “Once identified, try and relax in these situations and where possible tackle the source of the stress.”
Other stress busting tips include avoiding multi-tasking and doing jobs in order of importance.
”Regular exercise is also great for relaxation,” says May. “Cycling, jogging, swimming and working out in the gym are ideal ways of reducing tension caused by stress.”
Mr May’s top five tips to manage stress
* Hit the relaxation response: learn techniques like meditation and yoga or try listening to music.
* Improve skills: stronger communication, organisational and time management skills will all help effectively deal with stressful situations.
* Big picture thinking: try and put your stress into context and don’t sweat it over the little things.
* Recharge: take mental physical breaks. Find ways to escape in your spare time and build in regular holidays and breaks.
* Ask for help: stick your hand up and ask for help and support.
Click here to see the segment on the Today Show
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Andrew May on 106.5 Body & Soul talking Nomophobia
Andrew May talks about our addictions to Mobile Phones
Remember the ‘monster mobiles’ we used in the late 80’s and early 90’s? I remember back in high school when Mum and Dad were having a cuppa and sponge cake, proudly looking over the finished plans that had been dropped in by Macka the builder. ‘What’s he like?’ I asked, taking a huge bite. ‘Really successful,’ replied Mum. ‘He’s got a mobile phone’.
Today’s mobile phone is faster, lighter, stronger and more convergent than ever before. Not only do we use them to talk and text, they are a digital camera, movie camera, diary, phone book, GPS, radio, MP3 player, web browser, data storage device, encyclopedia, alarm clock, Dictaphone, personal organizer, flash light and a whole lot more.
Now don’t get me wrong, mobiles used wisely are a great productivity tool. But more and more people from teenagers to the twilight years are showing signs and symptoms of mobile addiction.
Are you a mobile addict?
1. Do you get anxious if you don’t get an instant response to an SMS?
2. Does the thought of turning your mobile off send you into a shiver?
3. When you go out to dinner, do you sit the mobile on the table in front of you?
4. Do you feel unloved if your phone doesn’t ring, ding or zing for a few hours?
5. When you hop off a plane or finish a movie, is the first thing you do to check your phone?
If you answered YES to any of the above – you may just suffer from mobile mania.
Mobiles in Australia
Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) led a study on mobile phone addiction. They found the average Australian spends an hour a day making calls and sending text messages. 22% of respondents were classified as ‘heavy’ or ‘very heavy’ users spending up to 4 hours or more a day on their mobiles. Interestingly, only 11% of phone time measured in the survey was related to business.
Mobiles around the world
• 2 billion people worldwide are now hooked on to a mobile phone
• Half the people in the world are expected to have mobiles in the next 2 years
• 4 out of 10 young adults in Spain are considered mobile phone addicts
• 48% of Spaniards between 18 and 25 spend more than 4 hours a day talking and texting
• In South Korea, where 40.2M people from a total population of 49M have mobiles, the government is considering a ‘curfew’ limiting the amount of time teenagers spend on their phones
• Orange Tree Theatre in London has a zero tolerance policy to mobiles going off during productions and has a bonus waiting for the first actor to lead the entire cast off stage until the offender has been ejected from the theatre
• A Scandinavian chauffeur booked himself into a clinic for SMS addiction after his habit left him sending more than 300 text messages a day
• Psychologists are predicting mobile addiction will become one of the biggest issues over the next 5 years
Symptoms of mobile addiction
While the 5 questions were a bit of fun, hard core mobile addicts will tend to neglect obligations and even important activities like work or study, can drift apart from family and friends, send and answer messages throughout the night and the thought of switching off their phone can even cause anxiety. They also tend to suffer more from sleep disorders and sleeplessness. The majority of mobile phone addicts have low self esteem and feel the urge to be constantly in contact with other people via their metallic mobile devices.
What about teenagers?
Mobile addiction is becoming more and more of a problem for teenagers. Discovering whether or not your child is a mobile addict is not an easy task. It’s much easier to see if someone is sitting at their computer for 8 hours a day. Reasonable use of mobiles can be positive for social development, yet too much can lead to withdrawal and decreased face to face contact. It is a good idea for parents to be proactive and monitor their child’s mobile usage.
Mobile mantra
1. Practice turning your mobile off when at movies or sporting events – you don’t need it on 24/7
2. When you do need to concentrate or finish a project quickly – turn your mobile off to avoid interruptions
3. Go out to dinner with your loved ones, family, or friends – not your mobile. Turn it onto silent and put it in your pocket, not on the table!
4. Set some mobile hours – learn to turn it off at night
5. Don’t sleep with your message alert on – this can wake you up throughout the night and cause disrupted sleep patterns
6. If you do need to have your mobile on keep the ring tone on a quiet setting – the whole world doesn’t need to know that your phone is ringing!
7. Try going mobile free for a day or two – you might even enjoy the peace and silence.
Andrew May
Main sources:
Queensland University of Technology Mobile Survey; Sydney Morning Herald – Mobile phones becoming a major addiction; Global Technology Forum – Addicted to the phone; Science News
Remember the ‘monster mobiles’ we used in the late 80’s and early 90’s? I remember back in high school when Mum and Dad were having a cuppa and sponge cake, proudly looking over the finished plans that had been dropped in by Macka the builder. ‘What’s he like?’ I asked, taking a huge bite. ‘Really successful,’ replied Mum. ‘He’s got a mobile phone’.
Today’s mobile phone is faster, lighter, stronger and more convergent than ever before. Not only do we use them to talk and text, they are a digital camera, movie camera, diary, phone book, GPS, radio, MP3 player, web browser, data storage device, encyclopedia, alarm clock, Dictaphone, personal organizer, flash light and a whole lot more.
Now don’t get me wrong, mobiles used wisely are a great productivity tool. But more and more people from teenagers to the twilight years are showing signs and symptoms of mobile addiction.
Are you a mobile addict?
1. Do you get anxious if you don’t get an instant response to an SMS?
2. Does the thought of turning your mobile off send you into a shiver?
3. When you go out to dinner, do you sit the mobile on the table in front of you?
4. Do you feel unloved if your phone doesn’t ring, ding or zing for a few hours?
5. When you hop off a plane or finish a movie, is the first thing you do to check your phone?
If you answered YES to any of the above – you may just suffer from mobile mania.
Mobiles in Australia
Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) led a study on mobile phone addiction. They found the average Australian spends an hour a day making calls and sending text messages. 22% of respondents were classified as ‘heavy’ or ‘very heavy’ users spending up to 4 hours or more a day on their mobiles. Interestingly, only 11% of phone time measured in the survey was related to business.
Mobiles around the world
• 2 billion people worldwide are now hooked on to a mobile phone
• Half the people in the world are expected to have mobiles in the next 2 years
• 4 out of 10 young adults in Spain are considered mobile phone addicts
• 48% of Spaniards between 18 and 25 spend more than 4 hours a day talking and texting
• In South Korea, where 40.2M people from a total population of 49M have mobiles, the government is considering a ‘curfew’ limiting the amount of time teenagers spend on their phones
• Orange Tree Theatre in London has a zero tolerance policy to mobiles going off during productions and has a bonus waiting for the first actor to lead the entire cast off stage until the offender has been ejected from the theatre
• A Scandinavian chauffeur booked himself into a clinic for SMS addiction after his habit left him sending more than 300 text messages a day
• Psychologists are predicting mobile addiction will become one of the biggest issues over the next 5 years
Symptoms of mobile addiction
While the 5 questions were a bit of fun, hard core mobile addicts will tend to neglect obligations and even important activities like work or study, can drift apart from family and friends, send and answer messages throughout the night and the thought of switching off their phone can even cause anxiety. They also tend to suffer more from sleep disorders and sleeplessness. The majority of mobile phone addicts have low self esteem and feel the urge to be constantly in contact with other people via their metallic mobile devices.
What about teenagers?
Mobile addiction is becoming more and more of a problem for teenagers. Discovering whether or not your child is a mobile addict is not an easy task. It’s much easier to see if someone is sitting at their computer for 8 hours a day. Reasonable use of mobiles can be positive for social development, yet too much can lead to withdrawal and decreased face to face contact. It is a good idea for parents to be proactive and monitor their child’s mobile usage.
Mobile mantra
1. Practice turning your mobile off when at movies or sporting events – you don’t need it on 24/7
2. When you do need to concentrate or finish a project quickly – turn your mobile off to avoid interruptions
3. Go out to dinner with your loved ones, family, or friends – not your mobile. Turn it onto silent and put it in your pocket, not on the table!
4. Set some mobile hours – learn to turn it off at night
5. Don’t sleep with your message alert on – this can wake you up throughout the night and cause disrupted sleep patterns
6. If you do need to have your mobile on keep the ring tone on a quiet setting – the whole world doesn’t need to know that your phone is ringing!
7. Try going mobile free for a day or two – you might even enjoy the peace and silence.
Andrew May
Main sources:
Queensland University of Technology Mobile Survey; Sydney Morning Herald – Mobile phones becoming a major addiction; Global Technology Forum – Addicted to the phone; Science News
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
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