After bariatric surgery in Frisco, Denton or Lubbock, your weight loss surgeon told you that managing your stress will help you to keep moving toward your weight loss goal. Though techniques like progressive muscle relaxation can make a big difference in your long-term stress levels, you may not have time to seclude yourself for a 15-minute anxiety-busting session in the middle of a hectic workday—you may need something a bit more fast-acting to get the job done.
There are countless ways to calm down and many of them can provide instantaneous relief from stress. The next time you feel overwhelmed by your anxieties, try:
- Turning on the tunes. You may already use exciting songs to pump yourself up for a workout, but music can create the opposite effect as well. If you’re feeling stressed out, try throwing on a slow, relaxing song. Research has long extolled the virtues of classical music for this purpose—30 minutes of classical can calm as much as 10mg of Valium—but anything that soothes your soul can fit the bill. Try making a playlist exclusively for this purpose.
- Adjusting your attitude. We can’t always see the bright side, but finding the good in your situation can make it significantly less stressful. Even if you aren’t a consistent optimist, thinking about something positive can provide a quick pick-me-up in the moment. Instead of fretting over your stressors, shift your thoughts to your pet, your spouse, your best friend or an upcoming and much-anticipated party. Anything that makes you smile or reminds you of good things ahead can help.
- Visualizing relaxation. Imagine somewhere far away from the source of your stress, somewhere comfortable and peaceful. This could be an idyllic tropical island, but it could also be your cozy hearth, with a warm blanket draped around your shoulders. Let yourself fall into the fantasy for a few minutes and engage your mind’s eye with as much detail about your daydream as possible. Do your best to appeal to every sense—imagine sights, smells, sounds and feelings to make your visualization more effective.
After bariatric surgery, you probably have a million different things that stress you out, but there are a million more ways to cope with your anxiety. What other techniques have helped you reduce stress quickly after bariatric surgery in Plano, Denton, Frisco or Lubbock? Please share your strategies with us in the comments below!
