Miri Swift's Key Ideas from Intelligentes Stressmanagement
by Vera F. Birkenbihl

A person is only what they make of themself. It is up to each individual to decide whether they want to be prematurely destroyed by stress through ignorance, laziness or incompetence, or whether they can tame it and make it work for them. Each individual is responsible not only for themself, but also for all those with whom they have daily contact.

A joyful approach to one's duties and responsibilities is one of the criteria of human maturity. It is a sign of childish behavior to deny one's responsibilities.

The more complicated and complex an organism becomes, the more complicated and complex its needs.

The more time you use meaningfully, the less energy you waste.

If you are constantly angry at yourself, if you constantly hold yourself to be not okay, then you use up too much energy and then have too little left for the actual tasks of life.

If you are constantly getting upset about other people, you regularly waste both time and energy. Regardless of whether you express your anger aggressively outwards or if you suppress it inside, anger always costs time and energy.

Stress can have serious consequences on our body. Be aware of these warning signs and talk to a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms:

• High Blood Sugar
• High Cholesterol
• Hypertension
• Hypotension
• Hemorrhoids
• Varicose Veins
• Heart Problems
• Elevated susceptibility to infectious diseases
• Sudden onset of allergies
• Decreased potency/menstrual cycle irregularities/menstrual pain
• Ulcers, open skin problems
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Circulatory disorders
• Cold sweats

frequent/regular/constant:

• Headaches
• Insomnia
• Fatigue, lethargy
• Digestive problems
• Heartburn

• irritable moods
• hostility
• exaggerated authority behavior or strife for dominance
• constant changes in beliefs
• constant change of interests or field of work
• loss or limitation of the ability to make decisions
• loss of self-control/discipline
• senseless violence
• Depression or strong moods of dejection
• indifference
• apathy
• sudden mood swings
• feeling of being alone
• feeling of wanting to hide away
• feeling of absolute emptiness
• anxiety or feeling of insecurity and inhibitions or nervousness
• social, intellectual or emotional withdrawal
• feeling threatened, depressed or burdened
• not being able to cope with situations

• death of spouse
• divorce
• separation from spouse
• prison sentence
• death of family member
• accident or severe illness
• wedding
• loss of job
• reconciliation with spouse
• retirement
• severe illness of family member
• pregnancy
• sexual difficulties
• addition to the family
• professional advancement
• change in financial circumstances
• death of a friend
• changed place of work
• debt
• child moving out
• differences with in-laws
• personal overload
• spouse begins/ends work
• child starts/leaves school
• change in lifestyle habits
• problems at work
• new hobbies
• changed work schedule or sleep schedule
• extended visits from relatives
• changes in social interaction

The Fight or Flight Response can trigger physical and emotional reactions in stressful situations. When not released, these energies can harm our bodies. Don't be afraid to express your emotions and let them out - yelling or crying can help release these energies and reduce your stress levels. This is an effective way to prevent internal toxicity and maintain emotional balance.

Indirect figth:

• inconspicuous muscle tensions
• isometric exercises

Relaxation:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Autogenic training
• Feldenkrais exercises

Saving energy:

• General housekeeping: you generally use energy sparingly so that you have more available for crisis situations
• Crisis situation analysis: frequently occurring crisis situations are analyzed in order to experience less distress by understanding certain actions or causes

Seeking eustress:

• instead of watching TV, use the time for interests; in this way it is actively filled happiness, therefore better invested
• bonding experiences with family and friends

Live out your feelings:

Feelings burn energy, just like thoughts - except that a feeling has a higher calorific value than a thought.

If a person has learned not to show their feelings, then they are pushed more and more into the subconscious. They no longer experience them consciously. They can no longer feel them consciously. This leads to a dangerous build-up of energy. It also leads to an unrealistic view of the world, as our attitude to our environment is shaped by the feelings that dominate us.

• Learn to recognize your own true feelings!
• Consciously experience your emotions!

Eustress through success:

The unsuccessful person is usually not a failure because they have tried in vain to achieve success and failed, but because they have not tried at all.

Most people who achieve nothing achieve nothing because they have not striven for anything in particular!

Success does not happen by chance.

Success has to be targeted.

It doesn't have to be a Himalayan climb, you can start with the hill on your doorstep!

• Intimacy: Resistance is there to be overcome. All negative programs regarding intimacy must inevitably prohibit one's own sensuality.
• Fear: Learned fear costs strength. Reprogramming is recommended here if you are frequently confronted with the object of your fear, because the energy expenditure of reprogramming is a worthwhile investment in the future. However, reprogramming is not recommended if the fear situation occurs only occasionally. In this case, escape behavior is recommended, i.e., avoiding the situation whenever possible.

• Anger: A lot of energy is wasted through anger. Persistent negative feelings artificially maintain the cycle of corticoid hormones. Relaxation and meditation can help as an anger-relief program if reason alone is not enough to break free from this negative feeling.
• Success: Set clear goals. Formulate your goal clearly and precisely. Work methodically. Take notes. Develop flow charts so that you can immediately get a visual overview of chronological or organizational aspects. Analyze your own behavior in the event of failure. Find out what you can do better next time.

Diet:

A diet low in fibre causes food residues to remain in the large intestine for up to 72 hours or longer. As a result, certain toxins and waste products cause the body renewed distress, which consumes energy. Furthermore, many diseases of modern civilization can be traced back to this.

Laughing:

1. health benefits
2. breathing exercise
3. reduces distress
4. generates eustress

Crying:

• Has an important distress-relieving function.

Exams:

1. Prepare carefully.
2. Think about what you would do if you failed today's situation. Realize that the world would not end.
3. Do the Feldenkrais relaxation exercises.

Learning:

Try to see learning as a fascinating search for exciting units of information!

Health:

If achieving your goals would put your health at risk, decide beforehand whether the situation is worth it. If the answer is YES, then plan a rest for the completion of the current process.

• Temperature: Lowering the temperature in our living spaces to 19° C not only saves a huge amount of heating energy, but also stimulates circulation, breaks down deposits and makes us more resistant to infectious diseases.
• Going for a walk: At least once a day you should walk briskly for a few minutes and take deep breaths.
• Movement: Think of tricks that bring movement into work that makes you chronically immobile!
• Take a shower: Hot/cold showers have a highly invigorating effect on the circulation. A stronger water jet gives a greater massage effect. Showering helps to re-sensitize the body.

• Homo sapiens: If you now learn to find joy in interesting, fascinating and exciting thoughts, if you can create eustress through the search for knowledge, through the right questions and through thought processes, then you will be able to realize the concept of "joy through stress" even in times of loneliness!
• Daydreaming: generates self-stimulation in the limbic system. An eustress activity that should not only be practiced by children! Especially before going to sleep, imagining planned goals helps to program the subconscious mind better and more precisely for these goals.

Writing:

Many feelings of anger, rage or fear can be "written from the heart". Sit down and begin to simply formulate your feelings and reactions. Whether in the form of a writing exercise, an essay or even a short story - writing has always proven to be a purifying factor of the very first degree. That's where the healing concept of "letters that never reached them" comes from.

Drawing can help with:

• see the world consciously and receptively again
• look for beauty even in everyday things
• live consciously
• strive to find the positive in every situation

For people with high stress levels, a vacation in familiar areas is recommended, otherwise they will expend too much energy on the change.

For people who score particularly low on the stress tests, a vacation where they are confronted with new things is recommended. Boredom is also a stress factor, not just the overabundance of new things.