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Show Hospital presents ideas for stress reduction The emotional health and stability sta-bility of the family is more important impor-tant than ever before in today's hectic and stressful world, according accord-ing to American Fork Hospital Medical Social Worker Gwen Squires, MSW. In order to help reduce stress and increase emotional stability as a family, Squires recommends the following tips: 1. Have a plan. Having a plan as to where things are and when things will be done eliminates chaos. "If s very stressful when you can't find your shoes or the kids' homework," home-work," says Squires, "or when par-ents.don't par-ents.don't know where the kids are or the kids don't know where the parents are." Squires recommends sitting down together as a family at the beginning of each week and writing writ-ing out a plan for that week so that everyone knows what is happening. hap-pening. She also adheres to the old adage-"Have a place for everything and keep everything in its place." 2. Keep family rules. Identifying Identify-ing and enforcing -- a few broad and flexible family rules provides consistency and safety for children and allows parents to relax a little bit. Squires emphasizes that these rules should not be overdone or too complicated or they becpjrie more of a headache than a help. She recommends having four to five basic rules geared to what is important to the family. 3. Have a sense of humor. Being able to laugh at situations helps family members to relax. "Sometimes we take life too seriously and get upset over things that are not that important," says Squires. 4. Keep in touch -- physically and emotionally. Daily time for physical touching lots of hugs is very important. Squires emphasizes empha-sizes that emotional touch really listening on a one-to-one basis is vital as well. Time should be set aside daily to "keep in touch." 5. Have family together time. Despite hectic schedules, families should find traditional time that is reserved for the family to be together to-gether (mealtime, evenings at home, etc.). 6. Simplify and prioritize. Remembering that family comes first sounds simple, but is often forgotten. Squires recommends simplifying time commitments whenever possible and learning to say "no" to things that are really not necessary. "When we overextend ourselves, we take our frustrations out on ourselves and our family members. We say we put our family first, but we often find that our life is too complicated and sometimes our family comes last," says Squires. |
