How To Relieve TAX TENSIONS On Tax Day

Today is April 15th and for many of us it brings extra TAX TENSIONS!  Exercise and fitness are always great ways to help ease some tensions from Uncle Sam's annual bill.  Here are a few more ideas on how to cope with tax stress from the American Psychological Association - 

Tax day: Strategies for managing money stress

The looming IRS tax deadline may be stressful for many Americans. Stress related to tax deadlines can increase reliance on the unhealthy behaviors, such as eating to alleviate stress, making poor diet choices, smoking, drinking and being inactive, that many people already use to cope with everyday stressors related to money, work, personal and family health matters and raising children. Increased reliance on unhealthy behaviors to manage stress can lead to long-term, serious health problems. Specifically, research has shown that for people coping with existing health problems, financial and interpersonal stress can exacerbate their conditions.

"People who cope with stress in unhealthy ways may alleviate symptoms of stress in the short term, but end up creating significant personal health problems over time, and, ironically, more stress," says psychologist Katherine C. Nordal, PhD, APA executive director for professional practice. "Research shows that stress, and the unhealthy behaviors people use to manage it, contribute to some of our country's biggest health problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. So it's imperative that people take steps to address issues like financial stressors in healthier ways."

APA's recent Stress in America survey found that money is a top source of stress for adults. Sixty-nine percent of people attribute their stress to money and 65 percent report that work is a cause of stress, interrelated issues that are emphasized for many during the tax-filing process. According to the APA survey, What Americans Think of Willpower, many Americans set financial goals in 2012 — more than half (52 percent) said that they planned to save more money, and 37 percent reported a goal to pay off debt — yet more than one quarter said that willpower (27 percent) or time (26 percent) were barriers preventing them from making changes. 

Source 

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Today is a Great Day to Exercise

For whatever reason, the past couple of weeks have been rough for me.  My body has been achy, sore and painful which resulted in mental and physical fatigue.  Because of this fatigue I slacked a bit on my exercise routine.  I missed a few days here and there and when I did exercise it was only halfhearted.  My excuse was that I didn't want to further aggravate my "condition," so I let myself rest.

You would think that rest from activity would make it all better, but it didn't.  It actually made it worse.  The worse I felt the less motivated I was to workout.  The less I worked out the worse I felt: a vicious cycle headed in the wrong direction.  Obviously, taking it easy wasn't working, so I went back to my usual routine and intensity this week.

As one might expect, I was pretty sore the day after that first workout.  This morning when my alarm went off I did not want to get up.  My muscles were so stiff and tired that just thinking about moving made them hurt, but somehow I made it out of bed  and into my workout gear.  My workout flew by and when I was done I was drenched in sweat (kind of gross, I know), but couldn't have felt better.  I was energized and ready to go.

As today has progressed I have noticed my soreness is all but gone.  I am moving more freely and I barely feel stiff and sore.  This morning's workout was better than an ibuprofen!

So, you may be wondering, "what is the point to this anecdotal rant?"  The take home message is simple: working out makes you feel better.  If you don't feel like working out today because you are sad, tired, achy, grumpy, etc. maybe exercise is exactly what you need!  Get your body moving and you'll be very glad you did! And remember, even if you don't have time for your full routine 3 ten minute bouts are just as good as a 30 minute session.  Keep moving and keep happy!