Anti-stress ideas for the new year

I don't know about you, but I sometimes find the new year pretty stressful. It's when you realise that you did everything "too much" over Christmas - ate too much, spent too much, sat around too much, and January is always the time for having to bite the bullet and deal with the results. It's the time when you realise that you have to sort out the credit card, get off the settee and do some exercise, stop watching valium TV in the evenings and do something intelligent instead. And all that can of course bring on stress.

I found the other day, in the Co-Op Bank magazine, 10 top tips for beating stress. Not really the first place you'd look for anti stress ideas, but some of these actually sound quite sensible.

1) Have a laugh.

Apparently it's impossible to be amused and stressed at the same time, so give up the anxiety and find something to laugh about instead. Just in case you're already stressed and can't think of anything funny off the top of your head, here's a joke to kick things off: Two vultures were eating a clown, one said to the other, "Does this taste funny to you?" (Joke courtesy of codebrush, not the Co-op bank.)

2) Walk the dog (even if you don't have one)

Hmm, naughty Co-op bank, advising us to nick other people's dogs to walk with. This is a 3-part-combo on the stress beating front though, hitting 3 stress-busting areas at once; exercise, fresh air, and distraction from the things that are causing you to be stressed.

3) Decide whether the thing that's stressing you is within your sphere of influence.

The idea behind this one is that if the thing that's making you stressed isn't in your sphere of influence, there's no point worrying about it because there's absolutely nothing you can do to change it.

For example, if your train is cancelled and it's going to make you late for a meeting, calm down, phone the people you're not going to be able to meet, buy a coffee and a paper, and relax and wait for the next train. Getting stressed about things we can't control is purely a waste of energy.

4) Breathe in some lavender.

Lavender oil relieves stress and eases tension. The bank advise that you keep a hanky in your pocket with some of the oil on it. You'll smell like a summer garden to other people, and will waft around on a little cloud of serenity. Lavender oil does also help you sleep though, so be careful smelling it if you're on the last night train home and you don't want to miss your stop.

Also useful when you end up next to someone with questionable body odour on the tram.

Co-operative bank