Stifle arthritis stress, tame pain

Stress is no fun for anybody, but if you have arthritis, it can be physically painful: a tense mind fouls your mood, which makes pain even more difficult to deal with. Exercise is a top stress-buster, and meditation can help. So can the following:

Breathe deeply. Slow breathing that completely fills your lungs with air has been shown both to calm the mind and relax the body. To do it right, take your time (about four seconds) at every step — inhaling deeply, holding air in and letting it out.

Scan your body. Tension isn't always obvious. In this technique, you systematically pay attention to the tightness you feel in every part of your body one area at a time, consciously allowing each part to relax as you breathe deeply.

Tighten and release. Stepping up from the body scan, you deliberately make each part of your body tight as your mind lands on it, clarifying the degree of tension it carries and allowing an even greater level of relaxation when you release.

Sometimes it's the emotional baggage and little things that build up to big-time stress. To get a jump on them:

• Think, "I'm a winner." Failures and disappointments can make you waste time fretting over what could have been. First, there's nothing you can do about what's past. Second, you should challenge the concept of failure: Each setback was a step toward where you're going — and that's more important.
• Take a short view. Sure, the future may hold catastrophe — or not. Are you in a crisis right now? If not, don't sweat what may never come to pass.
• Embrace FAT — as in "file, act or toss." Keeping those your only options when handling paper will clobber clutter, a sure sign (and often a cause) of things feeling out of control.
• Spend face time with friends. Happy people tend to have real social networks. It's fine to chat with contacts on the Internet and follow the lives of sitcom characters on TV. But those people won't throw you a surprise party or meet you for coffee.