Tag: stressmanagement

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Can Stress Kill You??

 

 

We have all felt the impacts of stress at some point in our lives, whether it be our own or those around us. From work deadlines to school assignments or even paying off the bills, stress appears in many different aspects of our lives.

Short-term stress can make us feel anxious, exhausted, and irritable but is sometimes necessary for productivity and accomplishing our goals. However, chronic stress can have serious impacts on our health and well-being, which ultimately can lead to a shorter life span.

Chronic Stress

Long-term stress has proven to have negative effects on our health and is much more common than one would imagine. According to The American Institute of Stress (stress.org), 55 percent of people report feeling repeated and extreme stress throughout their daily lives, while 47% of workers feeling stressed from the workplace.

The causes of chronic stress can be anything from financial problems to a high-pressure job, to issues with family or our relationships. There are various ways that stress directly impacts our health, especially over the long term.

 

Symptoms of Chronic Stress

There are many indicators that a person may be experiencing chronic stress. If they are overwhelmed and constantly busy, it may not be that easy to identify the symptoms and admit that they are stress related.

One of the most common symptoms of chronic stress is frequent tension headaches. This can occur due to the fact that when under stress, you are likely not giving your mind as much oxygen as it needs. The built-up emotions that stress brings to the mind increases muscle tension and can impact our sleep. Can’t lose weight? Stress can affect your ability to process sugar and carbohydrates leaving the body more vulnerable to weight gain, and leave you susceptible to developing diabetes.

Stress can also increase our general anxiety levels, leaving us on edge and irritable throughout the day. Stress-related anxiety causes rapid breathing, high blood pressure, frequent stomachaches, and a weakened immune system. These impacts on the body leave you at risk for heart attacks and potentially very serious diseases.

Long-Term Effects

According to the American Institute of Stress, it is not the stressful situations that can kill you, but how you deal with the stress that affects your health. When your stress is excessive over long periods of time, you will begin to experience these symptoms and have a high risk for anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts.

A study done by the Mental Health Foundation discovered that 32 percent of respondents who were experiencing chronic stress admitted to having some form of suicidal thoughts at one point in their lives.

Heart disease is another common way that stress impacts the body. People often turn to excessive eating, drugs, or alcohol to manage chronic stress, but in reality, this worsens their symptoms and long-term health.

The high blood pressure and cholesterol that results from these decisions can damage the artery walls and eventually lead to life threatening heart problems. One also is at risk for developing dementia as stress hormones adversely affect the brain.

Preventing the Effects of Chronic Stress

Fortunately, there are many ways to overcome chronic stress and prevent it from having lasting impacts on your health. One of the best ways to manage stress is to stay away from alcohol, drugs, and caffeine. Practicing deep breathing, mindfulness, or meditation help with calming the nervous system and provide relaxation.

Having a set daily routine allows the body to not feel as stressed and overwhelmed with responsibilities. This can also allow you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and make time for exercise each day, even if it means waking up an hour earlier.

Routines also help with maintaining a good sleep pattern and getting the proper amounts of sleep each night. You will not experience problems falling asleep if you go to bed at the same time each night and your body will get adjusted to waking up early in the morning.

There are many ways to manage stress and overcome it in order to prevent the life-threatening impacts that stress can have on the body and your overall health. It is important to take the necessary steps to avoid these problems and stay mentally and physically healthy for the long-term. Can you stress kill you – the answer is yes! If not properly managed.

 

“It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it” — Hans Selye

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How To Turn Inner Peace Into a Habit

Does this sound familiar? You feel at a point where your life is embattled with chaos, both externally and internally. You’re overrun with negative emotions, busy overthinking as you try to juggle your hectic schedule and all the other stress life has landed on your doorstep. The current events taking place, all over the world, seem to have a negative effect on you. Work and life are out of ‘balance,’ or you’re worried or unhappy about your job, unsure of what to do next.

 

We all know how draining it can be – life is overwhelming! Sometimes it seems hopeless. Sometimes you feel helpless. Sometimes it seems as though inner peace is an impossibility.

 

Dispel those fears right now because I want to provide you with the practices necessary to turn inner peace into a habit. In no time, it will just be another part of your day. Except this is one you’ll look forward to because with it comes serenity. Inner peace is the state of being stable and calm, while serenity involves the practice and quality to achieve this.

 

Here are daily practices you can start with today:

 

  • Release Control

There is only one thing you have control over in this world and it’s you. You control your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. That’s it – not external circumstances, not other people. The only thing you control in those situations is how you respond. It is far more beneficial to your inner peace and happiness to recognize, understand, and remember this. The best thing you can do is let go and focus on you.

 

  • Unconditional Living

Does your mood depend on the conditions in your environment? Your mood is high as you walk into work because you caught every green light on your commute. Your mood is low as you walk into work because you caught every red light on your commute. Your children misbehaved and it tipped you over the edge. Your children did their chores and it dragged you back from the edge.

 

Do you see the problem? You’re allowing yourself to live conditionally. You are being led by your environment and the behavior of others.

 

What does it all mean? If you want to find inner peace you have to stop expending your emotional energy on the conditions around you. Unconditional living simply means that you won’t let the conditions of your life influence how you feel.

 

  • Directed Focus

This is perhaps the most powerful aspect of turning inner peace into a habit. Think of focus as a gift from the universe. It’s something that will help build your appreciation of it, considering how often you need to focus. This walks hand-in-hand with the previous point. When you choose to live unconditionally you are shifting your focus from circumstance to self. While you will still be aware of what’s going on around you, you aren’t going to focus on all of that noise. You’re only going to focus on creating the reality you want to live in.

 

  • Don’t People Please

There are two reasons we tend to go out of our way to please others. The first is that we get satisfaction from being helpful. It gives you a little buzz. The second is we are too scared to say no and disappoint someone. The truth of the matter, though, is that people-pleasing just causes resentment, it stresses you out, and you get so busy pouring everything out into others you forget to refill your cup.

You can still help others, but don’t break yourself at the expense of others. Set your boundaries today; “no” is a sentence.

 

These techniques will need consistency with daily practice so they become a long-lasting habit, one that make you mindful of all that surrounds you and brings you the inner peace that can help you get through any stressful situation you encounter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The road that you walk to find inner peace will be an exciting journey. You will uncover many truths about yourself, as well as finding out how to handle stressful situations that life throws at you.

 

It’s about believing that everything will work out for you, even if it might not feel or look like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Resilience: Finding Resolve During Tough Times

We are at the end of another month – hard to believe how time is going quickly. I hope that the new year is treating you well, and that you are taking advantage of any and all opportunities that come your way. You may have to look for them or be open to receiving them; we can sometimes put a ‘blind eye’ to situations that seem scary.

 

With so many changes taking place these days, things can seem scary. But, it’s how you choose to look at them that will stop the fear from change that may be holding you back, whether that is emotionally or due to some other circumstance (finances, other people, laws, etc.). How do you push through and find your resolve – the strength and mindset to take action, despite any doubt or fear. This builds resiliency, or the ability to get back up and adapt to setbacks or life changes. Stuff will happen but not allowing them to stop you is what is needed.

 

If you have ever faced a challenge that you said, “I can’t do this or make it through” but you are still standing today, you have built your resilience. The important key is to go back and review how you made it through when you thought you wouldn’t’ – how did you solve the problem; did you worry about time, finances, legalities, and the like; did you lean on other people or resources for help. I think most people don’t really look at their hard – or traumatic – circumstance to see that they have survived and made it through.

 

Resolve is relying on your skills and abilities to determine how you will overcome any challenge while resiliency keeps you going. It’s a mindset that you will not be stopped until the desired outcome is reached; this helps you face the next challenge and the next. You will have the ability to think more clearly, to feel in control, and have good coping strategies that can help you emotionally. You will see the strong person you are, who can push through and survive any challenge or adverse situation you come across.

 

See yourself as the strong person and rely on your abilities; see setbacks as challenges rather than barriers; reframe negative thinking to more positive ones; use self-talk to uplift and motivate you (“you/I can do this…”); develop your ‘toolbox’ of coping strategies so you have them when needed, and use them often so they become good habits; praise and appreciate yourself for making it through. These help to develop and affirm your resolve so you remain resilient. Know that you are in control and not the other way around.

 

The key to life is resilience…We will always be knocked down.

It’s the getting up that counts.   (Dominique Browning)

 

 

 

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8 Tips for Handling Frustration in a Healthy Way

As we start a new week, you will be faced with frustration both in your job and at home. It could be finances, something with your kids or partner, or that a situation doesn’t play out like you thought it would. Frustration leads to stress, that overwhelming feeling of not being in control over your situations.

 

Stress, actually, is our capacity to handle situations, events, people, etc. in our lives; if we feel there is ‘too much’ then this can lead to mental, emotional, and physical symptoms that can spiral out of control if not addressed.

 

Handling stress in healthy ways is an ongoing challenge. That’s because when we’re frustrated, we tend to react rather than respond. The good news is there are natural, healthy ways to deal with your frustration:

 

Accept It

The first step in dealing with anything is to accept the reality of it. Once you’ve acknowledged you’re frustrated, you can do something about it, and it no longer rules your life.

 

Send an S.O.S

Pretend you’re behind enemy lines and stuck there. You can ask for help, but you’ll need to ask for that help in a letter. Describe your distress, including all the details of how you got where you are. Ask for help. When finished? Destroy the letter. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel (and you might even get an idea for ‘rescue’ from the exercise).

 

Make a List

What are your options toward fixing whatever is causing the frustration? List everything you can think of, even the silly ideas. Use this list as a jumping off point toward finding a solution.

 

Laugh

Read something funny. Watch a comedy. Tune in to your favorite comedian. The act of laughter releases endorphins in the brain, helping you to feel better and think more clearly. Frustration doesn’t stand a chance.

 

Look at the Big Picture

What will this frustration look like next week? Next month? Next year? Will it be as scary as it is today? Asking these kinds of questions helps you to put your frustration in perspective, making it smaller and easier to deal with right now.

 

Find Some Energy

Hang around people who are full of enthusiasm. Being around positive people helps you to remain positive and likewise energizes yourself. Frustration fades in this environment.

 

Socialize

Talk about what’s frustrating you with someone else or post it on your social media. You’ll find out very quickly that you’re not alone. More importantly, you’ll see other people who have successfully gotten past this very same point.

 

Focus on Something Else

Doing mindless, repetitive work helps to put your focus elsewhere. Break your frustrating task into tiny pieces and work each one with full concentration. Celebrate progress. Frustration gets lost in concentration.

 

 

There are dozens of ways to get past frustration. Experiment and find what works for you. The key is not to give in. Keep pressing onward. You’ll get through these episodes with awareness and repetition. As the saying goes: ‘this, too, shall pass.”

 

If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, and not sure how to cope, let us help. We work with teams, also.

 

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The Benefits of Aromatherapy to Deal with Stress

If you’re looking for an easy way to relax when under stress, aromatherapy can be an answer. Our senses are very powerful and are useful when trying to get calm, to relax, and to energize.

The sense of smell goes into the deepest part of the brain through the olfactory area of the central nervous system, which stimulates the hormones of serotonin and dopamine (our happy chemical) and helps with mood-regulation.

Aromatherapy has its roots in holistic and alternative medicine; these practices are being embraced and used by the medical community and other businesses. We now see products being sold in grocery stores and pharmacies.

Aromatherapy is the practice of using oils from plant extracts for medicinal, relaxation and aromatic purposes. Making your own ‘concoction’ gives the best results, as the pure extracts are being used; essential oils are most notably sold but these are laced with other ingredients. Candles offer another way to reap these calming benefits, as well as diffusers, incense, and lotions. My personal favorite is Vick’s VapoRub, as it has both calming ingredients plus pain relief.

Using any of these can bring calm from depression or anxiety; pain relief from tension, such as in your head, neck or back; and energize with certain scents.

So, what scents are the best? Here are some suggestions:

  • Lavender – calming, pain, enhance memory, sleep aid
  • Eucalyptus and peppermint – brain fog, mental focus
  • Rosemary and lemon – memory, focus, mental fatigue, stimulation
  • Patchouli and Ylang Ylang – reduce stress and anxiety, enhance mood
  • Orange – mood enhancer

Of course, there are many others, which can be used in combination with other to create appealing scents. Some scents might be overbearing so other ways include: candles, incense, and lotions or bath salts/bombs (“Calgon take me away…”).

You may have to test and try out which method and scent  to see what works best; you may take a relaxing bath with lavender to decompress, or add lemon to a diffuser while you’re doing the dishes.

Aromatherapy is truly a great way to feel good. These alternative herbs and oils can bring a natural way of  enhancing your mental health and well-being.

 

 

If you’d like help with anxiety and stress, and learn healthier coping patterns, reach out to schedule a call to learn how we can help.

 

 

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