De-stress your mess

A happy month of March to everyone! How are you holding up so far this year? Sometimes life can be a little stressful and I know I tend to find myself in that position more than I would like. So when it gets to that point I realize it is time for some selfevaluation. So today’s focus is on stress. Let’s get through it together! If you have any health topics, health success stories or a family recipe for a health cure, please email me at juls11@peoplepc.com or drop it off at Hometown Focus. Thanks for your support!

I remember the first time hearing about stress as a health problem was around the early 80’s. I didn’t pay too much attention to it. It wasn’t really discussed much and was sometimes looked upon as some type of “yuppie” chronic fatigue syndrome disease. Then by the late 80’s, early 90’s it was: “Stress kills!” Okay, so I started paying a little more attention. With the arrival of the 2000’s, aha, here it is - all sorts of stress-inducers are part of our present lifestyles! The thing about stress is that the body can take a lot of it before it starts to break down. Stressful situations are inevitably going to be around so it’s a matter of recognizing it and dealing with it.

The top ten stresses in life:
• Spouse’s death
• Divorce
• Marriage separation
• Jail Term
• Death of a close relative
• Injury or Illness
• Marriage
• Fired from job
• Marriage reconciliation
• Retirement
Source: Holmes-Rahe Life Stress

What is stressful for you isn’t necessarily stressful for other people. Stress can be self-generated from your work, children and family, major life changes, relationship problems, financial issues and having too busy of a schedule. Internal stresses can be caused from being unrealistic, a perfectionist, pessimistic, negative, not being assertive or being unable to accept uncertainty. Warning signs and symptoms include: memory problems, worrying, anxious or racing thoughts, poor judgment, moodiness, irritability or short temper, feeling overwhelmed, loneliness and isolation, having aches and pains, eating more or less, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, frequent colds, isolating yourself from others, using alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes, or drugs to relax, procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities, nervous habits, and sleeping too little or too much. Some of the health problems caused by or worsened by stress is: experiencing pain of any kind, heart disease, digestive problems, sleep problems, obesity, autoimmune diseases, skin conditions, depression and heart disease.

Taking care of the stress is a matter of taking charge of your life. It’s changing the situation when you can, being able to change your reaction when you can’t, making time for yourself for rest and relaxation. You may need to learn how to relax. Telling yourself that it is okay to relax may be the first step. Deep breathing, yoga, massage, meditation, aromatherapy, baths and saunas are excellent ways to release stress levels. Support from trusted friends and family members that you can count on are extremely beneficial. You may need to build stronger relationships and make satisfying connections. Taking classes, therapy, watching funny movies, volunteering, calling an old friend, having a workout buddy, and having pets are great resources for relieving stress. (See Petpourri, page 8, on the health benefits of pets).

When under the influence of stress, your body will probably be deficient of certain vitamins. So it is crucial you are eating correctly and of course not eating properly could be the cause of your stress as well. So, get rid of the junk! Taking a good multi-vitamin is very important. There are specific supplements available to help combat stress. Drink soothing teas such as chamomile, valerian root and pau d’arco. If you can, get a health analysis assessment done to see what your body specific needs may be. Source: helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs