Dear stress, let's break up!
Hello, hello!Before I get into the juicy content today, I wanted to share with you that I'm trying out my first video blog--I figured some of you like to read and some would like to hear and/or see the content so I'm experimenting here! So, without further ado, here is the 'vlog' :) as well as the blog.
Cheers!!
| Stephanie Dalton :: Dear stress...let's break up! |
Let's go back in time...2,000 years ago. Imagine a circle of stones outside a cave, and two cavemen scarfing down hunks of bison meat, maybe rehashing stories from the day's hunt on the savannah.
All of a sudden, a bear comes crashing out of the wilderness! It rears up on its massive hind legs and ROARS at the cavemen, who leap to their feet, their hearts pounding, their blood pulsing, their sweat glands exploding.
One of the caveman (the wimpier, or smarter, of the two) turns and flees into the safety of the cave. The other raises his club and rages at the bear, and with a combination of luck and adrenalin, he defeats the beast, and his family gets to enjoy bear meat for weeks.
You may be thinking, "Nice caveman story, but it has absolutely nothing to do with me and my life."
There are bears in your life, too.
Chances are you haven't been attacked by a bear lately (at least I hope not). But every day, you experience the very same "Fight or Flight" stress reactions that our forebears (pun intended) experienced often.
In fact, you experience as many as 50 of these stressful Fight or Flight reactions every day! They may not be the bear escape kinds, but even the smaller ones count. And every time, your body has to find a way to recover -- I get tired just thinking about it.
Classic definition of stress: Any real or imagined threat and your body's response to it (this can be tied to any perceived stress, be it psychological, related to dreams, or just negative feelings).
This is how the stress response affects you:
- Your heart rate goes up
- Your blood pressure increases
- Your digestion stops
- You assimilate less nutrients
- You have decreased oxygenation to your gut
- You experience decreased metabolism
- Your body is flooded with stress hormones
Over time, these stress responses take their toll and cause serious health conditions, like skin problems, heart disease, weight gain, insomnia, heart disease, hormone imbalance, and a host of other maladies. It also makes it very difficult to lose weight; the same part of our brain that turns on stress turns off digestion.
So how do you know if you have too much stress in your life?
Simply tapping into your overall feelings and emotions is the simplest way. Do you respond negatively most of the time? Are your feelings appropriate to the circumstance? Are you feeling constantly overwhelmed? Do you feel tired and/or wired?
Here are a few more simple signs:
1. Your behavior has changed: sleep has become more difficult (too much or too little?); you find yourself wanting isolation; your eating patterns have shifted; you're using substances to feel better.
2. You have some of these physical symptoms: dizziness, nausea, chest pain or rapid heart beat, digestive problems, or frequent colds and flu.
3. Your emotions have changed: you're feeling moody; you get agitated or angry at the drop of a hat; it's hard to relax; or you feel like you're overwhelmed most of the time.
Embrace daily stress relief!
Finding ways to relieve stress is essential to optimizing your health. You can eat the healthiest foods but it won't help if you can't assimilate nutrients. There are many strategies for handling stress, including proper exercise, sleep, and meditation. I love this simple breathing technique, and use it at least 4-5 times a day -- yep, I'm an oxygen junkie!Beyond that, there are many tools to help you handle stress, EVEN IF you know that stress is going to continue in your life. This isn't about changing your life dramatically, it's about encouraging you to take small steps (that don't take much time) to nurture and nourish YOU.
Starting February 24th, I'll be opening the doors to Your Radiant Body: 4 Weeks to a Sleeker Body, Abundant Energy, and Food Freedom. We will be exploring new ways to eat right for your unique body, deal with daily stress, get proper exercise, and have a healthy gut (aka, immune system). It's your chance to embrace a more healthy, happy, radiant you!