Menu
Blog/ News / Articles
Don't stress out!! |
| Posted on May 04 2009 |
She came through the door like a whirlwind. Hair askew she whipped off her coat and threw it in a chair on the way to the game table, all in full stride.
“Ugh. I just can’t take the stress,” said Bernadette, as she plumped down in the chair.
“You’re right,” said Jess.
Everyone stopped and looked at Jess quizzically. The usual way of things is someone would say they were stressed and we would all share the latest panic attack, shouting match, lost items, near accident, and the like, which we credited to the stress in our lives.
“Well you’re right,” Jess repeated. “You CAN’T take the stress. None of us can. It’s killing us faster than french fries and pies.”
Well true enough. So, instead of telling war stories, we shared ways we’d secretly been attempting balance. And to a woman we admitted we weren’t sure how to pull it off, we’d lived stressed so long.
We floated ideas, including buckets of Ben & Jerry’s and life as a gypsy. When someone suggested joining a convent, I decided it was time to call on the professionals. Peter Hifield, behavioral health specialist at Families First, was happy to help.
“One of the first things I do is tell people that stress …; is a cue telling us it’s time to make change,” he says. “It’s not all bad.”
And yes, unaddressed stress can harm health. And given people’s resilience it doesn’t always present right away. “It shows up later health-wise,” he says.
“There’s a whole field of psychology, psychoneuroimmunology.” (Easy for him to say.) “Its focus is to prove that the psychological state has a direct impact on the immune system and overall health. I think it’s really underestimated.”
How to avoid it? Hifield’s first suggests cutting down on things that harm the immune system: alcohol, tobacco, drugs and poor foods. Now, attend to the diet. “Eat things that promote a healthy immune system. People do overlook this piece.”
Next, exercise — of course. Exercise is important because it decreases cortisone, a stress hormone. It also increases a sense of self-esteem. Ideally we should do a half hour three to five times a week, he says. “But everything is relative.” If you are sedentary, work your way up.
Hifield also suggests breathing or meditation exercise. “It may sound hokey, but it’s super useful. …; It can be just relaxation rather than a true meditation.” What you’re looking for is diaphragmatic breathing — breathing from the belly — three times a day, for five or 10 minutes. “It can reduce stress significantly.”
Finally, and very important, is sleep. “Yup. It’s huge,” he says. A lack of sleep increases anxiety.
Hifield suggests practicing “good sleep hygiene”: reduce stimulus before bed, such as caffeine or TV, do diaphragmatic breathing and refute negative thought. (Jess says writing the to-do list before bed keeps her from worrying about what she’ll forget.)
————————————————————————————————————————————————-
At The Woodland Practice we pay partucular attention to self help techniques that can combat the effects of daily life. We look at the whole of you and enusre that a better balance is being achieved between work, rest and play. Techniques from Cognitive Hypnotherapy such a ‘belly’ breathing, self hypnosis and positive visualisation can rapidly allow my clients to take control of their once hectic lives.
Last changed: May 04 2009 at 6:11 PM
Back