Physical Health- Stress Management

Some stresses are good, even beneficial. However intense and prolonged stress can have many negative affects on almost every system in the body. This collection of data is helpful start to reducing, eliminating, and/or coping with that bad kind of stress.

Stress Facts

·      Stress can cause insomnia, headaches, and lower productivity at work.

·      Stress affects your thoughts, body, and mood.

·      Stress can have negative behavioral outcomes like increased alcohol use, overeating, and angry outbursts.

·      Ongoing stress can make you more susceptible to illness. Studies show that chronic stress seems to age the immune system.

·      Stress can cause upset stomach, nausea, or diarrhea.

·      Acne can be made worse by stress.

·      Stress is linked to low fertility, problems during pregnancy, erectile dysfunction, and painful menstrual cycles.

·      Stress can be acute (short term) or chronic (long term).

Getting started…

Consider the three “C”s of stress hardy people, By Dr. Robert Brooks:

1. Commitment: Stress hardy people remember why they are doing what they are doing. Why did you become a parent? Why did you choose your profession?

2. Challenge: Stress hardy people view problems as challenges to overcome and master rather than a stress to avoid and flee from.

3. Control: “Stress hardy people have a wonderful way of looking at what is it that I truly have control over?” Dr. Brooks says, ”If you view your happiness based on someone else changing, you will always be stressed out”. Focus on what you can do. We are the authors of our own lives. At times, we may choose to change the script. If your scripting does not serve you, change it.

Getting started… again.

·      Is it necessary? Avoid unnecessary stresses by learning to say “No” to things that are not particularly important to you.

·      Set aside some time every day to clear and clean your physical area.

·      Organize tasks (Consider David Allen’s book Getting Things Done for task organizing strategies).

·      Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and healthy diet.

·      Reduce caffeine and sugar.

·      Write. Make a special place in a notebook that you can write the most terrible things you think about. Then, do away with it.

·      Do enjoyable activities that make you live in the moment like riding a bike, playing a game, or riding in a boat.

·      Make a habit of focusing on your faith or whatever is the clear portrait of unrelenting beauty and strength in your life.

Web MD, Healthguide.org, Dr. Bob Brooks Achieving Balance, The Mayo Clinic, Duggan’s Brain

- Strength of GIF