Stress Facts

Stress happens to all of us.  There is no way around it, but how we handle that stress can make all the difference.  There are three stages that we go through when we experience stress.  The first stage is called alarm/reaction stage.  Our sympathetic nervous system kicks in here.  The thyroid and adrenal glands produce hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) prepare our bodies to take flight.  Our blood pressure is raised, our heartbeat increases, and we conserve water and sodium (this conserves for later use in case of sweating or bleeding), and we burn glycogen.  As the glycogen is depleted, the second stage kicks in.  This stage is the resistance stage.  Here our bodies look for an alternative energy source.  Cortisol is the hormone that is produced.  The hypothalamus and pituitary also secretes more hormones.  These hormones breakdown fat and protein and turns them into more glucose.  The immune system begins to be compromised in this stage, which means we are susceptible to infections, illnesses, some forms of cancer, and sexual dysfunction.  The third stage, which is the exhaustion stage, kicks in because the fat and protein reserves are depleted.    Once the protein and fat is gone, our muscles begin to waste away and our bodies weaken.  This will lead to high blood pressure, nervous and muscular dysfunction.  It can even cause death.

Some of the affects of stress are:  stomache aches, diarrhea, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, loss of sex drive, loss of appetite, personality or behavior disorders, heart disease, stroke, and skin conditions.

It has been found that 90% of all illnesses are contributed by stress, and that 70 to 80% of all visits to the doctor are stress related.  It costs employers in the way of absenteeism, lost productivity, and insurance claims.

When under stress, there are some things that you can do to minimize the affects.  Make sure you eat healthy foods, get enough sleep, and find ways to relax.

Tea Reduces Stress

Sipping a cup of herbal tea is very relaxing.  There are so many types and so many brands.  One of my favorite teas is lavender tea.  It has healing properties along with calming properties.  Everyone knows that green tea is good for you, but not everyone is aware that it has some caffeine--so you want to be careful about this.  Caffeine is a stimulant and will work like coffee does on your body.  Most herbal teas, on the other hand, are caffeine free.  Chamomile tea is another tea that relaxes and heals your body.  Another one of my favorites is Chai tea.  It has a blend of many types of tea and spices, and I personally feel that it does not need sweetened.  Many herbal teas are fine without sweeteners, but that is according to individual tastes.  I personally use honey when I need a sweetener in my tea.  Honey has healing properties of its own and tastes great.  Of course sugar, stevia, or any other sweetener works well.  When you are feeling stressed, make a cup of aromatic herbal tea, sit down prop your feet up and feel the tension melt away.

Journaling to Ease Stress

Journaling is a good way to channel stress positively.  Sometimes it is hard to express your feelings or there may be a time that it is inappropriate to express them openly.  When this is the case, writing down your feelings can be just as beneficial as openly expressing them.  Once your feelings are out, you feel so much better.  I don't journal as often as I should; but when I do, I feel so much better for it.  Sometimes I can sit for hours and lose myself to journaling.  If you feel anger at someone or some situation and then write about it, you may feel less angry or maybe do not feel angry at all anymore.  Sometimes journaling will give you a different perspective or you can see things more clearly.  At times poetry or a story can come from journaling.  Journaling can unleash a lot of creativity that you never knew you had.  It is as easy as keeping a pen and tablet handy.  Journaling can be done in the morning when you first get up or at night prior to bed time.  It is something you can do anytime, and it is better than being stuck wallowing in negative feelings where stress abides.

Walking Your Stress Away

Walking is a way to relieve stress and get exercise at the same time.  Often I go to the Adams Community Park to walk.  The park has a paved trail that is 1.2 miles long.  I usually walk it twice--first one way then I turn around and walk in the other direction.  It winds through fields and woods and has 80 degree hills to climb.  A great workout plus awesome scenery.  Most times you will have chipmonks or squirrels scurrying in front of you.  You will see herds of deer grazing in the fields.  Last year I came across a deer that stood no more than 15 feet from me and he just stood there looking at me.  It was awesome.  Another great feature about this trail is that you can share this trail with your best friend--your dog.  The trail seems to be a favorite place for man and beast alike or woman and protector/companion for that matter.  When you feel stressed, try taking a walk and feel the stress melt away from you.

Stress and Sunshine

Today I was frazzled because I felt under pressure about taking a test/quiz online.  I was up before the crack of dawn (4:30am) and tried to access the BCCC website.  No luck, the site was down.  I tried all morning, still no luck.  The test/quiz was not posted until late yesterday, so I was not able to take it then; and it has to be taken by Saturday midnight.  I will be setting up massage chair tonight at No Excuses Fitness by Kelly, so I won't be able to take it tonight.  I will be sitting with Mary tomorrow morning until 1:00pm Saturday.  Then Danielle (my daughter) is coming over for her birthday dinner after that.  So I will not be able to take it until late on Saturday, if even then.  So today was all I had.  After my Advertising class at BCCC, I came home and tried again to get on.  No luck.  Feeling a bit stressed and not in control, I decided to take a walk.  The sun was shining for once and the walk did me wonders.  The sun has lots of vitamin D that our bodies need and brightens our mood.  I got halfway down my road when I felt the stress virtually lift from me.  I heard the birds chirp, the sun felt warm on face, and the trees were beautiful with their leaves starting to turn vibrantl colors.  By the time I returned, I was feeling no stress and light hearted.  I sat down to my computer and tried logging into the BCCC website.  Finally, it came up and I was able to take the test.  The stress is gone for now.  I always feel better when I get out in the sunshine.  I read somewhere, not too long ago, that Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates for depression because of the lack of sun here.  So I am going to make sure I get out in it as much as possible.  I hope you will too.

Stress and Laugher

Stress is something that we deal with everyday in almost everything we do.  We have good stress which is not a bad thing and is not much of a concern.  However, we have bad stress and that can be life threatening for us if experienced in a prolonged state.  Most statistics show that 70 percent of diseases are stress related.  Heart disease and cancer are just a few.  Just think, if we could eliminate stress from our lives, 70 percent of diseases would be gone.  Maybe even some diseases would be wiped out of existence.   I wonder what that would do to the health care industry.  That is definitely something to think about, especially with the high cost of health care today.  However, eliminating stress completely is impossible.  So the best thing to do is to learn to cope with it or handle it effectively.

Everyone handles their stress differently, some don't handle it at all.  If we don't handle stress effectively, we run the risk of getting ill.   So it is to our benefit to look for ways to relieve our stress.

One of the best ways to relieve stress is through laughter.  It really is the best medicine.  Finding humor in our everyday lives makes us feel better, lighter.  I have heard that laughter has even been known to cure certain diseases.  Watching a funny movie before going to bed always makes me sleep better.  When we sleep that is when our bodies does most of its healing.  Last Sunday, my daughter, Jenelle, and I watched "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.  It was the funniest movie that I had seen in a long time.  I laughed almost nonstop.  That night I slept like a baby and didn't wake up once.  I think I will make it a habit to watch a funny movie as often as I can.  It would be interesting to know how other people have relieved their stress through humor.