Four Steps to Manage Stress

    Once I heard a story about someone explaining stress management to an audience. He raised a glass of water and asked the group, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer said, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. What matters is how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not too hard. If I hold it for an hour, my arm is going to ache. Now, if I hold it for a day, you'll probably have to call an ambulance. Why is that?"

    Before the group could answer, he said, "In each case, the weight of the water in this glass is the same, but the longer I hold on to it, the heavier it becomes. That's how it is with managing your stress. If you continue carrying your burdens all the time, guess what? Sooner or later, the burden becomes increasingly heavy. You're gradually unable to carry on with the load."

    Putting the glass of water on the table nearby, the lecturer continued, "Your stress load has to be put down for a while. Get away from it and rest before holding it again. When you're refreshed, you can carry on with the burden."

    When you're done with a day's work, don't drag it home. Put it away. Put it down. You always have tomorrow to pick it up again. Whatever burdens you're carrying right now, set them down for a moment if you can. Don't pick them up until you're rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!

    I know you've heard to relax, but these days all those "little" stresses add up (i.e., losing your job, divorce or separation, major illness, difficulty with children –whatever their ages). Those nagging, mundane stresses that wear us down day after day add can add up to serious health issues down the road. Stress is cumulative and erodes our well-being like ocean waves lapping against a craggy coastline.

    In the 1930s, stress and health were first linked together. Those were stressful times too: A severe financial crash worldwide, people losing jobs left and right, and dictators raising up their heads ready to do battle with anyone not in compliance with their whims. Sound familiar today?

    The scientist who put a name to the struggle of all forms of life people had to deal with during that time was Hans Seyle. Seyle found the hormone cortisol, which is closely linked to the adrenal glands that are activated by "fight or flight" responses, wears on digestion, reproduction, the immune system and even physical growth. Long-term presence of high levels of cortisol has an incredibly negative effect on those functions that it can shut them down. So sustained stress causes a very real deterioration throughout your body, exposing you to everything from a cold to a cancer. Even hair loss can be due to a stress factor that's hung around too long in your life. Stress is further deadly because of the impact it has on your heart. Depression is also stressful to bear under.

So What Can You Do About Stress In Your Life?

1. Vent – Don't keep things bottled up inside because that only adds to the cumulative stress load you're already carrying. This doesn't mean you scream at everybody all the time, but when you can't handle anymore stuff, don't just nod quietly and accept the way things are going. Talk to your spouse if they've upset you. Discuss matters with an annoying co-worker and help them do their job better with reasonable suggestions so it will make your job go better. By asserting yourself and your opinion while maintaining control you vent your stress.
   
2. Shift your focus – Get a hobby or work on one you already have. Schedule time for your hobbies and interests because if you don't, they won't happen. Learn to concentrate your mind on whatever brings you the most joy—stamp collecting, exercise, dancing, photography, writing. Anything that helps you shed the stress and give your mind and body the time to recover in the process of doing something. This stops stress build-up.
   
3. Manage your time – Deadlines are stressors and loom worse over you when the time gets closer to finish whatever project you're slaving over. So learn to manage your time by breaking the project down into bite-size pieces and deal with them one at a time. Instead of your schedule managing you, you need to manage it so you can avoid being overworked which is one of the most common causes of stress you can live without.
   
4. Emote – Laugh or cry about whatever is building up inside you so you can vent it out and away. Often a great rush of good feeling (with a laugh) or a sense of relief( with a cry) follow and the stress melts and puddles at your feet. Use your emotions instead of storing them by bottling them inside which leads to more stress. Chill out…
   

Robert Frost once said that the only way out is through. So get through your stress, face your obstacles, and learn from the experience. Take each day as it comes with anticipation because "the future is uncertain…but this uncertainty is the very heart of human creativity" (Ilya Prigogine, Nobel chemist).

Nine Ways to Blow Off Allergies

    When you stick your head out the door just to grab the mail, does your nose start running?  Do your eyes itch and tear up at the corners? Does your head fill with gunk that you start feeling as though it was stuffed with cotton?

    These days allergies blossom into epidemic proportions; over 60 million people suffer from allergies (more than 20% of the population).  Respiratory allergies (allergic responses to environmental allergens such as air pollutants, asbestos or heavy metals) affect between 35 to 50 million people.    Seasonal allergens, such as dust, pollen, spores and mold, include the rest of you silently, miserably suffering.

1)     What are you dealing with?

     Allergies are inappropriate immune responses to substances like cat dander, dust or wheat, and seasonal conditions (pollen or spores not normally harmful). So what’s the reason for the increase in allergic responses by our bodies?  Substances, like environmental pollutants, asbestos and smoke exhaust fumes, stir up much of our trouble.  Mix seasonal allergies with environmental allergies and you’ve got some tough stuff to deal with.  No wonder you feel so terrible when spring has sprung and during the rest of the year.

2)    Setting the stage for allergies


     Stress and adrenal exhaustion can set the stage for you to feel crummy.   We do and we eat pretty much what we want and sooner or later, we have to pay the piper.  In this case, the piper is a frustrated immune system.  In short, you’re not as healthy as you could be and risk running yourself in the ground with your hectic lifestyle.  So when you’re out and about, allergy symptoms strike you down and out.

3)    So do you, or your children, have Type I allergy to environmental or seasonal allergens?  Chances are you do if you have any of these symptoms:

•     Chronic lung, bronchial and sinus infections with itchy, watery nose and eyes
•     Frontal headaches with sneezing, coughing attacks and sore, scratchy throat
•     Your face swells up, with itchy, rashy skin
•     Skin rash on your arms or torso
•     Trouble sleeping
•     Dark circles under your eyes that don’t go away with sleep
•     Unusual menstrual pain and congestion
•     Hypoglycemia?  Candida albicans yeast overgrowth?  Or learning disabilities?

In other words, you feel like the beast instead of the beauty.

4)    Masking symptoms

     Medications found in drugstores mask symptoms, often cause drowsiness, and have a rebound effect.  That means the more you take them, the more you have to take them.  Some of the newer medicines for allergy symptoms are strong and can produce scary side effects like rapid heartbeat. Old, standby antihistamines can be dangerous too such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) which can impair driving performance more than alcohol.  Then you have the steroid drugs offered for hayfever which, if taken for long periods, can often make the situation worse by depressing immune defenses and impeding allergen elimination.  They don’t cure.

     Add environmental allergens which frequently make you feel worse by activating and aggravating other irritants.  Then the most powerful drugs won’t relieve symptoms.

5)    Healthy Alternative Suggestions:

     When facing allergy symptoms head-on, change your diet and cleanse your internal environment first.  This can help control allergic rhinitis reactions. You won’t feel like you have a perpetual cold.

• Focus on a plant-based diet.  Animal fats produce inflammatory leukotrines linked to allergies.
• Consult with someone who practices alternative medicine and who will guide you through a 3 to 7 days cleanse to help rid your body of mucous build-up.
• A cup of green tea each morning (and at bedtime) helps thin mucous.  Enjoy some hot miso or chicken soup to release mucous. Celery juice daily helps flush allergens.
• Add non-mucous-forming foods to your diet:  fresh veggies and fruits, cultured foods like yogurt, high vitamin C foods like berries and citrus, seafoods, cabbage, onions and garlic. 
• Avoid preserved and canned foods, sugary foods, caffeine, and fatty, mucous-forming foods during healing (dairy products and high gluten foods).

6)    Lifestyle changes:

• Avoid allergens.  Stay indoors, especially in the morning hours and try to exercise indoors on dry, windy days. 
• Invest in an air filter or run an air ionizer to reduce indoor allergens.
• Stop smoking and avoid secondary smoke if you want to feel better sooner.

7)    Homeopathic remedies:

     Many homeopathic remedies are available to help you gain control over your allergy symptoms.  For example, the homeopathic remedies Allium cepa treats burning nasal discharge, while Apis mellifica is specifically for bee-sting-like swelling in the body (swelling or puffing up of various parts of the body).  Sabadilla is helpful when spasmodic sneezing with runny nose is the primary symptom especially when reacting to  hayfever.

8)    Some things you can do at home include:

• Before the allergy season starts, gear up your immune system with botanical therapies weeks before symptoms normally appear.  That way you’re on top of the situation and can often avoid problems later.
• Keep pollen from your hands and face after coming inside.  Avoid touching your eyes or nose while you’re outside.  Take a bath before going to bed to reduce exposure to pollens on your hair and skin.  Washing your bedding regularly is also helpful.  
• Steam eucalyptus to ease breathing.  Add 2 pinches of eucalyptus leaves to hot water or add a couple of drops of eucalyptus essential oil to the water.  Then cover your head with a towel, hang over the pot of steaming water and inhale the steam for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Remember to exercise.  Increasing your oxygen intake helps the healing process and stimulates the lymphatic system.  Walk daily and breathe deeply.  
• Because stress depresses immunity and aggravates allergies, use relaxation techniques like tai chi or yoga to help ease you into wellness.   
• 80% of your immune function is in the gut.  If you’re not on a daily basis eliminating toxins from your body through normal functions, then you’re setting yourself up to be sick.  That’s why a cleanse is a great beginning, but it’s only a beginning.  Throughout the year, a seasonal cleanse helps you develop an appetite for health.  If you have questions, visit a healthcare professional you know and trust to provide you with the support you need. 

9)    Aim for a Healthier Lifestyle

     During the allergy season, learn how live a healthier lifestyle.  The sooner you get a grip on what’s ailing you, the sooner you’ll feel better.  And the sooner you feel better, the better you’ll understand how your body works and you’ll learn how to work with it.  And that’s nothing to sneeze at.
**********************************************************************************

Does this help you?  If you have questions, please ask.  Let me know what you’ve found that works with your allergies.  Maybe you can help others too with your example.

A Helping Hand

It is easier to point the finger than it is to offer a helping hand.

 

               My kids are grown and most are gone.  We home educated our children since 1980.  In 2007, the last two finally graduated from home school and entered a local junior college.  I survived and so did they. But it wasn't easy. They got sick; I got sick.  Dear husband stressed with building a business and a house on this hilltop in east Texas.

               I'm not a health guru, but I've formally studied this topic and graduated with a degree in Natural Health because I wanted healthy options for myself and my family.

                That knowledge has spilled over into other areas such as this blog.  Having taught seminars over the years on wellness, I've gleaned much from my research.  I've had those 2 AM wake-up calls to a piercing scream of a 6-month-old baby only to discover the next morning that she was suffering from an ear infection.  I've asked questions of doctors and didn't get useful answers--only the sort of answers you can pick up from a 3x5 index card.  I needed to know how to take care of my family.  Those screaming nights were not going to help me sleep so I could be any use the next day when I had to face homeschooling demands too.  It wasn't easy and I know some of you understand what I'm saying.

                So do you want to know some of the things we'll be talking about around here?  Well, here we go:


1)  Allergies - Nine Tips For Blowing Off Allergies

2)  Stress  - Five Steps to Manage Stress

3)  Raising Healthy Kids in a Fat Culture

4)  What Do Your Bloodtests Really Mean?


                 Writing articles on health and wellness continues to teach me, so through this blog, I'll attempt to bring you some of what I've learned and am continuing to learn. 

                 Your comments are welcomed. Let me know what you think and what your concerns are. That way we can learn from each other.  After all, this isn't all about me—it's about you, your health and the health of those you love.


 

Duty will do the job, but love will do it well.