| We all have stress in our lives and we will never get | | | | mad rush to find our misplaced keys, the traffic and |
| rid of all of it, but we can decrease it! When we think | | | | impatient drivers on the road, the annoying coworker, |
| of stress we usually think of big, horrible events: losing | | | | the rude boss, the hairdresser who always runs late, |
| a job, the death of a loved one, being in a car accident, | | | | the bag boy who packs the watermelon on top of the |
| or our house being flooded. Those events are | | | | bread, then back to our cluttered and noisy homes so |
| stressful, but luckily don't happen too often. In fact, | | | | we can cram in a few more activities before sleeping |
| stress is not always a bad thing. Stress in occasional | | | | too little and starting it all again the next day. |
| and small doses can benefit us. A looming deadline can | | | | Examining your day and identifying sources of stress is |
| be motivating and getting married or promoted is | | | | a proactive step in reducing your stress level. Some |
| exciting. | | | | daily sources of stress that you may not have |
| What we feel as stress is our body's response to | | | | identified as such can be: |
| stimuli. For self preservation our body is wired to help | | | | - unreliable friends or coworkers, |
| us fight or flee from threats and attacks. Our bodies | | | | - rude salespeople, |
| respond almost the same as they did hundreds of | | | | - clutter and mess in our homes and offices, |
| thousands of years ago; but our stressors and their | | | | - automated phone trees, |
| frequency have changed. | | | | - general noise, |
| Acute stress is a sudden, life threatening or | | | | - loved ones' quirks and personalities, |
| overwhelming event, such as getting fired or being | | | | - overbooked days and too long to-do lists, |
| mugged. Our bodies shift into overdrive releasing | | | | - avoiding a dreaded task, |
| cortisol and adrenaline so we have more strength to | | | | - looking and feeling ragged, |
| fight the attack or run to safety, just as we did during | | | | - running late, |
| a saber tooth tiger attack. Our heart pounds, our | | | | - multitasking, |
| muscles tighten, we breathe faster, our senses | | | | - people not really listening or concentrating, |
| sharpen, and our speed, strength, stamina, and reaction | | | | - not feeling connected to your spouse, |
| times all improve. After the event, such as the near | | | | - not eating and sleeping enough to fuel your body, |
| miss at the intersection, our bodies calm back down to | | | | - constant or frequent pain. |
| normal. | | | | Some common symptoms of chronic stress include |
| What is arguably more of a health threat today are | | | | headaches, lethargy, irritability, and muscle tension. Pay |
| the undesirable outcomes of chronic stress. Chronic | | | | attention to when you feel any of these or get that |
| stress is a constant or frequent annoyance that also | | | | heavy feeling of dread in your gut. What causes you |
| triggers a neurochemical release. The little annoyances | | | | to feel frustrated, angry, lethargic, or blah? Is it related |
| that rile us each and every day cause the same | | | | to certain tasks, certain people, or certain places? |
| hormonal and neurochemical release as the acute | | | | Examine your trigger situations and look for ways you |
| stressors. Our bodies don't realize that constant noise, | | | | can change them. |
| rudeness, or traffic jams don't require a full onslaught | | | | Would allowing more time to get somewhere help? |
| of hormones. Our bodies can not distinguish between | | | | Would taking time each day to sit and eat nutritious |
| physical and psychological stress. | | | | meals and snacks provide you with needed energy? |
| Chronic stress can lead to or exacerbate heart | | | | Would establishing quiet times or quiet zones give you |
| disease, diabetes, increased blood pressure, anxiety, | | | | a retreat from the noise? Would establishing a system |
| depression, overeating, not getting enough sleep, a less | | | | for handling clutter make your space more peaceful as |
| effective immune system, fuzzy thinking, increased | | | | well as eliminate some time spent searching for lost |
| aging, infertility, and decreased productivity. | | | | items and reduce distractions? Sometimes doing only |
| Sadly, we have come to accept many chronic | | | | one thing at a time allows for a sense of peace and |
| stressors as an accepted part of our day; they feel so | | | | accomplishment - can you stop multitasking? |
| familiar we think they are normal. But many of these | | | | Chronic stress is not only unpleasant, but bad for your |
| chronic stressors, once identified as such, can be | | | | health. We have become so accustomed to some |
| changed or modified. We can teach ourselves to | | | | stressors we accept them and may not even |
| respond differently and less dramatically or alter the | | | | recognize them as stressors we can alter or avoid. |
| triggers. | | | | Slowing the pace of your day, exercising, meditating, |
| Our lifestyle has changed in the last several hundred | | | | and creating a relaxation routine also help combat the |
| thousand years, but our neurochemical alarm system | | | | chronic stresses of daily life. What step could you take |
| has not! Traffic congestion causes the same racing | | | | this week to decrease some of your chronic stress |
| heart and clenched muscles as fighting an intruder | | | | and improve your health? |
| does. We roll from one form of stress to another: the | | | | |