Stress? Is this a bad word or good word in your vocabulary? Did you know that stress can be both? Let’s look at stress for a moment.
Stress is the body’s response to something that overwhelms it. This can be physical or mental. As my mother used to say, “stress can do strange things to your body.” When we are stressed our body sends out those stress hormones of cortisol and adrenaline. When our body sends out these hormones, we may experience a heightened sense of attention, more energy, etc. However, when we get too much stress in our lives it can cause our hearts to feel like “they are beating out of our chest”, increased sweating, sleep issues, over/undereating, etc. Stress can also cause digestive issues and skin issues as well as a host of other problems.
What do you say can be done about stress? We can’t stop it. But oh, how we can learn to deal with stress using holistic measures. Just a few of these measures are body work such as massage, acupuncture, or reflexology and body movement such as tai chi, qi gong, or dance. Meditation is a great form of a stress reliever, but it doesn’t have to be sitting down for 30 minutes or longer like you see in the movies. There are numerous apps on smart phones that you can use. One I like is the Calm app and it has 10-minute meditations on there. My form of meditation is cooking or walking my farm. So, meditation doesn’t have to be that sitting still which I for one can’t do. Meditation is about quieting your mind so if playing with your dogs or going for a walk is quieting your mind then use that. Color therapy is another great stress reliever. Color therapy is about not only the colors you surround yourself with or wear, but it is also actually coloring. I always say I had a coloring book and crayons beside my chair or bed long before adult coloring books became popular. Breathing is also a great stress relief and very quick and simple. If you find yourself under stress, then take 3-5 seconds and take a few deep breaths. It really does work folks.
So next time you feel you are getting stressed then try a few of the above. Find what works best for you and continue with them. And of course, if you need some guidance then let’s talk and see how I can help you.