This article brought to you by Davis Auto Body
Article by Billie Bueler – Rim Chiropractic
You probably read that title and thought, “Uh, yes, it is!” But it isn’t… hear me out.
Stress is simply your body’s reaction to some sort of challenge. In a perfect situation, your body does some pretty amazing things automatically in response to a situation. For example, if your toddler was about to take a nosedive off the couch, your muscles would tense, your heart rate would increase and your reflexes would enable you to reach out and prevent them smacking their little head on the floor. Right? Or, when you’re behind the wheel, and someone pulls out in front of you, you are able to hit the brakes and avoid a collision. Your body takes its attention from everyday digestion and other relatively restful activities and becomes laser focused on either standing its ground to fight or preparing for a speedy exit – it can’t do everything at once, so in a stressful situation, your amazing body turns off some systems, and turns up others!
The trouble starts when either you begin to react too readily to relatively harmless situations, or you react too often or even constantly. Sometimes you can’t control that… maybe your reaction is due to bereavement or an ongoing situation such as an illness, a bad marriage or financial woes. You fall into a constant state of fight or flight, and the processes that state requires can cause some pretty ugly health issues if left unchecked for too long.
We’re talking about digestive troubles because the intestines are temporarily slowed and even stopped when your body thinks it might have to outrun a dangerous situation. Or high blood pressure because stress hormones increase your heart rate and narrow your blood vessels- it takes a lot of oxygen to keep those muscles tight in the event you have to out fight someone or something. Don’t forget the immune challenges you face when your body switches off the energy needed to fight germs and switches on the energy needed to fight a predator. Not to mention sleep disruption as you lie awake trying to formulate a solution, or go over every possible scenario in an upcoming battle. And the headaches, caused by tension and worry! At last, but not least, the chronic pain due to increased cortisol production. These things are all meant to be very temporary, and thus almost not even noticed when stress is manageable.
But often, stress goes from acute, meaning temporary, to episodic acute, which is still temporary but one episode follows another, then another, then another. This can lead to the most serious kind of stress… chronic stress. The hormones required to keep your body in high alert mode can damage your arteries in time, and that can lead to real problems, like heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Uncontrolled stress can also cause mental challenges like anxiety, depression and suicide.
So the problem isn’t stress, it’s managing stress. Stress isn’t always bad. It can save your life, that’s what it’s meant to do! The whole purpose is to help you protect yourself and others from danger. It’s mismanaged stress that causes the trouble – So how can you make changes that can help you reduce the amount of stressors in your modern life?
You can do a few things right away to relieve your burden of stress, and give your body some support! First, just 15-20 minutes a day of some kind of exercise. Walk the dog, turn some music on and dance, or even take a Pilates or Kick Boxing class. Reduce your caffeine and/or alcohol consumption. Eat whole food, rather than processed food. Practice deep breathing, or relaxation techniques. And take up yoga, there are so many great yoga teachers on this mountain! Some classes are even free, so no excuses.
Many essential oils are excellent for calming the body and the nervous system. Simply inhaling some lavender or bergamot oil sends messages to the brain that all is well and that the system can return to rest and digest mode. A qualified aromatherapist can make you a nice blend or simply direct you to where to buy the best quality oils and help you decide which oils are best for you.
A massage therapist can guide you into relaxation and ease the tension in your body that produces headaches and body aches. The toxins produced in your body as a byproduct of stress can be moved out as the lymph system gets a boost during massage. So a massage isn’t just a luxury, it’s a very nice addition to your stress management tool box.
And don’t forget herbal supplements! People have been nourishing the nervous system for thousands of years with not a small amount of success. Look for top quality supplements from trusted professionals, you will be pleasantly surprised at how much better your body handles stress when supported this way!
If these steps aren’t enough to relieve your symptoms of stress, or rather too much negative stress, you may need to take a hard look at your life and see what you can change. If your stressors are unavoidable and too much to manage alone, try talking things out with a caring friend, or even a professional. You owe it to yourself to take whatever steps you can to get those stressors under control.
See what you can achieve when you manage your stress better than ever! You got this!