Stress. I felt this as I got off the phone with the IRS this morning. Talking to them about tax returns, quarterly moneys owed, etc., can always bring about some form of stress, so I thought to myself, “Why not write about this?” For I know, especially now in America, I am not alone in experiencing stress.
Yet, what really is stress? I know that a lot of people function every day with some form of stress, yet what causes it? What kinds of stressers are there? And, more importantly, how can one overcome stress?
First of all, when I look up the word “stress” online at www.dictionary.com, I find that it has a variety of meanings. Here are just a few that I most identify with.
-Physiology. a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism.
-physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension: Worry over his job and his wife’s health put him under a great stress.
-a situation, occurrence, or factor causing this: The stress of being trapped in the elevator gave him a pounding headache.
In other words, stress is something that every living organism - man and animal - can experience in a response to fear, pain, strain, tension, worry, etc. For the sake of this article, I wanted to focus on the top forms of stress.
The Top 3 Kinds of Stress
As a success coach, business owner, mom-to-be and athlete, I have studied stress extensively for the past several years and I know that there are a variety of stressers out there (one could count the IRS as one). Thanks to my relationship with wellness doctor/chiropractor, Dr. Amber Voitenko, of Tustin, CA, I have narrowed it down to three that I most help coach people on, as well as refer out to other stress management colleagues.
1. Physical Stress: Physical stress can be anything you feel or experience with your body, or something that happens to your body, such as trauma. Examples of this can range from headaches to sickness to having an accident or simply tripping and stubbing your toe. Anything that happens/occurs within your body is considered physical stress. There can also be good physical stress. Running or working out can cause stress to your body, however, that is a good stress that can help you relieve the physical stress, as long as you take care of yourself and seek help to guide you through the process.
2. Mental Stress: Mental stress can show up as worry, anxiety, fear, tension and anything that your mind focuses on that can also lead to physical stress in your body. Your thoughts guide your body and that is a powerful thing in many ways, yet very detrimental to your health. If you worry about a recent job layoff, being late for work, wondering if you made the right decision recently, how you are going to pay your bills, how you are going to pay your rent/mortgage, etc., that impacts the rest of your life simply because it is on your mind and causing you mental anxiety or stress in the moment.
3. Chemical Stress: Chemical stress comes from two sources, one external and one internal.
First, our contact with intake of food and water, as well as the air we breathe is the external factor. Dr. Amber shared with me that we take in over 82,000 toxins a week into our bodies from food, water and air. Unhealthy food, air or water can cause chemical stress and cause us to react emotionally to situations we might not normally do so if we didn’t have all those toxins floating around in our system. These chemicals affect our mind and body over time.
Second, the internal source for chemical stress are the stress glands of our bodies, known as your adrenal glands. When the environment you find yourself in is hostile to the body (your physical stressers), your body’s reaction is to fight or run. This reaction comes from the adrenals glands which respond to the physical stress by shooting out hormones that are normally regulated to work with the body in going through emergency type stress. This is a great thing for short, sudden instances (such as quick reflex reactions in traffic), however, periods of lengthy physical stresses can cause the adrenals to become exhausted from overproducing and then adrenal fatigue sets in. This can cause sleepless nights, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, several other digestive tract diseases and a host of many other health related illnesses/problems now or later in life.
What Causes Stress?
Based upon my experiences and research, fear and limiting beliefs are the top two causes for stress. For the sake of today’s article, I will not go into too much depth (for I could write a book on this topic), however, I want to share with you my own personal example to shed some light on what I mean.
Back in 2006, when I experienced the beginning stages of whatever everyone else is going through in the real estate/mortgage market now, I had a lot of stressers impacting me. I had three properties on the market that were going to foreclose if not sold, I was selling my own home because I saw the market going down very quickly and I could use the equity to pay off some of my massive debt I had accumulated, I was looking for a place to live, I had creditors calling daily, I was running my business, taking care of my health, figuring out when/if to let my employees go, etc., etc. The list could go on. My levels of chemical stress were up due to all the adrenaline and hormones pumping through my body. I was making some unhealthy food choices due to my emotional state, which impacted my mental stress. I was working out less due to the frenzied schedule I found myself in and not releasing as much of the physical stress that I normally would. So, I had all of the three stresses impacting me every day.
What I didn’t realize that the time, was that all of the stress was all brought on by my fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of what other people would think of me, fear of the unknown. Living in fear is a very scary and paralyzing place, as well as dumping a mountain of stress on myself.
My fears were brought on by my limiting beliefs in my mind, such as “I’m not good enough to figure all this out” or “I must be unworthy because this happened to me” or “I’m not smart enough to make it work”. The list could probably go on and added to my mental stress.
Then, after a year of that stress on my plate, I fell sick and ended up in the emergency room because the stress weakened my immune system and my body said, “ENOUGH! We’re taking a break!”
It all came down to fear and the limiting beliefs that were holding me back.
True, I had a lot of external circumstances and a hostile environment, however, now that I have learned from that experience and understand how my choices caused my stress, I will know for the future what to do and how to respond to those stress loads more effectively.
If you were to look at your own life, or even just choose a very stressful period of time, I encourage you to examine that and do an exercise with yourself to determine what was really the root cause of your stress. You may very well save your life!
How To Overcome Stress
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First, it is important, as in anything you want to change in life, to
acknowledge that you have stress and determine which type it is or what is causing it.
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Next, seek help. After acknowledging you have stress, you would simply ask yourself, is this mental, physical or chemical stress and then go find someone who specializes in that area.
For example, if you discovered this was chemical stress, you could go to a doctor, chiropractor, naturopathic doctor to get your body back in alignment chemically. If you discovered you have physical stress or sickness due to trauma or worry related illness, take the proper steps to heal as quickly as possible or go to a doctor/professional to take care of yourself. If it is mental stress, talk to a coach (such as myself) or trusted advisor/professional that can professionally help you ground yourself and bring peace of mind with a fresh perspective.
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Exercise is the number one way to release physical and mental stress. Once the stress builds up, this is best way to rid yourself of it on a physical level. Even a 5 minute brisk walk can change your outlook.
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Deep breathing exercises and meditation can work as well. If you feel stressed, step away from the desk, computer, argument or whatever your source of stress is, and simply close your eyes and breathe in deeply to a count of 8, hold that breath for 8 counts and exhale for 8 counts. Repeat that two more times and notice how you feel. Return to your source of stress and have a new outlook or even set aside whatever that source was for the day and return to it after a good night’s rest.
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Get as much rest as possible at night. Sleep deprivation can cause stress to all three areas - mental, physical and chemical. All of which can attack your immune system and affect your thinking skills and reflexes. Not to mention your ability to handle stress period. This is a double edged sword because if you are overstressed, then you may then become sleep deprived. Hence talking a professional sooner rather than later is advised.
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Have a healthy plan every day & Be as proactive as possible about your nutrition/supplementation.
Every day I am as proactive as possible to defend my body/mind/Spirit from any potential stressers out there. I always take nutritional supplementation also to help with the chemical imbalance, as well as go see Dr. Amber, my wellness doctor, every week, to help with the central nervous system and sublaxations (out of alignment spinal column) in order to beat chemical stress more effectively. I walk or do exercises multiple times a week for physical/mental stress relief. I read something positive and/or say affirmations every day - even if for just 5 minutes - to give my mind a boost and new outlook. I plan on getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night. I awake early to keep my schedule/routine going.
Put a list together of your own proactive approach to beating stress!
The list could go on and on, however, the hope is that you have an idea of how to implement your own plan.
I encourage you to make a list of things you can do to protect yourself from the top 3 stressers and work at it EVERY DAY. Even if you just pick one area for now and transform that part of your life, it very well may impact your whole life. Then pick another area to work on for 30 days. Then add one more new tool from my list above. Rome wasnt built in a day and it takes 30 days to create a habit, a year to make it a lifestyle for you.
Start NOW and transform your new stress-balanced life!
Free Stress Consultation
Let me know how you are doing and if you would like a FREE 30 minute consultation on how to overcome the stress you have in your life. You deserve to be as stress free as possible! You and only you can change that. I am here to help in any way that I can and will gladly refer you to anyone that is in my network or even just give you some sound advice/thoughts to get you headed in the right direction by creating a plan for YOU!
Lois Recommends
http://www.thebeachhouse.usana.com/ - balanced nutritional supplements for your mind/body connection
http://www.mynsp.com/transformationalsuccess - holistic health site with nutritional products that can help your mind/body/Spirit to remain balanced
Stress J - an holistic product that safely supports your stress functions in your body and provides stress relief
Stress Pack - Provides nutrients that help the body deal with physical and emotional stress
http://www.soulpurpose.co.za/ - Center for Integrated Health in Southern California
www.bodymindsuccess.com - my business partner, Leo Ramos, has a lot of free resources/coaching tools on his site to help you create balance in your body/mind