LIVE LIFE WELL
Stress: The Quiet Plight Hijacking Your Health
Stress can be a sneaky culprit. It doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it nags you softly during sleepless nights, and lurks making you monkey-minded.
Many American adults, around 75%, think of chronic stress as a normal and unavoidable part of their life. However, it can, and should be, effectively managed.
Why are we so stressed out? Some thoughts: Because we live in a fallen world, not a perfect one, and things go wrong. Because we live with fallen people who give us grief, are mean or careless, or just plain evil. Because we can be our own worst enemy at times.
That’s the bad news.
But why should I try to manage stress? Because chronic stress will harm you, maybe even kill you.
Effects of Stress
During times of stress, cortisol, a stress hormone, increases. This can cause blood sugar levels to rise, sugar cravings, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and WEIGHT GAIN.
In addition stress can cause:
Mood swings, brain fog, anxiety, depression, memory problems
Insomnia
Chronic fatigue
High blood pressure, strokes, heart arrhythmia’s, heart attacks
Indigestion, IBS, constipation, diarrhea,
A weakened immune system
Muscle weakness
Reproductive problems
And even more
Here’s the good news! There are ways to manage stress.
Some Things You Can Do to Ameliorate Stress
Eat life-giving food like meat, eggs & dairy (if you tolerated them) vegetables, fruit, healthy fats, nut/seeds & beans; avoiding processed foods.
Activity - dance to a song, go for a walk or hike, just move more.
Deep Breathing Exercise #1: Box Breathing - This is used by the Navy Seals and is really good for reducing stress, improving mental clarity, and calming the nervous system. Breathe in slowly & deeply in to the count of 4, hold for a count of 4, breathe out to the count of 4, hold for a count of 4. Repeat. This is good to repeat at least 4 times, but sometimes I just do it 1-2 times before I eat, and even during if I feel I am not relaxed enough. Box Breathing is also good to help you fall asleep or fall back to sleep.
4-7-8 Breathing - Breathe slowly and deeply in through you nose for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, breathe out for 8 seconds, preferably with pursed lips with a bit of a whoosh. I have found that this one is sometimes hard to do if I am especially keyed up, and is easier if I start with a couple of Box Breathing cycles. I tend to get deeper results with 4-7-8 Breathing compared to Box Breathing though. Do this at least 4 times.
Butterfly Hug Tapping - This is also very effective in reducing anxiety, calming the nervous system, and dealing with feelings of overwhelm. To do this, hook your thumbs together with your palms facing you, place your hands on your chest where your first two fingers will be in the hollow spot below your collarbone. Then tap gently right, left, right, left, for at least 40-60 seconds. This can be at a steady beat or an occasional offbeat.
Self talk: Ask yourself, “In the face of all eternity, does X (whatever you are anxious or stressed about) really matter”? And 99.999999999% of time, it does not.
Bible verses like: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 4:6-7. I have memorized this one and use it often. One has to follow its directives though. Even when I do, I sometimes have to repeat it because I take the anxiety back on like 3 seconds later. And I need to remind myself that I gave it over to God and it is His problem now.
Adequate sleep
Limit caffeine and alcohol
Prayer & Meditation on Scripture
Listening to music, hobbies, journaling
Hanging around friends, family, and church
Warm or hot baths (with Epsom salt as a bonus)
Laughter & Smiling - Watch funny movies, read funny books, listen to comedians
This list is not exhaustive. A few more items have already come to mind to add, but instead I am going to encourage you to do some brainstorming about things that destress you, bringing calm, peace, and sanity. I invite you to share them with me and I will add them in my next post.
Notable Quotable
Stress can invoke the worst sided of ourselves. And we can make a mess of things if we are not careful with our words. This new mess will make things even more stressful.
A good quote, that may save marriages and other relationships, that I took to heart a long time ago is by Edith Schaeffer, the wife of late theologian Francis Schaeffer. She said, “Say to yourselves, and teach your children, ‘There are some things that are too costly to say, somethings that are too great a luxury to use in sarcasm, some things that are too cleverly devastating to ever use in trying to get the better of someone. To win in the midst of saying that kind of thing, is to lose entirely.’ What rare and marvelous thing am I losing in order to win what little victory?”
These days…so much uncertainty
There is a lot going on in our country and in the world, let alone the trials and tribulations of our daily lives. It may not be easy to deal with stress, but it is important for our health to do so. In addition to the above suggestions, may I cheer you on with, “Trust God and just roll with it”.
Many health experts & even celebrities are taking stress seriously
Here is a smattering in no particular order:
Mark Sisson - Well-known for promoting the Primal/Paleo lifestyle, entrepreneur, health author
Mark Hyman, MD - Functional Medicine
Tony Robbins - Motivational speaker
Lady Gaga - Singer/Songwriter
Dr. Ben Griffes - My very own chiropractor
Dr. Andrew Huberman - Neuroscientist & podcaster
Mindy Peltz,DC -Functional Health practioner & author
Ben Greenfield - Biohacker & Performance Expert
Lastly…
If you know someone who might benefit from reading this, please share it. Also, consider working with me as you trained personal health coach to achieve your goals, like managing stress better or losing weight. Hit me up to schedule a 20-minute call for more information and to see if we would be a good fit. Just hit REPLY. It only goes to me.
