Published Thursday July 22nd, 2010
Stress can kill | A look at what we can do to control stress and stay healthy
By LAVERNE STEWART
stewart.laverne@dailygleaner.com
Some is good but over time too much can kill you.
Stress in small amounts is good because it can motivate us to take action. Too much stress can cause us to get sick. Dr. Bill Cook runs a mind-body practice in Fredericton. Most of his patients tell him they can't understand why they're sick. He says almost all sickness is stress-based.
"There isn't a single cell or organ in your body that is not potentially adversely affected by the chemistry of the stress system. That's how substantive it is. You name an organ system and there is something that stress can do to that over the long haul."
In the short term, stress can cause things such as headaches and stomachaches. Over time, he says, we can end up with compressed discs, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, colon cancer and other major illnesses.
To avoid sickness, we need to find ways to relieve our stress. This happens through life-long practices. He says it isn't the straw that broke the camel's back but the constant heavy load that caused the camel to fall.
Once we see ourselves as camels carrying heavy loads then, he says, we can determine the stresses that we can and the stresses that we can't control. We can either rid ourselves of the things that cause us stress, or modify them so they are more manageable.
We can deal with the stresses in our lives by doing intentional, specific physical exercises that release built-up energy that the stressors in our lives are generating, he says.
There are very specific things we can do to turn our relaxation system on and turn down our stress levels. Yoga, meditation and exercise are relaxation practices that can help us to manage our stress.
Dr. Cook says we are like pressure cookers and the stress in our lives is the pressure cooker lid.
We need to find a way to relieve the pressure continuously and gently so we don't explode, he says. You can also think of your life as a bucket and the stress in it as water. Eventually our bucket becomes full and needs to be dumped.
"People take stress leave or they take a holiday to dump their bucket and get rid of all that stuff that they are carrying and then they start all over and it builds back up again. That doesn't make any sense."
Rather than dumping all of the stress at once, he says, it is better to poke holes in the bucket and to allow the stress to trickle out continuously so that we never get to the point where we are overwhelmed.
How we view ourselves and our ability to handle the stress in our lives, he adds, will determine whether we are affected negatively or positively by stress. Irene Brennan discovered yoga in the 1970s after her first child was born because she wanted to feel physically fit. Then, in 1989, she was diagnosed with cancer. She went on a yoga retreat and learned that yoga can be a great stress reliever.
"I was very fearful. I had a lot of anxiety. I needed something to help with that."
Yoga, she says, takes you into the present and helps you to focus on your breathing and helps you to pay attention to how you feel in your physical being. With this body awareness, she says, you become less anxious.
We are living in a time when most people have high stress levels. Brennan says family demands, jobs, financial pressures and other things contribute to these high stress levels.
"I believe you have to treat the body to get to the mind. Part of the wonderful thing about slowing down and becoming aware of the sensation you are having in your body is that you can recognize where it is you feel stress.
"Some people feel it in their gut. Some people get headaches. Some people feel it in their chest. When you can slow down, with something like yoga, you can recognize what your physical symptoms are."
Jolene Hartt is a counsellor. As part of her practice, she helps others learn how to manage their stress. In January 2008 she suffered a brain aneurism that affected her short-term memory. This was a stressful time for her and her family, she recalls.
The tools she once used to deal with stress, such as meditation, are no long as effective so she had to learn new ways to keep her stress levels under control.
She continues to work with therapists and she is aware of the need to rest. Setting small goals and accomplishing them, she says, helps to reduce her stress levels. Also helpful for her, she says, is spending time with her golden retriever Sophie, who has the ability help her feel at ease.
Dave Seabrook practises meditation to help him remain calm and centred. Meditation helps him to clear away the clutter and noise that builds up in his mind so he can breathe easier, relax and think clearer. Through years of this mediation practice, he says, it has become easier to quiet his mind and relax.
When he knows he has a particularly busy day, he will meditate in the morning. It helps him to prepare for those busy times.
"Without meditation, I'd be really frazzled. Meditation gives me the opportunity to see when I am getting stressed out."
He says meditation helps him to avoid stress by recognizing its warning signs. It's not like a pill that cures stress; rather, it's like a pair of glasses that help him to focus on where his stress is coming from so he can deal with it. Living a calm and happy life for him means living in balance. When he is eating well, exercising and doing daily meditation, he says, he feels his best.
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Stand up and stretch: Remember relaxation is the opposite of stress. Often taking a short walk will help. If you're at work, walk to the water cooler and get a drink. Do something that changes your focus. Within a few minutes you likely will be calmer.
Take time for yourself: Take a part of your day to reflect on the good things in your life.
Know your limits: Knowing yourself and your limits may be the most important way to manage stress effectively.
Don't be afraid to say no: It's OK to say no. You might not want to do something and you have a right to refuse someone's request of your time without feelings of guilt.
Don't be afraid to ask for help: When you need help ask for it. This applies to home and work. You might need to ask for help from a professional who can help you learn how to effectively manage you stress.
You can help yourself further by getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, planning and prioritizing your daily schedule, talking about your problems to someone, or doing things you know work to ease your stress levels such as listening to your favourite music, getting a massage, having a nap, taking a warm bath or reading a book.
Source: www.stressmanagementtips.com
From daily gleaner published on Thursday July 22nd, 2010