Lets Talk About Your Stress!

I would be challenged to find one client who does not report to live with stress. Sometimes it reaches an acute level and yet for most it is a chronic, grinding burden that keeps wellness and joy at a distance.

Today, let’s look at chronic, unattended stress and see what happens to us when we leave it unchecked. We will also look at some ways to acknowledge what our stress load is, and finally, we will address some ways we can be active in reducing our stress and its effects on us.

I will try to keep this simple and straightforward. We have been wonderfully and fearfully created, even to be able to handle amazingly large amounts of stressors. Some, certain amounts of stress are even beneficial for us. Stress is quite simple, a reaction in both our mind and bodies to both external and internal stimuli that is sometimes, but not always harmful to our well-being. It all begins with our nervous system. When our nervous system detects something that is too much for us, it will send the signal to our brains. This could be something as simple as touching a stove top that is too hot or as complex as a relationship that is toxic to our overall well being and, of course, a million things in between. Our brains then go to work, kicking into sympathetic nervous mode (flight or flight). This is meant to help us respond in an appropriate way, however, we often get stuck in this sympathetic mode and this is where we enter into the chronic stress state that can damage our health. We can also arrive here because we bounce from one form of stress to another, without any time for our body and mind to recover and return to the ideal state of parasympathetic mode. Either way, this needs a remedy so we can function as we should. If we don’t shift out of constant stress, it creates havoc for us.

For our purposes today, we are going to talk about a couple of the ways stress is damaging. Did you know that well over 70% of all migraines are due to an untended stress? The headache usually but not always will follow the stressful event and therefore it is important to be in-tune with what is stressing you. The physiological process of a migraine is complicated but at its core is your circulatory system. When stressed, the body re-directs your blood flow in an effort to be ready to handle the threat (stress). You will subconsciously redirect more blood in your head then normal so that your brain is equipped to help handle the situation. This leaves other areas of your body with a lesser supply and this is where it gets fun. You can possibly prevent one of these migraines by listening and observing your body. The lack of circulation in the fingers and toes will register this reaction and present you with cold extremities. Once you learn how to acknowledge the process that is taking place, you can also learn to ‘talk yourself’ out of the stress reaction and thus possibly prevent the migraine. Of course there are multiple exceptions to this process, but over all, this can be a very positive way for you to take control of your own well-being.

Many options are available for this ‘talk’ you can have with yourself. One of the very most important is to learn proper breathing techniques to pull yourself out of that fight or flight state. When stressed, we tend to breathe more shallowly and in the upper respiratory areas. This prevents us from receiving the amount of oxygen needed by our bodies and minds. It also makes it hard to balance the ratios of oxygen and co2 levels in our blood, thereby increasing the stress load we are trying to deal with. I have shared a little before on proper breathing techniques, just in general.

Today I would like to ask you to watch a couple things with yourself and see if you can help bring down that chronic stress level in your body. The first thing to check in with yourself is your breathing. Watch yourself to see how deep and slow your breathing is. The easiest way to do this is to place your hands at your waist, on each side, but toward the front of your body. Take a breathe in and see if your lowest ribs are moving, hopefully out to the sides. Also watch your belly versus your chest. Which one is moving the most? Try to correct your breathing so that only your belly is moving out and the ribs are moving slightly out from your sides.

Another thing that you can start watching is the tenseness of your muscles, especially those of the shoulders and neck. If you detect any tenseness, give those shoulders a roll and drop and try to keep in your mind a picture of what softened, relaxed shoulders and necks would look and feel like.

And here is my last suggestion - stop in for some therapy and grab your own personal stress tester to monitor the temperature of your fingers. This will give you a great idea of where you are at in the stress reaction cycle. Many people think it is okay to have cold fingers and attribute this to Raynaud’s Syndrome/Disease but at its core, this disorder can be a chronic stress reaction. The good news is that you can train yourself to reject this reaction and the stress that is at play.

For any client that books an appointment with me, I will be handing out these little testers as a way for you to begin to notice more about your body and how it is handling the stress that is often unavoidable.

If you have any questions or would like to work with me on the project of stress effects to your wellness, I would love to hear from you. Text me or call at 308-249-1364 and let’s see what we can do to help you gain a more balanced and healthy life.

Stop in and get your stress meter and be on your way to better health.