How I Started Healing My Anxiety, Part 2

Alright people let’s talk stressors. There are mental and physical stressors that can affect your overall health. We need to eliminate some of your stressors and then improve how your body responds to stress. Because, let’s get real we can’t take away all stress, I mean I guess you could if you moved to Bora Bora and lived on the beach and I’m sure even there the mosquitos or sand in your toes would get to you eventually.

When your body feels stress or fear it goes into the fight or flight mode. This mode allows our body to create hormones like cortisol and adrenaline so that we can handle the situation. For example, our ancestors used it in situations like running away from a tiger. During this response our heart rate speeds up, digestion slows and blood flow is increased to all of our major muscle groups. This can be a great thing when we are in danger, but these days it is being activated where the response is not appropriate, like sitting in traffic or enduring a stressful day at work. When the threat is gone our body is able to normalize with the relax and digest response. However, in times of chronic stress, which is pretty much life these days, our body doesn’t get into the relax and digest mode enough, which is ultimately damaging. Our body was not meant to be on guard all day and we have to find a way to help it out. We must be kind to our body! Let’s talk today about what you can do to alleviate some of these stressors in your life and how to respond to the unavoidable stress.

1. Diet plays a big role in how your body handles stress. If you are getting all the nutrients you need on a daily basis, your body machine can run better. To learn more about this read my article How I Started Healing My Anxiety, Part 1.
2. Your response to a stressful situation is very important as well. I know when something upsets me my first thought is to lash out or get upset, so I have a little mental checklist of what I say when this happens.
   1. Stop, close my eyes and take a deep breath.
   2. Ask myself, “Do I have any control over this situation?”
   3. If yes, then I think about how I can respond that will have the most POSITIVE benefit to the situation. We can control how we respond. I know this part isn’t always easy, but our health is so important and getting overly upset only makes the situation worse.
   4. If the answer is no, then remember you are only human and try to LET IT GO, you will be stronger and happier for this response. Remember no one is perfect and you have to learn how to show yourself and others some grace. I love to say the Serenity Prayer when I am having a hard time in a situation. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
3. Meditation is an amazing tool to help alleviate stress. Now I know what you may be thinking, “My brain can’t be quiet for more than 10 seconds, how am I going to meditate?” Well I thought the same thing too, at first. That is why I downloaded a guided meditation app to help me. There are a few I have tried and I will list them below. Just try some out and see which one you like. This simple technique, if practiced as little as 10 minutes a day, can help reduce stress, decrease anxiety, improve cardiovascular health, and allow you to relax. Of course if you can do 20 or 30 minutes that is fantastic too. I like to meditate when I am upset or before bed to get me nice and relaxed so I can have a good night’s rest, which leads me to my next point.
4. Sleep is another important factor in stress relief. When you sleep your body heals and re-energizes itself to be able to take on the next day. When you are lacking sleep your body cannot appropriately re-energize. Then the next day when something stressful happens, your battery has not been completely recharged and doesn’t have enough energy to deal with that stress. Your body then takes the energy it needed to run your immune system or your thyroid and has to use it on your stress response. You want to have the rest you need so that your energy is used on running your body properly and not just fighting stress.
5. Exercise can also help with stress if done appropriately, however too much exercise can actually cause stress on the body. I recommend 3 times a week and up to 5 if you are really an avid exerciser, as long as you take needed rest days. I recommend some kind of movement even if it’s just a brisk walk a few times a week. I also am a big fan of High Intensity Interval Training also known as HIIT. These are short workouts that really get your body burning calories and fat and usually only take about 20 minutes, you can even do them at home. I really like the 8fit app for some short easy workouts. I also use an exercise site called My Daily Burn. I also recommend yoga to really relax the body and stretch your muscle groups. There is usually a great yoga studio near by so go try it out, or if you would like to do yoga in your home My Daily Burn and Daily Yoga offer good options too. Remember physical exercise increases the production of your brain’s feel good neurotransmitters: endorphins. Endorphins actually hinder or block cell’s transmission of pain signals, so exercise can be very beneficial.
6. Take up a hobby, take time for yourself. It is very important to take time for yourself or enjoy a hobby. I know people say they are busy or they don’t have time for themselves and the family too. However, you need to think of it like this: you will be an overall happier and healthier person if you do this for yourself. Your happiness then is reflected to your family and everyone benefits, not just you.

          Some suggestions:

• Take a hot bath with some candles and pour some Lavender Epsom salt in there to help relax your muscles.
• Take 20 minutes to read a book that you enjoy.
• Get a massage
• Take a painting class

         Whatever it is, just spend 20 to 60 on yourself to relax and regroup. Do this as much or as often as you can and use this time to be THANKFUL for your wonderfully crazy, chaotic and amazing life! 

7. Here are some teas and supplements I like to use to help deal with stress. My favorite that I recommend to friends, family and clients is The Natural Vitality Calm drink you mix the powder in a glass of water whenever you feel stressed or want to relax. It is absolutely amazing and it tastes good too! I have some patients who will mix it in a wine glass and sip on it when they get home and something about it being in the wine glass makes it that much better! I also love adding herbs in the form of teas, Cup of Calm by Traditional Medicinals is my favorite. You can drink this anytime you are having anxiety or just need to relax, it can be a great help.

I hope these tips and ideas can help alleviate some of your stress and help you deal with it when it is unavoidable. Please ask any questions you have, I would love to answer! Have a great day!