Good morning! Well Friday is here and hopefully this has been a good week for everyone. For those who have had less than a pleasurable week I thought I would talk about stress management. Stress effects everyone different and may come from anywhere: work, relationships, kids, illness, unresolved feelings and emotions. Our immune system can become compromised from extended periods of stress. Tension can build up in the muscles, causing a decrease in circulation and nutrient delivery to tissues. On the positive side there are ways to reduce the stress and keep it under control. So first let me tell you a little about the physical signs stress can have on our bodies…

  • Eating Disorders. Anorexia and bulimia are 10 times more common in women than in men, and this may have something to do with stress levels. Like depression, this illness has been linked to low levels of serotonin and is often treated with serotonin-boosting antidepressant drugs.
  • Stomach ailments. Stress can make you reach for junk or comfort foods, or upset your stomach to the point that you feel like you can’t eat. Common stress-related stomach troubles include cramps, bloating, heartburn, and even irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Depending on how you respond, these can lead to weight loss or weight gain.
  • Skin reactions. Stress can lead to breakouts and even itchy rashes and hives in some people.
  • Emotional conditions. From being in a blue or irritable mood to more serious mental issues like depression, your emotional health suffers when there’s stress in your life. Women are better than men at hiding some emotions like anger and aggressiveness because the parts of their brains responsible for these emotions are larger than men’s, but depression strikes women twice as often as men. The emotional effects of stress on women can range from postpartum depression after pregnancy to depression after menopause.
  • Sleep problems. Trouble falling or staying asleep is common in women affected by stress, and this is particularly counterproductive since a good night’s sleep can help ease stress.
  • Concentration difficulty. Stress makes it hard to focus and be effective in your responsibilities at home or work, and that can compound your problems if your stress comes from your job to begin with.
  • Heart disease. The stress of competing in today’s job market has increased women’s heart disease risk. Stress can negatively affect the entire cardiovascular system, and lead to high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack.
  • Lowered immune response. One of the more complicated physical reactions to stress is your body’s lessened ability to fight off disease, whether it’s a cold or a flare-up of a chronic condition.
  • Cancer. Some studies have suggested a link between stress and the development of breast and ovarian cancer. In one study, researchers found that the risk of breast cancer was increased by 62 percent in women who had experienced more than one highly stressful life event, like divorce or the death of a spouse.

How can you reduce or avoid the unwanted stress…

  • Improve your diet. By eating well-balanced meals and skipping junk food, you can improve your physical well-being and, in turn, your emotional health.
  • Make time for exercise. Exercise is a phenomenal way of dealing with stress and depression and research shows that getting active can lift your spirits and increase the release of endorphins, a natural chemical associated with mood.
  • Find fun ways to relax. Connect with family and friends and people you enjoy being around. Rediscover favorite hobbies; recent studies link a resurgence in knitting and needlepoint to their stress-reducing effects.
  • My favorite stress reliever of all MASSAGE of course! Massage therapy is one of the best antidotes for stress. We know this is true on an intuitive level. If even the untrained hands of a friend or partner can soothe aches and pains, and diminish anxiety, then imagine the effect of a therapeutic massage by a trained practitioner. Even the rituals of massage come as a welcome break from our hurried lives: dimmed lights, soothing music, the pleasant fragrance of a mild oil or candle – even without massage, these might help you relax. But coupled with the right massage techniques, you’ll actually feel the stress leaving.

I hope this give you a little insight about stress and how we can take control of it in our lives. If you feel overwhelmed by stress and its effects, talk to your doctor about ways to deal with it. You may learn new techniques for managing stress on your own, or you may find that therapy with a mental health professional will better help you to get it all under control.

Have a wonderful weekend!