For a small 6 letter word, it can have massive impacts on our lives! I have broken down the word S.T.R.E.S.S. into each of its different letters and explained in more detail the symptoms of stress, how it can be affecting you and how you can overcome it as much as possible. Over the next three weeks we will be looking at these in more detail.
S = Symptoms are wide and varied, depending on whether it is a recent stressful situation you find yourself in or whether it is years of ongoing stress.
The body becomes so adaptable to the stress; you end up with a list of symptoms which you unrelate to the stressful incident in the first place. Often people say they are not stressed at all!! This is very common as they are so used to feeling this way they don’t know any different. Long-term stress can be as a result of grief, loss of a loved one, separation, divorce of parents, abusive relationships, bullying, violence/hurts/traumas experienced as a child or otherwise, financial worries, heavy workload, illnesses in families and on and on the list goes. The effect on the body is untold really, with symptoms of chronic digestive problems, acid reflux, bloating, knots/tension in the abdomen, irritable bowel syndrome (cramps, fluctuating diarrhoea /constipation) food sensitivities, headaches, migraines, pain in various parts of the body, frequent colds/flu’s, disturbed sleep patterns, depression, irritability, mood swings, leading into more serious diseases.
T=Tension ultimately when the body is experiencing either long or short term stress…tension results. Every organ in the body is supported by muscles. The muscles are the first place to experience the tension. Think about it, when we are tense, we automatically tense our muscles, almost as if we are standing in a frozen state. Some examples of tense muscles are jaw problems, from jaw clenching or teeth grinding, many do this and are totally unaware of it. Jaw problems are directly related to restricted pelvic movement. When the pelvis is restricted, back problems, knee problems, neck problems, headaches, golfers or tennis elbow, hip problems can all result! Poor posture, limping, holding yourself a certain way, sleeping a certain way which is more comfortable all becomes the norm. This in turn puts even greater pressure on the other muscles which have to over compensate. When we are tense we think differently and react differently leading onto even more stress. Join me next week for part 2 of S.T.R.E.S.S. awareness.
One reason for stress within ourselves is being too hard on ourselves, many are very self-critical, and the sad part is they do not even realise it… this is one of the areas we will be covering at my LOVE YOURSELF RENEW YOURSELF RETREAT this coming May…you will find out where this conditioning started from and why you constantly berate yourself…most importantly you will learn to love yourself so you no longer stress yourself and hurt yourself with self criticism.
Stress is a reaction. You mean anxitey, and even that is a reaction. Anyhow, St. John’s Wort and the results aren’t guaranteed. You need a positive attitude, and possibly a beta-blocker if you have an adrenal problem -too much adrenaline.