Stress is
defined as a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life,
work, etc. That “something” called stress causes strong feelings of worry and
anxiety.
Our society is full of stress and it seems to
be getting worse!
There are
oodles of natural “remedies” for stress advertised on the Internet. Ginseng is
one of the most popular. There’s also hypnotherapy, massage therapy, and
relaxation therapy like Tai Chi and Yoga suggested as the more “natural”
solutions .
Stress can
cause anxiety, insomnia, tension headaches, depression, decreased mental
function, and worse.
Not good! I
have experienced every single one of them at one time or another. I’m not sure,
but I think the decreased mental function is still with me!!
Stress
lowers our resistance to colds and flu, it causes some to self medicate, and
over a prolonged time it can cause chronic diseases such as irritable bowel
syndrome, asthma, and inflammatory bowel disease. Even rheumatoid arthritis may
flare up during times of stress.
When my
stress gets really bad, I do pray about it. Mainly I pray for God to help with
the situations causing the stress; or I ask Him to give me peace in the matter.
But the
stress and the anxiety don’t usually just disappear like a snap of a finger.
Often the “causes” of that stress have to be taken care of, layer by layer,
like peeling an onion skin.
There are
professionals and organizations that offer “stress management”.
I bet they
rake in a lot of customers!
Fred deals
with stress pretty reasonably. He exercises daily. That’s his first big
stress-buster solution!
Fred works
in the garden and in the yard. This really helps HIS stress. He carries the
veggies into the house and I look at the stuff, and I get totally STRESSED! (lol)
I polled
the Beauty Shop crowd a few days ago to ask them what they find helps when life
gets very, very stressful. The answers were slightly varied, but most of us
find we have only several choices.
All of the
women I questioned already know that the results of continued stress on the
body causes BIG problems, so in this case, these were middle aged to older
women who aren’t abusers of any sort. But here were their answers to my
question, “What do you do to help your stress?”
Several
answered that when the big S hits them, they take a Xanex. Yes. That’s right.
And obviously, each one of these women felt that it was a necessity during
certain times. No matter if it is not supposed to be taken that way, each woman
felt that it saved them a much greater problem to pop the pill!
One very
sweet gal, an avid walker, who takes good care of her self told me that if the
big S hits her, that she drinks a beer, and if that doesn’t do it, she just
drinks another one! You go girl!
Maggie told
me that she is going through major stress. She has about had it! Her oldest kid
is moving home after being on his own for about 8 years, and her youngest is
leaving home to go to school. Nothing is
smooth right now. She added, “At times like this, I would love to drink a
cappuccino and eat donuts!”
A girl
after my own heart! I would eat several long John sweet rolls with chocolate
filling and a couple cups of good coffee! (And maybe polish it off with…oh
never mind!)
Corey has
lost all kinds of weight and when she is stressed she runs! She turns on her
Pandora music to some good Christian sound and works out!
And Mazie,
an old friend of mine, says she will retreat to the back yard and sit in the
lawn chair with a glass of wine.
Sounds good
too.
And then, don’t
forget Lucinda. She shops! Doesn’t matter much what she shops for. She just
shops! She spends money and feels better…but then, the bills come in and she
feels worse.
And you?
What is your coping mechanism? Remember, you are not alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment