Politics, economics and the holidays make for stressful living. It's too much, but we can't cancel everything. We have to deal with it. Stress health issues affect our health care system in expensive ways. Finding healthy ways to deal with stress now will pay off in multiple dividends later.
It's embarrassing to admit emotions can get the best of us. My holiday hope and wish for everyone is that you are surrounded by loved ones and health care professionals that can recognize a stress response and are brave enough to call it what it is: stress.
Constant stress does more than damage your health. It destroys your judgment and distorts your decision-making process. Constant stress has been shown to shrink the hippocampus, a region of the brain that controls memory and concentration.
The serenity prayer works (even for athiests and agnostics) if you can let go and not stuff it in, but effective stress management is tough to do in tough times.
Stress kills. It is often diagnosed after every expensive test the ED can think of "rules out" everything else. Stress is why you need a regular doctor who knows you and your history. It's how they know not to order every test they can think of and zero in on what's really going on with you. Stress is associated with several highly prevelant health issues aside from the common ailments of exacerbating hypertension, asthma, nausea and hyperlipidemia (too many fats in the blood), but elevated levels of a chemical called Interleukin-6 is very harmful.
Blood tests showed that a chemical called Interleukin-6 sharply increased in the blood of the stressed caregivers compared with blood of the others in the test. Previous studies have associated IL-6 with several diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers.
We talk about it, but we don't really do what it takes to relieve it. Your medical home can point you in the direction of stress relief, but most of the work is done by you. If you don't have a medical home, you can still treat your stress. For instance, I try not to stress out my employees and follow advice that is found here, but the number one item:
* Manage my own stress response.
Is where I and just about everybody else screws up. We look out for everyone but ourselves, especially if we are parents. This diary is about what we can do about stress.
The number one thing you can do to relieve stress is exercise regularly, even if it just means you take a 20 minute walk every day.
This site covers just about everything you can do right to relieve stress, but I found a lot of others that were helpful too.
- Own it and deal with it. Attitude is everything. We live in stressful times. Recognizing the different types of stress is important too. The healthy stress from physical workout is far different from the stress of being out of work. Stress control starts with being aware of stress and what stress can do to you.
- Dodge unnecessary stress. Figure out what you can handle and don't exceed your limits. Say no. Stay off Red State and don't listen to Tucker Carlson (heh, I hear he's unemployed), Bill O'Reilly, Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter - (simply reading their names can piss you off). The only time to go see what they have to say is if you are dry on ideas for diaries, but cheer up, you won't have to look far for lots of ideas.
- Change it up. Respectfully speak your mind. Manage the conflict. Find common ground. Limit your exposure to PIA's when possible and find a way to dump their negativity after exposure to a PIA. Manage your time better and that might mean reducing your committments or taking on less responsibility.
- Accept what is, but the trick's in not stuffing it in; release it healthily in excercise, meditation, watching a comedy, talking with friends, journaling, blogging(?).
- Adjust and adapt to the situation. You might have to lower your house keeping standards. You might find fast food is salad greens out of a bag with cheese sprinkles. Be creative - my Dad used to use an electric shaver first thing every morning after the alarm went off lying flat on his back in bed, in the dark (I hear that technique takes practice).
- Me time. Take it regularly and don't apologize for it. That might mean you need to get some sleep - stress causes sleep deprivation and that by itself, is stressful! Go away from all the people who pull on you. Go to the park, the library, or walk the mall. Read a book, listen to music, journal it out. Come to dkos.
- Exercise. At the very least, walk. 30 minutes will make you a new you. There are many hidden opportunities for exercise. Surprise, surprise - cleaning the house is exercise and does double duty. A clean house is a stress reliever for many people. Same goes for lawn work and house repairs; they are good exercise and stress relievers because you are solving problems at the same time. Think practical. A friend of mine has 3 exercise bags. 1 large one with the gear and 2 smaller ones with the togs (clothes and towels). She swaps out the smaller one after every work out which gives her an extra day to repack it. She also stacks her togs a week in advance when she does laundry.
- Think health and act healthy. The holiday treats and goodies are laden with fat and sugar. Look on line for healthier holiday treats. Stuffing walnuts in dates is a lot more healthy than a chunk of nougat. Offer vegetable platters with lower fat and calorie dips and fresh fruit. Be careful out there in the internet, because there's a lot of conflicting advice given by well meaning, but wrong advisers. Get a good old fashioned peer reviewed text on nutrition and let the self-appointed guru's talk to each other.
- You increase stress with too much alcohol. A glass of wine with dinner is one thing and an occasional couple or more are not as bad as the concern trolls say it is, however, regular heavy drinking or regularly getting schnockered is too much.
- Think ahead and plan. What will you need and when will you need it? That's the mantra of hurricane preparation. Get the stuff in one box and put the box where you can get to it when you need it. Apply that idea to your mental "stress tool box". Put it togther and make it accessible so you can use it when you need it.
Stress is what it is.
Deal with it.
crossposted at Kossacks Networking
You can digg it too.
UPDATE: Oh, recommended! Thanks, it's been a long time. And, thanks for sharing your stress relieving ideas.
UPDATE 2: Thank you all for your comments. You are adding great content and terrific, specific ways to beat a never ending assault on our senses. There's something here for everyone to use. ...and I really like knightrider's link to that dog bouncing through the snow!