Suicide By Stress

A well-known saying goes, “It’s not about what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters” by Epictetus the philosopher. The key to survival is balance, without it the body begins to shut down and bang goes survival.

The First Physical Reactions to Stress

1. Pumping adrenaline into the bloodstream

2. Then cortisol is pumped into the bloodstream

To begin, the body prepares to cope and conquer the stress so these hormones are sent to focus the mind and body, gearing us up ready for immediate action — this response of the body is what has kept us surviving since creation.

Sheldon Cohen, a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has been at the forefront of stress research for 30 years, he feels that the initial adrenaline rush as a stress response can occasionally pose health risks.

This sequence of hormonal activity, also known as the “fight-or-flight” response enables us and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. It helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety.

The Price of Overreacting

Sadly, for many of us, we overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties. This is now no-longer an initial response but a chronic stress response.

As a result, the subsequent release of cortisol, which is useful for turning off inflammation, now becomes a relentless stream into the body because of the constant state of stress. Our cells eventually become desensitized to the hormone, “causing inflammation to go wild,” says Cohen.

What is now chronic stress becomes long-term chronic inflammation. The evidence is seen in damaged blood vessels and brain cells leading to insulin resistance (a precursor to diabetes) and painful joint diseases as well as other inflamed health conditions around the body.

Stress and its effects are not taken serious enough and the term cloaks itself under so many other ailments. The solutions are the simplest but again too simple for many to take serious enough, until it’s too late.

If we want to address stress we have look at addressing how we deal with things mentally, emotionally and physically. Learning how you find time to ‘let go’ and release on all these levels.

If I had to give only one piece of advice, it would be to just stop and ‘watch your breath’. We breathe even as we sleep so just take 10 minutes each day and observe that precious gift, the thing that tells you you’re alive. As you watch the breath it will naturally slow down and the body, mind and feelings will follow too.

The natural solutions to many of the ailments cause by stress are so diverse it would be challenging to address them all in a ‘blanket fashion’ as any one symptom can lead to another.

Here are a few easy approaches to stress which will aim to give the body a ‘timeout’ from the onslaught of Cortisol flooding into the system. By practicing de-stressing or in other words, calming techniques, you can create a momentum in the opposite direction. These will be seen in simple ways such as reduced acidity in the stomach.

Uncomplicated Solutions

Take time out for yourself – Making yourself number one is so important. We cannot give what we do not have. If you have no time, how can you give? If you have no self-love, how can you share love?

1. Write a list of things you would like to do – small things such as…nothing? Do we plan for ‘nothing?’ There will always be a project or a list of things to do. Put ‘nothing’ in your diary.
2. Walk slower- Check your pace
3. Go for a walk and…get lost!
4. Let your phone ring and don’t answer it, once a day. Just watch it ring and notice the world did not collapse.
5. And finally…. breathe in and out. Just when you think you have finished breathing in, take a little more in. Just when you think you have breathed out, breathe out just that little bit more.

Don’t sweat the small stuff and remember, it’s all small stuff.

Natural Solutions

For those of you who would like some supplements to support you:

• Nodoff liquid – For relaxation and sleep, also good for headaches
• Magnesium oil – Relaxation -get the spray as the body absorbs it better through the skin. Also good for tight muscles. This is also known as the stress mineral.
• B Complex – Great for energy and calming down the nervous system. Take early with breakfast or you won’t sleep.
• Rescue Remedy – Great for anxiety, take as and when needed, under the tongue.
• Vitamin D – Spray is good as it bypasses the stomach. Low moods and low energy.
• Oats – Great breakfast food and can add to protein shakes. Builds nerves, calms skin itchy conditions which are affected by stress.

Remember, life is not always about doing some-THING. Sometimes it’s about doing no-THING