Stress and Stress Management

Stress is one of the major detriments to your health and wellness. Stress triggers our flight or fight response in the body, this releases certain hormones that give the body a burst of energy to deal with the stressor. This response is not meant to go on in a long term way, it is a short term aid our bodies give us to deal with danger. In the long term keeping our bodies in this flight or fight state can cause many complications and trigger latent diseases.

Some dis-eases that stem from stress include: depression, diabetes, hair loss, heart disease, hypothyroidism, obesity, gum disease and much more.

Healthy stress management can be difficult, often we are bombarded with easy fixes. These easy fixes are often unhealthy and only compound the initial insult caused by stress. Some of the more common unhealthy management techniques are: smoking, over eating, "spacing out" infront of the t.v for hours, too much sleep, procrastination, lashing out/anger outbursts etc. One of the first steps to healthy stress management is knowing your stress triggers and what you do to "fix" this. Take a week, be aware of your behaviours and of the situations that cause you stress....then note how you deal with the stress. At the end of the week look over the log, this will give you a better awareness of your stress.  Awareness is the best strategy to beginning the path to healthy stress management

Some healthy stress management techniques: journalling, yoga, nature hikes, get a pet!, aromatherapy oils/candles, get a massage, work in your garden, listen to music, curl up with a good book, go for a walk, take a long bath, have a good friend on speed dial.  Remember the best combat to stress is properly taking care of yourself! Take your time and begin to slowly integrate more healthy habits into your life to help manage your stress. Most important, be forgiving of yourself! You will add more stress if you dont allow yourself to make mistakes. Its never easy to change your habits...so take it easy one yourself and celebrate everytime you overcome stress in a healthy way.