The Stress of Life

The Stress of Life:

An Anxious State of Being

             Anyone living in our information-overloaded, expensive, driven society who is not feeling stressed out is likely either living in monkish retreat or enjoying the benefits of strong medication. The fact is, anxiety is our natural response to ongoing stress. It is part of our self-protection, a way to approach damaging levels of stress which, left alone, will have negative effects on our health, in terms of sleep, diet, decision making and overall emotional well-being.

             Anxiety is our body’s message that our lifestyle or situation is a health challenge. Being able to identify and address these situations is critical, because long-term stress leads to adrenal fatigue and inflammation. Stress hormones, such as cortisol, rise, and can lead to fatigue and reduced anti-inflammatory function. You will not only become depleted, but may find your body in more pain as a result.

             Anxiety from chronic stress also worsen many conditions, such as heart disease, hypertension and autoimmune disease.  

             What can we do to either reduce the level of stress, or improve how we manage stress in our daily lives? First, if we are able to actually remove or change the cause of the stress, then do so! If it is a spouse, boss or job situation, that may not be possible. When the stressor cannot be removed, it is necessary to adapt to the stress, to minimize any negative health impact. (For the purposes of this article, I am leaving out the far more formidable effects of early childhood and in-utero stress, which have far-reaching impact on a newborn’s brain development and nervous system. This early stress, in fact, has effects which will impact not only one’s health but their likelihood of drug use, obesity, criminality, length of life and more)

             Mindfulness: The first thing is to make mindfulness a part of your daily life. Mindfulness will alert you to your own stress and anxiety level at any time, and allow you to bring that level down, reducing strain on your adrenal glands, and giving your body time to replenish itself. The simplest form of mindfulness is just closing your eyes, and taking about one minute to notice what is going on inside: what thoughts, feelings, images, memories or physical sensations are happening at that very moment. You don’t need to “do” anything, or change anything. Simply take an inventory at that moment in time. Making this form of “dropping in” on your present experience builds on itself, so that mindfulness becomes a habit that grows like a muscle in training. Taking this further, a daily routine of sitting mindfulness meditation for twenty minutes, one or two times per day, will greatly expand your ability to minimize the ill effects of stress overall. Other forms of mindfulness training are also useful: visualization and imagery, breathing exercises, self-hypnosis, biofeedback, journal keeping and yoga. Always break up your work day with intervals of “dropping into your experience”, stretching, standing and simply stopping whatever it is you are doing for a minute or two. 

             Hobbies: Almost all hobbies that take you “out of yourself” are great for stress management, whether it is gardening, cooking, walks, time with friends, golf or reading or crochet. I would add to this list simply being in nature, on walks or runs, and listening to music with no other distractions. 

             Bodywork: Don’t forget bodywork!  A skilled massage therapist, bodyworker or chiropractor can relieve stress through reducing muscle spasm, increasing body awareness and using techniques such as manual lymph therapy to increase restfulness and boost parasympathetic nervous system activity. Other useful forms of bodywork include healing touch, cranio-sacral and Reiki.   

             Herbs and Supplements: Many herbs and supplements aid in reducing stress, and boosting your stress-management system. Teas made with hops, passionflower or chamomile are all relaxing. Use relaxing essential oils on the skin (usually two drops on each wrist) for stress reduction. These oils move into every cell in your body rather quickly. Oils such as Ylang Ylang, lavender and spearmint are all helpful. These oils can also be dispersed into the air in any room through an oil diffuser, and make great spaces to relax in, while working or taking it easy. 

            Valuable supplements for stress relief include vitamin D (for mood and energy level), B-complex (for immune function and stress management), 5-HTP (great for mood stabilization), and a panel of amino acids, and L-Theonine. 

             Finally, proper thyroid function is essential to mood and stress management. Have your thyroid function checked with blood work, and if you need to supplement the levels, use prescribed Armour thyroid, a natural bovine thyroid, which will boost your mood, energy level and metabolism. If you are a man, also check your testosterone level. If this elvel is lowered, not only will your libido be effected; so will your mood and energy level. A prescribed, compounded testosterone lotion, used daily, can be used to bring the testosterone level u p to speed, improving energy level, mood and sexual function, all parts of the way your body regulates stress.

             Diet: Your diet has everything to do with your ability to manage stress, and your stress level itself, since many processed foods not only sap your body of energy and nutrients, adding a physiological stress, but they can depress your mood and immune system. Avoid white flower products, processed foods in general, and sweets. Boost your intake of anti-inflammatory, alkaline foods, such as greens, low-sugar foods, fish, and small amounts of nuts and seeds. Eating at regular intervals will also greatly reduce physiologic stress, and keep your energy level and mood stable.

             Exercise: Regular exercise boosts your body’s endorphin levels, reducing stress and elevating your mood. Walking, biking and, ideally, working out at the gym all relieve anxiety and “blow off steam” from a long day, difficult work or home life situations and lead to improved sleep and diet. Multiple forms of exercise are best: stretching, meditation, cardio-vascular exercise and weight training. It is fine to exercise in multiple shorter bouts during the day, if necessary. Just do it! Exercise is one of the best self-regulating tools we have.

             Sleep: It may seem obvious, but most of us do not get enough hours of sleep, nor is the quality of our sleep ideal. This causes a shortage of re-charging for our systems, and increases our bodily stress, while reducing our ability to manage physical or emotional stressors and anxiety. Long term, lack of adequate sleep ages us faster, and destroys our natural life rhythm. Aside from the need for rest and a chance for our body to re-charge, a lack of sleep also deprives us of the necessary dream time in which we work out many of our personal issues, which itself reduces stress and answers many of the questions our day-time mind cannot resolve. 

             Counseling: The use of various forms of counseling and therapy is an excellent way to reduce stress, and increase your personal level of stress regulation. Depending on the perceived cause of stress in your life: work situation, financial stress, physical or mental illness, marital strife, you may find one form of therapy more valuable than another. The main thing is to use a good therapist another part of your health care team. Forms of therapy which are very useful for stress and anxiety include Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Biofeedback, Gestalt and EMDR. Of particular value are the Body Psychotherapies, such as Hakomi, Somatic Experiencing, Core Energetics, Rubenfeld Synergy and other methods. The extra added value in these approaches to therapy is that they work quite directly with your body- your true unconscious mind- so that your whole nervous system is being made more pliant, with greater resources for self-regulation when under stress. Always look for a therapists background, training and certifications or licensing when choosing a therapist. 

             Medication: Although it is ideal to avoid medications altogether, the fact is that there are times in life when one’s stress and anxiety levels have gotten so out of hand, that medication may be necessary, simply in order to function effectively. In these situations, I recommend seeing the medication not as therapy, but as a tool to allow you to have effective therapy with a seasoned therapist. Use them together. Anxiety at this level signals poor self-regulation, possibly from heredity or earlier trauma, and medications like Clonipin or Xanax may be prescribed to bring rapid relief. Always ask the prescribing doctor about side effects and dosage. If the medication is sedating, you may need to take it at night. 

             The ideal stress management “system” for you is likely to be a combination of many of these areas of self-treatment. You may want to do some experimenting with various methods, such as imagery, supplements and exercise, to see what gives you the best results. In any case, use your anxiety level as a feedback signal about your situation, in the moment, or in life in general. Having your body last through years of stress, challenges and “long distance driving”, so to speak, takes a lifestyle that respects the body’s needs for rest, good nutrition, exercise and a general slowing down. The resources you put into better self-regulation will pay off in better health and a longer life.