Stress Relief

Nov 10, 2011 by Tracie

What Causes Stress?

Let’s face it… Anything and Everything can cause stress if we let it! From the normal hustle and bustle, hassles and demands of everyday life to the weekly deadlines, monthly bills and the catastrophic events of severe illness, money or job loss issues, or heaven forbid, death in the family – it’s called LIFE and everybody at some time, deals with the same stress of these events. And then, let’s add in OTHER PEOPLE. You know the ones – the ones who seem to LIVE on DRAMA… the pot stirrers, the trouble-finders, the nit-pickers – the toxic, negative people who suck the happiness and joy from your life. With each stress, and the varying degree of stress, the body’s defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction.

Reactions to Stress

Everybody reacts differently to stress (obviously) and you may react differently depending on WHAT the actual stressor is. Some people get moody, irritable and agitated, and anger at the drop of a hat. Some withdraw, become quiet, or depressed. Others seem to go off the deep end, suddenly making large purchases, engage in dangerous sports or activities and overall, just use poor judgment!

Other people react to stress in a much more physical way by actually getting sick more often, having unexplained aches and pains, gastrointestinal issues or problems with sleep (too much or too little).

How to Relieve Stress

Again, how you relieve your stress is going to be different for everyone! The important thing is to find what is going to bring your life back to “normal”. For me, I’ve found that I need to prioritize everything in my life and that helps me keep control. By controlling those things that will bring me the most pain, I reduce my stress. Does that mean my house is spotless? NOPE! Why? Because I have other higher priority items that need my attention. When I get time to dust, I’ll dust. Or I’ll outsource it to one of the kids.

Regarding the drama-inducing, toxic, joy-sucking people in your life – get rid of them! Hide them on Facebook, be “busy” for get-togethers, let them go to voicemail – slowly start removing them and the stress they cause from your life. START hanging around people who share your ideas and lifestyle – people who make positive influences toward you and your goals.

Find a release for your stress! Whether its weeding the garden, shoveling snow, chopping wood, or working out (you knew I would go there!); something PHYSICAL where you can engage the “fight-or-flight” reaction on a daily basis. Working out will give you the most consistent preventive maintenance for stress, as well as giving you a knock-down, balls to the wall, helluva stress reliever for those days when you just need to fall into a puddle and cry at the end because you just gave it your absolute all – and now you’re able to fill back up with POSITIVE energy!

Stress Reliever Combo – Diet & Exercise

Shakeology has given me a stable blood sugar level so that I don’t fly off the handle at most things anymore (my mental stress). It has helped me to focus on being where I am in the moment and distractions are now quite minimal. It has also cut my cravings – which in turn, has reduced my stress about eating crap and gaining weight. I credit Shakeology for keeping me healthy and reducing the amounts of colds and virus’ we’ve had in the house.

In order to help reduce physical stress, you need to start having a good workout program that you can do on a daily basis, and you need to have good whole nutrition available to you.

Contact me and I will assess the best workout for you to start relieving your stress based on your current physical condition, your goals, and what kind of activity you like to do (based on my experiences so far). Let’s get you healthy, inside and out, today!!!

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