Many Americans are STRESSED.
Stress is an interesting, yet nebulous sort of word, defined by Wikipedia as:
"Stress typically describes a negative concept that can have an impact on one’s mental and physical well-being".
It is nebulous because stress in and of itself is not negative...it is a force, that when placed upon something can be interpreted as negative or positive. After all, we need some physical stress to stimulate our muscles to tug on the bones of our skeleton to stimulate bone density. Obviously, this would be considered a good physical stress. However, much of the stress we speak of today isn't dealing with the physical per se but mental. The to- do list that gets longer everyday, job expectations, parenting, social pressures, etc. However, the funny thing about stress is that because the stressor is inert...having no ability to be positive or negative by itself, then it must be the perception of it that makes it good or bad. This is the crux of the issue and why stress is given a bad name in today's terminology... because of it's perception, which is highly individual.
So how do you know that you are stressed? There are some fascinating guidelines from a physical standpoint that can help us monitor levels. Stress created by physical exercise is not what I'm referring to entirely (although in recovery these same markers can be present and should be monitored) because most of the population is not over training in exercise. It's the day-to-day and often the mismanagement of stress perceived as negative that make the signs more obvious.
Do you ever notice...
- Sensitivity to light/trouble adjusting to light coming from a dark area. Do you find yourself needing sunglasses more often?
- Eyelid twitching...yes, that annoying little involuntary jitter in the upper or lower eye-lid that you can't get to stop.
- Elevated heart rate and perspiration while not exercising
- Sensitivity to noise...are the voices of your children suddenly driving you crazy all the time?
- Trouble sleeping at night and frequent night waking to urinate.
- Cravings during the day for sweets and caffeine
- Frequent colds
This is not an exhaustive symptom list, experiencing any one of them alone can also be a clear marker of a body adversely affected by stress.
How did you like the eye-twitching symptom? Bet you've wondered what that was from! Many of these symptoms are due to a deficiency in B vitamins. B-12 is called the stress vitamin and when under stress, whether acute or prolonged the B's can become exhausted. Adrenal fatigue is a common problem which also exhausts B5, so often it becomes a multi-factorial organ issue. Interestingly, B vitamin deficiency can also occur because we are not making it efficiently in our intestines or absorbing them, creating a deficiency that makes us even less tolerant to any stress positive or negative and thereby creating a vicious cycle.
Adults usually will not identify these symptoms as a negative stress but will fall into coping mechanisms to compensate. Band-aid fixes that temporarily ease the symptoms until a full-blown organ system failure occurs such as: excessive alcohol use, smoking, over eating. Beer does contain some B-vitamins and of course the alcohol itself provides a sense of relaxation (can also cause fatty liver disease over time) that attempts to compensate for the deficiency. Since B's help to regulate neurotransmitters in the brain, a deficiency can cause these transmitters to become imbalanced, hence more cravings and compensation.
What is the cure for all the imbalances? Well, it's certainly not a quick fix but by recognizing the symptoms is the first start. Try and notice how often the symptoms occur and when. Then take inventory of the potential stressors in your life (good and bad). For instance, a positive stress may be if you've been hosting a lot of company or around other people (including your family) all the time without any down time. This positive could quickly put you in the negative category, especially if you are an introverted personality. Recognize that everyone needs down time, even the most social of folks and try and schedule in some rest. Your home may be disorganized even though it's very functional and causing a chronic but subconscious low-level stress. Physical items have mass and exert force, creating a tension that we may not to be aware of consciously. Organization can create much needed peace.
Once you've recognized that the stressors are creating physical symptoms, then it's time to reduce them until you no longer show symptoms. PLUS tune into those vitamin deficiencies that occur in the process. Foods rich in B's include brewers yeast (a by-product of beer without the alcohol or yeast), pastured eggs, green leafy vegetables, grass fed beef and chicken. Course, having the gut repaired will help the body to begin generating and processing B's more efficiently. Probiotics in supplement form, yogurt/kefir or any fermented food assist with this healing.
Ever notice one of the things that happens to your gut while in negative stress, is that you loose your appetite or it tends to cramp? The gut is often referred to as the second brain and there's a lot of exciting research out there to support this intimate connection. The brain will stimulate the physiological flight-or-flight mechanism of survival where adrenaline shunts nutrient rich blood away from the digestive system to the muscles to prepare for the flight. Cortisol levels increase also causing loss of appetite and increased heart rate/blood pressure. Staying in this state over periods of time taxes the cardiovascular system and of course depletes nutrients. I liken it to flooring the accelerator of your car while it's in park for an hour. Running the engine without going anywhere will certainly use up the gas/fluids, spark plugs and mechanical wear quicker than if you were just to casually ride around in a day. Granted our bodies were created with amazing capacity to heal (unlike a car), but only if we can recognize the problems and give the body what it needs.
Other avenues for managing stressors in life is developing healthy coping skills. If you feel your heart rising when thinking of something, concentrate on deep breathing. It will lower the heart rate and blood pressure (it's important to teach young children to do this also). Like certain foods, negative stress on the body reduces the body's Ph level making a more acidic environment and allowing potential disease more likely to develop. The effects of Ph on the body deserves a whole post of it's own sometime. So, yes stress CAN kill you.
Prayer, exercise, music therapy and aromatherapy are also know to be effective. I felt compelled to write about such a common problem because we all have to guard against it. Stress is not bad, but if you feel like you are merely getting by and not thriving then it's time to take notice before it becomes too much. Usually these early warning signs are a clear indication to give credence to that "check engine" light before you need a whole new transmission.
What is the cure for all the imbalances? Well, it's certainly not a quick fix but by recognizing the symptoms is the first start. Try and notice how often the symptoms occur and when. Then take inventory of the potential stressors in your life (good and bad). For instance, a positive stress may be if you've been hosting a lot of company or around other people (including your family) all the time without any down time. This positive could quickly put you in the negative category, especially if you are an introverted personality. Recognize that everyone needs down time, even the most social of folks and try and schedule in some rest. Your home may be disorganized even though it's very functional and causing a chronic but subconscious low-level stress. Physical items have mass and exert force, creating a tension that we may not to be aware of consciously. Organization can create much needed peace.
Once you've recognized that the stressors are creating physical symptoms, then it's time to reduce them until you no longer show symptoms. PLUS tune into those vitamin deficiencies that occur in the process. Foods rich in B's include brewers yeast (a by-product of beer without the alcohol or yeast), pastured eggs, green leafy vegetables, grass fed beef and chicken. Course, having the gut repaired will help the body to begin generating and processing B's more efficiently. Probiotics in supplement form, yogurt/kefir or any fermented food assist with this healing.
Ever notice one of the things that happens to your gut while in negative stress, is that you loose your appetite or it tends to cramp? The gut is often referred to as the second brain and there's a lot of exciting research out there to support this intimate connection. The brain will stimulate the physiological flight-or-flight mechanism of survival where adrenaline shunts nutrient rich blood away from the digestive system to the muscles to prepare for the flight. Cortisol levels increase also causing loss of appetite and increased heart rate/blood pressure. Staying in this state over periods of time taxes the cardiovascular system and of course depletes nutrients. I liken it to flooring the accelerator of your car while it's in park for an hour. Running the engine without going anywhere will certainly use up the gas/fluids, spark plugs and mechanical wear quicker than if you were just to casually ride around in a day. Granted our bodies were created with amazing capacity to heal (unlike a car), but only if we can recognize the problems and give the body what it needs.
Other avenues for managing stressors in life is developing healthy coping skills. If you feel your heart rising when thinking of something, concentrate on deep breathing. It will lower the heart rate and blood pressure (it's important to teach young children to do this also). Like certain foods, negative stress on the body reduces the body's Ph level making a more acidic environment and allowing potential disease more likely to develop. The effects of Ph on the body deserves a whole post of it's own sometime. So, yes stress CAN kill you.
Prayer, exercise, music therapy and aromatherapy are also know to be effective. I felt compelled to write about such a common problem because we all have to guard against it. Stress is not bad, but if you feel like you are merely getting by and not thriving then it's time to take notice before it becomes too much. Usually these early warning signs are a clear indication to give credence to that "check engine" light before you need a whole new transmission.
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