Stress Solutions
Stress Solutions:
We all know we should be eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and moving daily. However when life gets overwhelming those practices are usually the first things to go out the window. When we get stressed, we find ourselves eating on the go, at the drive-thru or maybe even staying up all night scrolling on our cell phones.
What is stress and why do we feel it?
Life happens. Our parents get sick, children need braces, hot water heaters leak, cars break down and work needs you to work overtime. Stress is not only what is happening to you, but also the way your body responds to a real or even an interpreted threat which leads to disruption of your internal balance. When disrupted, it can present itself as heart palpitations, shallow breathing, muscle tension, irritability, difficulty concentrating and fatigue.
What is happening in the body when we are stressed:
When we get stressed our body releases cortisol and adrenaline to help respond to the threat. This is a way for your body to protect you and protect your organs against the threat. Your body puts you in “fight or flight” mode. This response is essential for your survival. This is a positive response in the short term. However, chronic stress can lead to a dysregulation of the body systems related to your hormones such as endocrine, neurological cardiovascular, blood sugar regulation, digestion, circadian rhythm, immune health, and reproductive system. The prolonged activation of the stress response and effects on the body is called allostatic load. When the body constantly has to adjust to stress, it can lead to a buildup of wear and tear, impacting various physiological systems, contributing to inflammation in the body.
What can we do to reduce stress?
According to Dr. Rangan Chatterjee in his book, The Stress Solution, he states that we need to practice habits of calm in our normal everyday lives so we are already in the habit when stress comes upon us. He says that there are three habits of calm and those are purpose, reframing, and gratitude. We can break those habits of calm down even more to have practical ways to reduce stress.
1. Purpose: Schedule Self-Care :
· Take a ten-minute walk daily outside barefoot without any electronics to just breathe and think.
· Practice deep breathing for 5-10 minutes daily.
· Take a bath & relax (dim lights, diffuse essential oils)
· Get a massage, facial, footbath or infrared sauna
· Do something you love ie: reading, crafting, sewing, gardening
2. Purpose: Exercise:
· Exercising increases your endorphins (feel good hormone) that builds resistance to stress.
· Do Yoga, Tai Chi, Stretching, walking, weight lifting, try something new!
3. Reframing your situation:
Our ability to be motivated and purposeful depends on how we choose to interpret a stressful event. Start by thinking, why does this matter over and over until you get to your ultimate why. Sit down and write out your situation, journal about it, talk to a counselor, talk to a trusted friend until you can begin to see your situation in a positive or less stressful light.
4. Gratitude:
Thinking and stewing over a particular event can be damaging. It can activate the stress and keep us in an emotional state. A daily practice of gratitude has profound effects to trigger positive emotions such as love, joy thankfulness, contentment and hope as well as reducing the activity of the emotional brain, according to Dr. Rangan Chatterjee. You can practice gratitude by having these habits :
· Writing out scripture or affirmations on index cards and placing them in places you can read them and reread them.
· Start a gratitude journal
· Write out prayers
5. Eat Yourself Happy:
Food is information to your body so tell it good news!
· Skip the drive-thru and pack healthy foods for your busy days
· Eat Nutrient Dense foods with antioxidants by eating the alphabet. Put a chart in your kitchen of twenty-six different healthy foods and eat as many as you can such as leeks, berries, apples, celery, eggplant, garlic, kiwi etc.
- Amy Lakits 7/17/25