Carla Gardiner asked:
I ran across an article about stress, the silent killer…I thought it was so relevant to todays way of living, that I wanted to recap and share it with you.
As most of us know, stress plays a major part in our lives today.
In today’s new economy many of us are working longer hours, longer work weeks and maybe even taking on another job to boot! Add to that, our kids are busy little critters, too…school functions, after school sports, friends, church activities…and the list goes on.
Some of us are at the other end of that spectrum and have lost our jobs. That sort of environmental stress is yet a different animal…wondering how we are going to pay the bills, put food on the table and even buy clothes for those sprouting kids!
Have you ever thought about the effects all of this pressure can put on your body?
Our bodies react to stress by kicking into action. The action is done by releasing hormones and other chemicals that trigger your body to respond a certain way.
For example, if you are crossing the street and you see a speeding car coming at you…your brain reacts, your adrenal glands release those hormones, which rev up your muscles, including your heart and lungs. Then your sight and hearing kick into high gear all warning you to get out of the way of that car!
Is your heart still beating in your throat at just thinking about this? Mine is too! Now…that sounds like stress would be our friend…releasing those hormones we need to react, to protect ourselves, right? Yes, that is correct, but…
The problem is how do we handle that pressure without it taking over our lives?
The old saying a little goes a long way is so true when it comes to handling stress. That type of stress we just talked about with the speeding car? That creates adrenaline which causes our “fear factor” to kick in to get us to safety…that’s a good thing.
But, just as in life, when too much of a good thing for too long is involved…bad thing.
Have you ever been so maxed out over a long period of time that your shoulders burn? Have you ever had a tension headache…you can feel the burning, tight muscles creeping up the back of your head, climbing over to the forehead area?
The consequences of allowing this much stress to build up in your body over long periods of time can be deadly.
The snowball effect…
If you allow the effects of daily, weekly, and monthly stresses to build up inside of you…there is a ticking bomb just waiting to explode. The consequences can show up as slight as diarrhea or a headache; or, they could be as drastic as a heart attack, stroke or nervous breakdown or even death.
Daily stresses can affect our mental, physical and spiritual wellness. But, it is a controllable problem. Shoot, there are even jobs that have been created to help us manage our stressful situations!
Take a minute…
So, for now, take a minute, sit back and close your eyes. Take a deep breath, hold it for a minute, now blow out. Relax…and repeat that short little exercise.
When you feel your shoulders hunching up and starting to burn…remember…stand up, stretch, walk around the office for a minute.
When you sit down, close your eyes, breath in, hold it, breath out and relax….
I challenge you to get as much exercise as you can, breath, relax and break the habit creating the stress in your life.
Start the morning with a big stretch. Be aware of what you are allowing to create that stressful feeling put a limit on it reach for the sky, stretch, close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it, then breath out imagine yourself on a deserted beach, cool breezes blowing, as the warm waters lap at your feet, relax…read a book, play a round of golf, take a swim
Relieve your stress now!
Until next time…
Butalbital Blog
I ran across an article about stress, the silent killer…I thought it was so relevant to todays way of living, that I wanted to recap and share it with you.
As most of us know, stress plays a major part in our lives today.
In today’s new economy many of us are working longer hours, longer work weeks and maybe even taking on another job to boot! Add to that, our kids are busy little critters, too…school functions, after school sports, friends, church activities…and the list goes on.
Some of us are at the other end of that spectrum and have lost our jobs. That sort of environmental stress is yet a different animal…wondering how we are going to pay the bills, put food on the table and even buy clothes for those sprouting kids!
Have you ever thought about the effects all of this pressure can put on your body?
Our bodies react to stress by kicking into action. The action is done by releasing hormones and other chemicals that trigger your body to respond a certain way.
For example, if you are crossing the street and you see a speeding car coming at you…your brain reacts, your adrenal glands release those hormones, which rev up your muscles, including your heart and lungs. Then your sight and hearing kick into high gear all warning you to get out of the way of that car!
Is your heart still beating in your throat at just thinking about this? Mine is too! Now…that sounds like stress would be our friend…releasing those hormones we need to react, to protect ourselves, right? Yes, that is correct, but…
The problem is how do we handle that pressure without it taking over our lives?
The old saying a little goes a long way is so true when it comes to handling stress. That type of stress we just talked about with the speeding car? That creates adrenaline which causes our “fear factor” to kick in to get us to safety…that’s a good thing.
But, just as in life, when too much of a good thing for too long is involved…bad thing.
Have you ever been so maxed out over a long period of time that your shoulders burn? Have you ever had a tension headache…you can feel the burning, tight muscles creeping up the back of your head, climbing over to the forehead area?
The consequences of allowing this much stress to build up in your body over long periods of time can be deadly.
The snowball effect…
If you allow the effects of daily, weekly, and monthly stresses to build up inside of you…there is a ticking bomb just waiting to explode. The consequences can show up as slight as diarrhea or a headache; or, they could be as drastic as a heart attack, stroke or nervous breakdown or even death.
Daily stresses can affect our mental, physical and spiritual wellness. But, it is a controllable problem. Shoot, there are even jobs that have been created to help us manage our stressful situations!
Take a minute…
So, for now, take a minute, sit back and close your eyes. Take a deep breath, hold it for a minute, now blow out. Relax…and repeat that short little exercise.
When you feel your shoulders hunching up and starting to burn…remember…stand up, stretch, walk around the office for a minute.
When you sit down, close your eyes, breath in, hold it, breath out and relax….
I challenge you to get as much exercise as you can, breath, relax and break the habit creating the stress in your life.
Start the morning with a big stretch. Be aware of what you are allowing to create that stressful feeling put a limit on it reach for the sky, stretch, close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it, then breath out imagine yourself on a deserted beach, cool breezes blowing, as the warm waters lap at your feet, relax…read a book, play a round of golf, take a swim
Relieve your stress now!
Until next time…
Butalbital Blog
