Sunday, May 15, 2011

STRESS!

This blog has taken a hiatus BUT, WE ARE BACK with more helpful tips for our followers. Each time I sit and think of the appropriate topic to discuss, my left-brain takes over and comes up with some clinical topic that is perhaps quite sterile and less interesting. A moment of meditation and stimulation of my right-brain and then a topic comes to my more balanced mind.


STRESS!

Perhaps this is one topic that most of us have in common and experience too much. There are many forms of stress that we are exposed to on a daily basis. When we see the word stress, most of us think of work, financial, family/friends, or life in general. I think it is important to acknowledge that we create our life, our connections with family/friends and our day-to-day experience. So is it fair to say we create our stress?

Stress can be biochemical (you do not take the time to nourish yourself with healthy foods, skip meals, etc. leading to chemical imbalance), environmental (toxin/chemical/behavioral exposure to unhealthy people, places, or things), and emotional (probably in some way related to the environmental J). Whatever form is taking over your life, it is essential to create a better experience for you. Below are some steps you can take to start living a happier, healthier life.

  • Eat and not the stuff in packages, cans or rolled up stuff but REAL food! Eat foods in season, locally grown that taste delicious. Eat food prepared at home during family interaction.
  • Bask in the sun. Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent as we spend more and more of out time indoors with technology.
  • Remove technology from your life for some time. Cell phones, MP3 players, laptops, tablets and computers have taken the place of people, places, and experiences. I believe technology is the root of ALL evil (well maybe not ALL!)
  • SLEEP! The body cannot rejuvenate itself if you do not sleep. Children are not the only people that enjoy routine. Have you considered that your body likes 7 hours of sleep on a daily basis?
  • Take quiet time. This is hard to come by if you are a parent but it is essential. Spend 30 minutes daily alone so that you think about what YOU need to be healthier.
  • Take a day off work. Our Western culture lives to work instead of working to live. On this day spend time with the people you love, doing something you love or just be by yourself.
  • If above steps are not helping, you need support. Conservative, natural healthcare offers an abundance of techniques (meditation, nutrition, functional medicine, mind/body therapies) to balance your body both chemically and emotionally. You need only seek this support.

Perhaps I have so much to say about the topic because my life experience has exposed me. I am confident that you can change your experience and your life by self-awareness and taking the time to give your body what it needs.