Stress Leading to DIS-STRESS

For many of us, no wait-scratch that, ALL of us, stress is a part of every day life. We have daily stressors that we have to "deal with" and there are stressors that hit us out of the blue. 

For example, the holidays for many-is a STRESSFUL time (isn't that sad?!?!). A time that is supposed to be for loving and giving and for gratitude and appreciation is marred by worry and anxiety, and often, FEAR. (You know that terrible thing, FEAR-False Evidence Appearing Real).

A recent example would be this recent "Polar Vortex" (SCARY! What, they couldn't come up with some catchy "personalized" name for a meteorological event-like "Superstorm Sandy?) . The subzero temperatures spread throughout the country and many places were colder than ALASKA! It brought about more stress, anxiety, panic (did you see some of the pictures of the grocery store shelves?), and again, FEAR.

Think about what problems have arisen as a result of these frigid temperatures (and think of the stress leading to DIS-stress with our daily lives).  Due to the very low temperatures (THE STRESS), many people have been left without electricity, heat, and even now, WATER. Pipes are bursting, windows are cracking, cars are stalling, etc., etc., etc. When we added stress to our "regular" environment (it is winter in NE Ohio), many unwanted effects occurred as a result-causing more STRESS for us and also causing more DIS-stress in our bodies and our ability to perform our daily activities!

The effects of these dangerously low temperatures persist even as the thermostat starts to rise. Now, this may be easier said than done-but I urge you, don't worry about the things YOU CANNOT CONTROL! It is only going to add to your stress levels and cause DIS-STRESS! Increased stress levels and negative stimuli lead to and can cause distress in our bodies. It can lead to many different ailments we experience, such as colds/viruses, aches, pains, sleep loss/disruption, changes in appetite, fatigue, lack of patience, "upset" stomach, headaches---just to name a few.

Often times, I see someone after they have injured themselves, whether it be at work or at home, or maybe in a car accident...and the response is often the same.  "THIS COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AT A WORSE TIME!" 

Let's be honest-do you see any day on your calendar that you could "squeeze" in an accident/injury?

"Oh yeah, look I have some time on January 15th at 2pm to have that car accident...that will work for me."  

It is NEVER a good time to have something like this happen! All we can do is deal with it after the event occurs and FIX THE ISSUE so that it does not affect us from living our lives the way WE ENJOY living them!

I insist that we be as PROACTIVE as we can be to minimize our stress and DIS-stress in our lives so that any DIS-ruption of our quality of living is short-lived as opposed to our lives being CUT SHORT due to a lack of taking better care of ourselves.

As I mentioned in my last submission, it is time to stop making RESOLUTIONS and start making COMMITMENTS to change our mindsets, our lifestyles, and our HEALTH!

These changes are SIMPLE (they really are!); they just aren't necessarily EASY!

However, we can start making these changes TODAY---

OR---

continue doing the same things we have been doing and EXPECT different results-which is the definition of INSANITY!

Start small, if need be....fix the little things you can change RIGHT NOW and get the ball rolling!

Dr. Brian Miles
HealthSource of Norton