Stress and Health Part 5 - Physical Therapy and Pilates
By admin | February 28, 2010
Stress can be debilitating mentally (leading to anxiety and depression) and physically by leading to certain diseases. So how do people who are post surgery or post injury alleviate the stress of getting past a painful event and back to health? Through physical therapy and pilates.
Physical therapy is typically a type of exercise that helps to rehabilitate one’s body and make it more whole again after suffering some sort of illness. By making oneself or one’s body whole and working well again a person’s mental state can also become better because they feel the following:
o More self-confidence – usually after illness (such as knee replacement surgery) a person feels down and not able to function at a level that they once were able. With physical therapy a person works on specific exercises that will help with making that particular body part stronger. Although there may be more pain in the beginning it brings a sense of confidence that eventually they will be able to use their body better. Eventually the strength and confidence comes back through diligent effort.
o Social support – usually working with someone like a physical therapist or rehabilitating with others who are going through the same thing brings a sense of comfort and a feeling that you are not alone. This inherently helps in relieving stress when you know that others are there to support you and going through the same thing that you are.
Pilates also help in relieving stress because it really is a body mind sort of exercise. It takes physical therapy to another level. It helps in building concentration, precision, control and flow to the body and the mind by focusing on strengthening the core and keeping a neutral spine. It is different from yoga in that way (by the focus on keeping a neutral spine instead of the focus on different postures).
If you are trying to recover from an injury or some type of illness physical therapy and pilates are a great way to manage the stress associated with that. Both of these mediums can be used in a preventative way as well (an even better method) to alleviate pain and illness prior to them occurring.
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Stress and Health Part 4 - Exercise
By admin | February 23, 2010
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Stress and Health – Part 4 Exercise
So now that you know that stress can play havoc on your health – both physically and mentally – what is it that you can do to relieve your stress? In the remaining article series I will discuss tools and techniques you can use to alleviate stress. Here we will start with exercise.
You have heard that exercise is a great stress reliever for years, but what is the real reason that stress helps in managing stress?
1. It allows for the body to detoxify stress build up of excess hormones or the flight or fight response through movement and through the breathing process that occurs with cardiovascular exercise
2. It is a socially acceptable way to be aggressive and blow off steam – through sports (like boxing, etc) you can exert yourself in a way where you can be strong, masculine, and aggressive without hurting yourself or anyone else
3. It can be like a meditation because it forces you (especially sports) to be more in the moment and focus on what is here and now instead of obsessing about what has been or what will be
4. It can increase your self-esteem in that you can be achieving goals, such as running a particular race (a marathon), or because your body feels better. If you are stressed because you are overweight exercising can also make you feel better because your body looks better
5. There is an increase in endorphins, or the feel good chemical, that helps you clear your mind and get away from the flight or fight response
So if exercise has so many benefits why don’t more people do it? Well there are so often excuses of: being too busy, it being too cold outside, or not being able to afford a gym membership. Exercise doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. Just walking 30 minutes 3 times a day can be very beneficial in reducing stress. Take a walk with a friend and make it fun and it won’t seem so hard to do anymore. The more you can make exercise a part of your day to day life and make it fun the less stressed you will be!
Continue to look for more tools and techniques on how to deal with stress in more of the Stress and Health series.
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Stress and Health Part 3 - Stress and Chiropractic Care
By admin | January 27, 2010
Stress can have profound impacts on both your physical and mental health. As discussed in the previous Stress and Health articles 75% of all diseases in the US are stress and lifestyle related including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Stress buildup, if not dealt with from the symptom level, can impact the nervous system and therefore cause many physical ailments including back pain, neck pain, poor posture, and all sorts of other illnesses. Chiropractors deal with physical ailments that impact the nervous system and can alleviate pain and mis-alignments through adjustments to the vertebrae of the spine.
So what does chiropractic care have to do with relieving stress? Chiropractic care can help in relieving stress in the following ways:
o Chiropractors are able to identify the areas of the nervous system that are impacted negatively by stress through the mis-alignments of the vertebrae of the spine. Chiropractors are trained to identify these mis-alignments and focus specifically on ailments to the nervous system.
o Once mis-alignments are identified chiropractors are able to adjust the spine through manual adjustments or by using a mechanical devices to remove the interference to the nervous system. Adjustments can be done over a period of time and help eliminate issues that affect a normally functioning nervous system.
o When you go to a chiropractor and are able to adjust the nervous system the body is then free to self-heal other physical ailments. Chiropractors have seen other ailments being helped out as a result of their adjustments and therefore the body starts functioning in a more normal way. Elimination of pain, more regular bowel movements, and the elimination of deafness have been results of chiropractic care.
o When physical ailments are no longer there then people are able to focus on emotional or other factors that may be leading to the stress – although stress can cause physical ailments often there is some external trigger or emotional event that causes the stress in the first place. If stress is built up for so long physical ailments can become a problem and when people are dealing with pain they often are not able to deal with emotional aspects that may be keeping them in a stressful situation. By dealing with the pain people will have the capacity to really look at the root of the stress.
Continue to look for more tools and techniques on how to deal with stress in more of the Stress and Health series.
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Stress and Health Part 2 - Impacts of Stress on Mental Health
By admin | January 24, 2010
Stress can be a big component of many emotional health concerns that are going on in American society today. As mentioned in the first of the Stress and Health series stress is a key component in 75% of all diseases in the US today. Stress starts as rush of adrenaline that is created from some external event or emotional episode that can either push someone take positive action or if it is not dealt with then can result in physical and mental health concerns.
When stress occurs many different emotional signals can be triggered. Emotional triggers are often signs that stress is not being handled or managed or that people may not be getting to the root of their stress. So what happens emotionally when stress is triggered?
• Creation of learned helplessness – when people do not know how to handle the stress that builds up and creates a fight or flight response they shut down or burst out. When people shut down they can get depressed or feel anxious and do not know how to dig themselves out of the hole that they are in. This leads to a feeling of helplessness or a feeling of being a victim, which can become a habitual pattern of action or inaction.
• Self-blame – taking on much of the blame for not being able to get out of the stressful situation can lead to increased stress. Judgments about oneself can be a red flag in emotional health that people are not looking for solutions, but sabotaging themselves.
• Isolation - when stress is triggered often people start to isolate themselves from others. They go further and further inside and stop looking for community and help. This can result in avoiding dealing with situations and not getting the help that people may need.
• Sleeplessness – when someone thinks about the same thing over and over and over again it can lead to an inability to get a restful night sleep. Lack of enough sleep can impact one’s energy levels and mood leading to more ruminating of the mind. This can become a continual pattern if not dealt with properly.
So what are some solutions to all of this?
• Learn to deal with the underlying emotions – sometimes not addressing the emotions that are causing the stress, such as fear, anger, or frustration, leads to the emotional states indicated above. Talk to a friend, therapist or life coach and express the emotions that are controlling you.
• Holistic health – look at the way you are eating, sleeping, exercising, and breathing to find patterns or healthy alternatives to release the stress buildup.
So what do you do to over come stress and manage the anxiety, depression, or feeling of being “stuck” that may occur? Stay tuned for part 3 of the series to find out more about tools and techniques to help manage and alleviate stress from a physical health perspective.
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Stress and Health Part 1 - Impacts of Stress on Physical Health
By admin | January 20, 2010
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Are you stressed out, overwhelmed, and frustrated? Do you feel like you are trying to make traction in different parts of your life (health, relationships, career, money) and not making much headway? Is this stress now impacting your health?
Statistics say that 75% of all diseases are stress or lifestyle related. Many common ailments these days, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, are preventable through changes in lifestyle and stress levels.
So what causes stress? Although stress can result in physical ailments it often starts from an emotional place. Stress is caused by the following factors:
o Not having enough of –feeling like you don’t have enough of something such as love, time, money, connection, or feedback can leave people feeling lack in their lives.
o Expectations not being met – expecting one thing, such as a specific outcome or result, and something else happening. With the economy in a downward cycle in 2009 people’s expectations of financial security, job security, and being able to buy what they desired were put on hold and therefore expectations around finances were not met causing much stress around the world.
o Break in connection – often when we don’t feel connected to ourselves, our source, or to others and we feel discombobulated, which can lead to stress.
Even though stress can start on an emotional level it can result in physical discomforts. So how does stress impact your physical health?
o Feeling of a shock to the system – this starts in the brain and impacts the nervous system, causing a release of cortisol and adrenalin. This can be positive if the adrenaline is used for positive action, but can be negative if it causes a feeling of stuck-ness or inactivity.
o Creating of a flight or fight response – often the body will display such responses as increased heart rate or higher blood pressure which can often cause people to flee or get angry, of which neither response is very healthy. If you don’t release the adrenaline in a positive way or through fight or flight then it can build up in the body and lead to longer term diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
So what can you do to alleviate stress? Stress can be alleviated through a series of different tools and techniques. Look for answers in the series Stress and Health Parts 2-11.
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Living Out Your Dreams
By admin | December 4, 2009
Are you living in a shadow the life you could be living? Do you feel like you have so much more potential that you are not even touching yet? Do you want to break out of the shell that you are in?
There is a way for you to reach your dreams and be true to who you really are. It involves moving past your fears and living in trust of the Universe that things will work out the way that they should. We often don’t go after what we truly want because we are so scared of not reaching our goals, of things not turning out the way we want it them to, or of other people judging us. So how do you get out of that rut?
1. Build up your trust muscle - spend some time each day in quiet contemplation and in prayer. The more that you can be in silence and stillness the more you can hear yourself and your intuition and act on it. Trusting yourself and testing out acting on your intuition can help you build your confidence in yourself and your abilities. The more you build up the trust in yourself the more you will know that you can try anything and even if it doesn’t work out it is taking you to something better.
2. Be surrounded by like-minded people - when I took up running at the beginning of this year I had a goal in mind of running in a 10 mile race by the fall. I joined a road-runners group and all the veteran runners had started from beginners like me to running a half-marathon or marathon. Therefore, they were all telling me that I could do it. Being surrounded by people who have already achieved your goal or are working towards a similar outcome provides you with the supportive environment you need to stretch towards that new project. Without the support of that environment there was no way I could have gone running each week and finished the 10 mile race!
3. Persevere - we all face set-backs and challenges in reaching the outcomes that we desire. Sometimes it can be frustrating and feel like you aren’t making any progress. Remember that no setback is a failure, but just an opportunity to learn and adjust the way that you are doing something. Each challenge is a stepping stone to moving you exactly to where you need to be - more aligned with your true self and your dreams!
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Rising to the Occasion
By admin | December 1, 2009
We often tell ourselves we will rise to the occasion when we feel it is the right time, when we have the confidence, or when we have the right skills to do it. But continually waiting for the right time actually keeps you stuck in a pattern of avoidance, frustration, and insecurity and then the time is never right.
So how do you rise to the occasion?
o Commit to something - commitment will often give you the structure you need to grow into the person you are able to be. Commitment provides the banks to a free flowing river and gives you the general direction and boundaries from which to work. Commitment in a relationship, in work, in a volunteer organization can aid you in creating safety, trust, and depth which allows you to flourish as a person and a group.
o Follow through - following through to your commitment gives you the ability to do what you need to do. When other are dependent on you or when you have a deadline you are often able to step and do what it is that you need to do because you know others will be paying attention. Following through means not just giving your word, but putting actions into place to DO what you said you were going to do. It is amazing how small steps and actions built on one another can lead to big results.
o Stay determined - sometimes we start something and then get frustrated and turn away. Looking for new things when times get tough don’t allow you to grow into your full potential as you will never master it. Staying focused and determined will allow you to stay grounded through the plateaus in order to reach the next peak. It is the nature of life that you can’t continually grow, but will grow through some plateaus. By not getting frustrated and continuing to try you will move through the challenges and achieve what it is that you want to achieve.
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How to Maintain Family Bonds
By admin | September 5, 2009
Do you find you have less and less time to spend with your parents and siblings? Are you working crazy hours or busy with your own spouse/kids that you feel you are losing some connection with your family?
The amount of time available to spend with your family of origin may be limited bu how can you maintain your family ties in order to have a close relationship with them?
- Use technology to stay in touch. If you don’t get to see your family as often as you would like, there are many ways to stay in touch using technology. I recently set my parents up on Skype with a webcam so that they could chat with my brother’s kids over the computer and seem them! I use Instant Messaging to chat with my cousins abroad and now, with the advent of Facebook, I can see quick updates of what extended relatives are up to. Although technology can seem impersonal, it can be a great tool to catch up with family members when you cannot see them in person. Read the rest of this entry »
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The Legacy of Ted Kennedy
By admin | August 31, 2009
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I was mesmerized this whole weekend with stories of Ted Kennedy’s funeral and all of the news reports that documented his life. The themes that kept resounding for me was finding a purpose and working your whole life for it.
Ted Kennedy seemed to find issues and ideals that he truly believed in and for almost 50 years worked tirelessly to fight for those issues. Having a higher ideal and a purpose for which you live your life inherently helps with your health and wellness. It provides you a commitment to something bigger than you and allows you to focus your energies on the most important issues for you. The other thing when you have a true purpose in life it allows you to remain true to who you are. For Ted Kennedy his purpose was family and fighting for those who could not fight for themselves and those ideals sustained through the highest of peaks and lowest of valleys. Read the rest of this entry »
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Building Meaningful Relationships as an Adult
By admin | August 31, 2009
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Friendships are an important part of life. Studies show that having deep, meaningful connections helps with both your physical and mental health. Friendships boost your immune system and help you curb depression and anxiety. So how do you go about building such relationships as an adult?
• Meet people doing activities you are passionate about. We often relate to people with whom we have a lot in common. Take a class you have always wanted to try. Perform some charity work that you have been putting off. The more you engage in activities and events that make you happy, the easier it will be to meet people who are passionate about the same things as you. And since you share common interests, it will be easier to get to know them and develop a connection.
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