8 secrets to reduce stress
The last post was about taking responsibility for our health. It’s a concept that is singularly foreign to millions in the United States, but it’s a concept that is very simple. It boils down to two factors:
1.) De-stress
2.) Make Better Lifestyle Choices
They sound simple and easy on paper or on a computer screen, but there’s more to them than just words. Today we will look at the first part of that responsibility equation, eliminate stress
The truth about stress
Stress is a thought, plain and simple. You can’t take the stress out of the air on a windy day. You can’t eat stress with a greasy taco from Rolberto’s Taco Shack. Stress is not going to bite your nose or infect you.
The stress is all yours. Or me.
It all depends on how we perceive things. Remember the old saying that life is “10% what happens to us and 90% how we handle it”. We all experience ups and downs. The problem is that in our society, with all the talk about war, economic disparity, health insurance problems, and political instability, the downs seem to outweigh the ups. Add in a stressful job, a relationship on the rocks, or car trouble (my personal nightmare), and that can add up to serious stress.
Our bodies were designed to handle stress in small amounts, namely “fight or flight.” If a hungry lion stalks your way, or if you’re walking through the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, TX at midnight, you either turn and run or stay and fight back. What is truly amazing is that the human body can mobilize in an instant to make fight or flight possible. That is how:
Dilated pupils– gives us the ability to absorb more of our environment.
the beating heart– sends more blood than normal to the muscles so we can move faster.
Cold sweaty skin and pale face.– because all the blood is sent to the muscles.
Quick and deep breathing– sends more oxygen to the muscles, so they can work longer.
decreased digestion-Blood is sent from the GI system to the muscles of the arms and legs. Digesting that pizza can wait!
Increased release of epinephrine and norepinephrine– gives us that “rush of adrenaline” to run or punch!
But what happens when, instead of a lion, we have years of arguments and fights in a marriage, or work 70 hour weeks for years in a high-pressure job? Suddenly, you don’t want your pupils to be dilated all the time, or adrenaline flowing through your body.
Eventually, all of these stress reactions will lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, and/or a whole list of diseases too long to name here.
the eight secrets
The key is to know that stress is a response, emotional and physical, and not something that simply happens to us because fate has it so.
What if the situation you find yourself in is simply too demanding for you to shrug and say, “Whatever happens, it happens?” I went to chiropractic school and took countless tests. I have had to find a way to make student loans last four months straight and support a wife and three kids. We all have different situations that can cause us concern from time to time. We also have the ability to do some things to minimize the stress we may feel.
1.) Get Specific Chiropractic Adjustments-Stress is one of the main triggers, if not the main cause, of a vertebral subluxation. Having a subluxation of the upper cervical spine can really make a person’s life miserable if left uncorrected. Over time, a subluxation can really add to someone’s stress. If someone is experiencing an illness that interferes with their daily functioning, the added stress will only make this vicious cycle worse. So first things first: check your upper cervical spine for a subluxation, and if you have one, correct it immediately.
2.) Exercise– For me, intense training is just the cure for a stressful day. Whether it’s a 3 mile run, numerous bodyweight exercises, or a weight lifting session, I always feel better. Exercise releases neurotransmitters throughout our bodies that help us feel good. Not to mention, if you exercise regularly, the changes you’ll see in the mirror will start to give you some confidence and boost your self-esteem.
3.) Meditate– Some people meditate while singing. Some meditate by sitting still and clearing their minds of all thoughts. Others meditate by praying. No matter what form of meditation you do, do it in a quiet place for about 20-30 minutes. You will have more sanity to effectively handle the stress you might face that day. In my experience, the best time to meditate is early in the morning, around 4 or 5 in the morning. But getting up early means you need more than #4.
4.) Sleep- Sleep. Such a precious asset, at least it is in my house. With small children in the house, this is not always possible in the way my wife and I would like. But if you don’t have young children, then there’s no excuse for going to bed early. As the old adage goes “Early to bed, early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy and wise.” If you have the lights off at 10 pm each night, eventually you won’t need an alarm. You will get deep and restful sleep and wake up automatically around 4-5am, no later than 6am. If you’re well rested, things don’t affect you as much and your brain is better equipped to deal logically with problems that may arise during the course of your day.
5.) Get organized – Put your life in order and it will be one less thing to worry about. Get a daily planner or, if you’re digitally minded, a PDA and organize your days and weeks. Get a filing cabinet and file away all your important documents like bills, receipts, and personal records. Back up all the work you do on a computer to CD in case your computer fails. Doing all this will bring you peace of mind and prevent you from worrying about finding time for everything.
6.) Be on time- leave early Try to get to where you need to be 15 minutes early. This was a big one for me. I was always late for years. I always made it a point to get to work, school, or church just when I was supposed to be there. And chances are I never got there when I was supposed to. Leaving early gives you time for stress-free driving, even if there’s a collision on the freeway. You won’t have to honk your horn while inching your way while cursing and yelling at the top of your lungs at the asshole in front of you. It gives you the opportunity to calmly go to work or school and organize your materials for the day without rushing like a chicken with its head cut off.
7.) Stop watching the news- News channels make money by taking advantage of the public’s fears. You never see good news, mainly because it doesn’t make money. You don’t hear about the thousands of planes that land safely around the world every day. You find out about the one that crashed. You hear about the pilots, the passengers, the crash site, etc. over and over again until the next catastrophe strikes elsewhere. Sex sells, and bad news too. If you want to reduce your stress, stop watching this garbage. I’m not saying hide in a cave, just be selective and brief with what you decide to go with. You don’t always need the details.
8.) have sex- You’re probably reading this last with a dirty-minded smile, but the truth is, I wouldn’t be saying this if more than 50% of marriages weren’t failing these days. And of the marriages that don’t fail, many of them are not happy unions. Talk about stressful! I’m not talking about going to the club and taking whoever comes home. I mean being in a healthy, monogamous relationship where two people love each other. When you love your partner, it makes sex so much better, and you’re likely to have it more often. It’s hard to be stressed if you have a good sex life!
If you sit down and commit to doing each and every one of these things, I can promise you that your stress will dramatically decrease, maybe even disappear. But like I said before, it won’t be easy. You have to take action, not just once, but every day, over and over again.