Ladies, Take Stress Relief To Heart
Every day of our lives we face events that cause us stress.
Although most of these events are minor in the grand scheme of things, even
small things can add up day after day. It’s important to keep in mind that stress
isn’t just mental. In fact, when you’re faced with stress, you’ll
likely to feel your heart pound, your stomach tense and your muscles tighten.
When you feel stressed, this causes a negative chain
reaction within your body. If you're angry, anxious, tense, frustrated,
frightened, or depressed, your body's natural response is to release stress
hormones.
These hormones include cortisol and adrenaline. They
prepare your body to deal with stress. They cause your heart to beat more
rapidly and your blood vessels to narrow to help push blood to the center of
the body. These hormones also increase your blood pressure. This “fight or
flight” response is thought to date back to prehistoric times, when we needed
the extra burst of adrenaline to escape predators.
After your stress subsides, your blood pressure and
heart rate should return to normal. However if you're continually stressed,
your body doesn't have a chance to recover. This may lead to damaging effects
on your artery walls. Although it is not clear that stress alone causes high
blood pressure or heart disease, it can increase your risk and it can impact your
general wellness.
Get
serious about stress relief
As one of the most common and deadly conditions, heart
disease is a serious risk to women. The majority
of women between the ages of 40 and 60 have at least one risk factor for
the disease. On top of this, many women face chronic stress, which can further
increase their risk for the disease. But many may not realize it.
The groundwork to prevent heart disease can start anytime.
By incorporating healthy
lifestyle behaviors, and taking the time to adapt stress relieving
techniques and behavior, you are not only promoting a healthy heart, but
overall health and well-being. Here are some easy ways to beat
stress:
Avoid unnecessary changes in your life. Instead,
reserve what energy you do have for dealing with the stressor at hand. If
possible, try to make your work and home environments stable while working out
the primary problem.
Quiet your mind. In
times of stress, the mind makes things appear worse than they are by creating
endless versions of approaching disaster. Because the body can't tell the
difference between fact and fantasy, it responds with a greater physical
response.
Keep in the present. You
can calm both your mind and your body by keeping your mind in the present. The
present is hardly ever as stressful as an imagined future or past full of
regret. To keep your mind in the present, center your attention on your
breathing, a sound or visual pattern, a repetitive movement, or meditation.
Bravely and aggressively face the
stressor. Resist any temptation to ignore whatever
is causing stress. Instead, carefully think about the seriousness of the
problem without blowing it out of proportion. Ask yourself, "What is the
worst thing that is realistically likely to happen?" Then remind yourself
of all the good things that will still be a part of your life even if the worst
happens. In addition, confirm your view of the stressor by talking with others.
Make a special effort to speak to family, friends, or co-workers who have dealt
with similar experiences.
Review your coping responses. Confidence
is helpful in fighting stress and it builds on memories of past successes.
Review successes you've had with other stressful life situations. Recall some
of the exact things you did to cope.
Take action. Commit
yourself to a reasonable course of action to deal with whatever is causing you
stress. Action is powerful in helping you to reduce stress. Research shows that
the body lowers the amount of epinephrine, a powerful stress hormone, when a
person shifts into action. Don't avoid taking action because you fear you'll
make the wrong decision. Remind yourself that there are many different ways of
successfully dealing with a stressful situation.
Take time out to relax. At
least once or twice a day, take time to calm down by relaxing.
Some suggestions are listening to your favorite music, taking a walk,
gardening, reading, or exercising. You could also choose to do more formal
relaxation like deep breathing or meditation.
Your
heart is in good hands
Comments
Post a Comment