Stress management: are you managing your stress effectively?
According to the World Health Organisation, Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
You might not have a disease or illness but if you suffer from an irritable bowel every day or constant tension headaches and migraines or perhaps you have a skin disorder or suffer from high blood pressure then your quality of life will suffer. Perhaps these conditions are indicators that something is wrong with the way you are coping with the stresses and strains of your lifestyle.
The chances are that you will be taking some kind of prescribed medication, such as sleeping pills, anti-depressants, tranquillisers, immodium, strong pain killers or beta-blockers perhaps. Or worse you might be self medicating with alcohol and/or recreational drugs.
Whatever approach you adopt it is likely that you are dealing with the symptoms and not the causes of stress in your life. If your body is not functioning the way it is supposed to then maybe you need to question and change aspects of your life. Remember, ‘if you always do what you have always done you will always get what always got’.
Consider the factors that might be contributing to your discomfort, such as:-
- Environment – how much are you affected by light, temperature, noise and air?
- Lifestyle – are you working long hours, what is your work/life balance like, are you getting enough fun and pleasure in your life?
- Habits & Behaviours – Do you smoke, drink alcohol to excess or overeat?
- Emotions – Are you getting angry and frustrated over trivial things?
- Sleeping – Do you feel tired during the day because your sleep has been erratic and disturbed?
When learning to manage your stress levels consider the 4 C’s
CONTROL
COMMITMENT
CHALLENGE
CLARITY
Ask yourself, what change you can commit to that will help you to regain control of your life, your health and your emotions? Set yourself clear objectives for change and challenge yourself regularly. Small and simple changes can often create the best results. For example, it might be just leaving work an hour earlier than usual and spending the extra hour each day having some fun. Take into account your emotional needs when planning change such as the need for:-
Security
Attention
Emotional connection
Fun-love & Intimacy
Achievement & Competancy
Community Involvement
Status
Meaning & Purpose
Control & Autonomy
In future, when your body is not functioning correctly, it may be telling you something needs to change. I used to get a lot of acid-reflux and took Gaviscon tablets regularly over many years to reduce the reflux of acid without questioning the cause.
I now know that alcohol and certain spicy foods cause the acid reflux so I have reduced considerably, the amount of alcohol and spicy foods I consume, and guess what? I rarely need the gaviscon tablets.
Usually the solution is simple! If you are struggling to find the solution to your problem we might be able to help you so please get in touch.
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