STRESS
Even
writing the word stress you can feel it. So what do you
have in your life that DOES NOT cause you stress?
That’s a
new twist in the question regarding stress. Most of the
time we ask, “so what is causing you stress today?”
My
experience is that there is not much that does not cause
some sort of stress in our lives:
Kids, work, family, community, world events, the
planet, even the exploding comet the other night. And
what about the upcoming holidays? No stress there.
As I was
thinking about the subject of stress and the importance of
noticing what it is doing to us in our lives, I wanted to
make sure that you really get the seriousness of
continued unchecked stress in your lives.
This is
not to “make you feel guilty for how you live”. The real
point of what I want to share with you is that you might
have more stressors in your life than you even realize…and
they may be affecting you more than you are truly aware of
right now.
Here is
how stress is defined:
DEFINITION OF STRESS:
Physiology.
a specific response by the body to a stimulus, such as fear,
pain, pressure, that disturbs or interferes with the normal
physiological equilibrium of an organism.
What is especially fascinating to me about the definition of
stress is that it is something that “disturbs or interferes”
with our normal equilibrium.
I guess that begs the question of what is normal?
Five years ago most of us did not receive 200-400 emails
a day or routinely work extended hours of work. We had
less urgency to respond to the speed of technology and the
expectations of our work and/or organizations. The new
"Normal" in our lives needs to be redefined for our health
and success.
What is your normal day and how have you adjusted to the
demands of what is your “new” normal?
My dear
friend Dr. Jane Sullivan-Durand and co-author of one of our
books, “Give Stress a Rest”
http://www.nataliemanor.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=16,
was one of the first MDs to publicly connect stress and the
effects it has on clinical issues and disease.
Dr. Jane was concerned with the amount of people she was
seeing in her practice with: depression, chronic pain and
tension, anxiety, high blood pressure, sleep disorders and
sexual dysfunction. She tried connecting the patient
family history with what they were currently experiencing
and much of the time there was little or nor connection.
After much concern, research, collaboration and writing, she
and her colleagues determined there are many
lifestyle habits filled with stress causing and/contributing
to serious illness.
The good Stress:
Dr. Jane says, “Technically speaking,
stress is not always a
problem. Some stress can actually be good for you.
When you are busy and doing a lot things that you enjoy, the
stress can be stimulating. It can motivate you, energize
you, and give you a reason for being. But we all know that
you can have too much of a good thing. And 'busy-ness' is no
exception. Over time, as you push to do more and more each
day, the 'wear and tear' on your body catches up with you.
That is the problem. Any system can take only so much
pressure before it begins to fail. The human body is no
exception.”
You can find much more information about the clinical
aspects of stress in our co-authored book, “Give Stress a
Rest”
http://www.nataliemanor.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=16.
Currently, the book sells for $20.00 on the NMA website and
from Nov. 1st through Nov. 30th we are offering a 50%
discount. That means will send you the “Give Stress
a Rest”
http://www.nataliemanor.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=16
for $10.00 plus S&H. Hint, hint, this is a great gift
for the holidays. Use the coupon code
110207GSAR
when
entering your credit card information during the checkout
process.)
I would like you to think about whether you are still in the
good stress column or if your stress has moved to the “bad”
stress column. The statistics around constant stress are
not good. According to the Foundation for Integrated
Research In Mental Health in 2007.
-
Globally, more than 3 out of 5 doctor visits are for
stress related problems.
-
Globally, 23% of women executives and professionals, and
19% of their male peers, say they feel super-stressed.
And the American Psychological Association reports the
following:
-
Forty-three percent of adults suffer adverse health
effects from stress.
-
Two-thirds of all office visits to family physicians are
due to stress-related symptoms.
-
Sixty-four percent of Americans say they are taking
steps or need to take steps to reduce stress in their
lives.
Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death—heart
disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the
liver, and suicide.
Gee, Natalie, thanks for all the great news…….
You know, stress can kill, but it can also make us feel like
life is hard. It slows us down, makes us feel just
slightly not well, makes us sort of depressed,
sort of cranky and sort of successful.
Stress can take all the fun out of life and all the energy
out of us. I want you to take just 10 minutes of your time
this week and weekend to answer the following questions
honestly. I think you will find there some spots in your
life and habits that stress is affecting and not in a good
way:
-
How do
I feel really?
-
Is my
sleep good, deep and satisfying?
-
Could
I actually get through a whole day without some sort of
stimulate drink?
-
What
is my diet like? Fish, veggies, lots of purified water
or processed, easy fast food in my faithful microwave.
-
How do
I look? Is my skin glowing? How about my hair?
-
Is
there a skip in my step or am I lugging around a very
tired, irritated body?
There is a saying that you are what you eat. Further, I’d
like to add, your are what you do, eat, and think.
There is a quality of life that you might be missing that
just a few changes could easily turn your days and nights
into fun, satisfying successes and rested.
Here are some quick stress
relieving tips you can use immediately:
1. Breath. Just
breath right now as deeply as you can. Now do three
deep breaths. It makes an instantaneous difference in
how you feel.
2. Take a stand up
stretch break every hour. Stretch like a cat -
fully extend all of those muscles. It takes less than
60 seconds.
3. Think good thoughts.
These are thoughts about your new puppy, your freshly
polished car, the plans for your next (or just past
vacation) or a new person in your life.
Our entire November
newsletter will be about stress and how to recognize and
reduce it in your life.
You have many choices and
we have many ways we can be a resource for you in reducing
stress in your life and work environment.
1. Book a "Success
without Stress" training or audio conference with us
for your people - end 2007 on a high note or start 2008 with
hope and excitement. To learn more about the training NMA
provides go to:
http://www.nataliemanor.com/seminars/. To learn
more about our audio conference offerings go to:
http://www.nataliemanor.com/audio/
2. Get our eBook or CD on
"Success without Stress" for your staff and/or
organization. They are filled with tips, techniques
and strategies to recognize and reduce your stressors.
To purchase the the "Success without Stress" eBook
go to:
http://www.nataliemanor.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=44.
To purchase the "Success without Stress"
CD go to:
http://www.nataliemanor.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=6.
You know, I care about your
health. I've seen you work so hard to learn your
leadership skills and develop successful results. As
Dr. Jane would say: "It is your time to be WELL!"
