Physical symptom of stress—do you have one? Or do you have several? It’s quite possible you don’t realize that some discomfort or condition you have is a physical symptom of stress.

When you don’t realize you have a physical symptom of stress, and you do have one—or more, you can be in danger. When it comes to stress, ignorance is anything but bliss.

If you don’t know you’re stressed, how can you take steps to remove the stress? Or if you know you’re stressed but don’t realize how badly you’re stressed, how can you lower your stress level?

Awareness leads to action.

Your body can give you awareness of your stress levels. But you must be able to understand the language your body is speaking.

Here’s a list of common physical stress symptoms:

--Headaches
--Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
--High blood pressure
--Irregular heart beat
--Chest pain
--Fatigue, low energy
--Hair loss
--Nausea, heart burn
--Constipation or diarrhea
--Shortness of breath
--Asthma
--Frequent colds or flues—resulting from a weakened immune system
--Muscle aches
--Pinched nerves
--Weight gain or loss
--Food cravings
--Worsening of addictions
--Heart disease
--Stroke
--Diabetes
--Memory loss
--Cancer

Ugh—did you see the last physical symptom of stress? Did you realize that stress can put your life in danger?

We have a tendency to bandy around the word, “stress”, as if it’s nothing. We say we’re stressed as if it’s an annoyance or inconvenience. We often say it with a laugh.

But stress, especially a physical symptom of stress like cancer, or even diabetes, stroke, or heart disease, is nothing to laugh about.

The bottom line is that almost any ailment you have COULD be a physical symptom of stress.

So how do you tell if your illness or physical complaint is stress related?

You do an emotion/experience check.

Whenever you have a physical symptom, cross-check that symptom with your emotions and your life experiences. Ask yourself these questions:

Have I experienced pressure lately (time pressure, performance pressure)?
Have I experienced a lot of change?
Have I experienced a loss or shock?
Do I have money problems, job problems, relationship problems, family problems or any other problems that I think about more than a few minutes a day?
Have I felt any of these emotions more than usual: anger (anything from annoyance to rage), sadness, frustration, overwhelm, annoyance, resentment, disappointment?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, whatever discomfort you’re feeling in your body may be a physical symptom of stress. Zero in on the cause of the stress as much as possible, and focus on removing the cause. Doing this will oftentimes alleviate the your physical symptom of stress.

By: Andrea Waggener
Ande Waggener, J.D., is an author and life coach who inspires baby boomers and others who want to Finally Live Unleashed. She offers advice to help alleviate your physical symptom of stress and other powerful methods for living your best life. Find out how to turn your problems into power. Get a free report on how to create outstanding results in your life at http://www.finallylivingunleashed.com.

Featured by Resources For Attorneys, a Legal Resources and Lifestyle Resources portal.

There is an old saying, "laughter is the best medicine". Why not treat yourself to some laughter? Visit our jokes index and relax with some jokes, humor and humerous anecdotes.

Comments: For those of you that would like to comment on this or any other post in this blog, go to the Contact me link on the upper right hand side of this page and send your comment via that link. If your comment is on topic, whether pro or anti, and even fairly well written, we will post it with the article. If you have a site that you would like to be linked to your comment please supply it and we will include it.

Are you filled with despair and emptiness? Has life lost its meaning for you, and no one could possibly understand your feelings? Do you believe there is no future without your loved one? It is likely, if you are feeling this way that you are suffering from what is often called normal reactive depression. You are down and reacting because something or someone you cherish is gone.

We are not talking here about clinical or biochemical depression, although reactive depression can evolve into the clinical type. Depression from the loss of a loved one usually does not require medication, although in some instances it is prescribed, and is useful on a temporary basis. Here is what you need to know.

1. Not everyone gets depressed after the death of a loved one. It is perfectly normal not to suffer depression as it is to have to deal with it. However, after the death of a loved one, thoughts and attitudes often trigger loneliness and resulting depression, which occurs early in grieving. It features confusion, little motivation, altered self-esteem, lack of meaning, reduced functioning in one’s social circle, insomnia, and low energy.

2. If you are depressed, acknowledge it. Describe it in detail, where it hurts, and what it feels like. “What is the message or messages this emotion is delivering to me?” is an important question to address. What do I need to accept? To let go of? The refusal to accept the loss is often a root cause of depression. Depending on what you believe about your depression will lead to choices that either help you manage it, or prolong it.

3. Talk to your best friend. Remember, the more you isolate yourself—and this is what depression tends to do—the more you will increase emotional and physical stress. Saying how you really feel (especially what you fear and how angry you may be) to someone you are confident of being with, is an excellent antidote for your grief and to deal with depression. And, forgiving yourself and others, will also release depressed feelings.

4. Use a universal treatment for depression: exercise. Physical activity will have an affect on brain chemistry and help in the management of depression. Take 10-15 minute walks, preferably with someone. This will activate your endorphins and affect mood.

5. Find a symbol of comfort and guidance. Create a symbol that will bring back loving memories of the person who died and/or of your Higher Power who is with you at all times, and will help you through your great loss. Keep the symbol in a place where you will see it often and use it as a cue to think of loving memories—and to accept the new conditions of life.

6. Are deep seated negative beliefs (I can’t go on alone, I’m being punished, I’m never going to feel better, I’m worthless, etc.) adding to your depression? Regain your power. Take it back from those beliefs that say you are less and not more. Believe you can get well. Create opposing affirmations and keep repeating them throughout the day.

7. Start learning to tolerate uncertainty. This can be accomplished by turning toward your spiritual and symbolic beliefs. You will increase your options by letting your spiritual beliefs guide you and strengthen your faith that you will get through this hurtful loss. Know what you can and cannot control. You can control how you deal with major changes; you cannot control what others say and do or what has already happened.

8. Let possibility educate you out of depression. Here is where your imagination can help in a very positive way. Are you open to exploring the numerous choices there are for dealing with loss? Begin to learn about them from others, support groups, readings, and the experts. By creating options for dealing with fear, anger, guilt, and negative thoughts, you can change your view of what lies ahead.

9. Check your eating habits and whether you have an insufficiency of amino acids. Protein consumption at all three meals can affect neurotransmitters and your energy levels. Reduce carbohydrate (not complex carbs), sugar, alcohol, and fast food consumption, and increase fruits and vegetables. The way you feel physically will add to or detract from depression.

Whenever you feel depression creeping back in, immediately ask yourself this key question, “What are my choices here?” If you are burying your feelings and not facing them, depression is a common result.

Refuse to withdraw from life; make connections and express your feelings to a support group or to your best friend. If your depressive symptoms go on for more than a couple of months, be sure to consult a professional counselor. You can get through this darkness and into the light by taking action early (don't wait for it to worsen) to deal with this pervasive emotion.

By: Lou LaGrand
Dr. LaGrand is a grief counselor and the author of eight books, the most recent, the popular Love Lives On: Learning from the Extraordinary Encounters of the Bereaved. He is known world-wide for his research on the Extraordinary Experiences of the bereaved (after-death communication phenomena) and is one of the founders of Hospice of the St. Lawrence Valley, Inc. His free monthly ezine website is http://www.extraordinarygriefexperiences.com.

Featured by Resources For Attorneys, a Legal Resources and Lifestyle Resources portal for attorneys, lawyers and the general internet public.

There is an old saying, "laughter is the best medicine". Why not treat yourself to some laughter? Visit our jokes index and relax with some jokes, humor and humerous anecdotes.

Comments: For those of you that would like to comment on this or any other post in this blog, go to the Contact me link on the upper right hand side of this page and send your comment via that link. If your comment is on topic, whether pro or anti, and even fairly well written, we will post it with the article. If you have a site that you would like to be linked to your comment please supply it and we will include it.

It has been cited that there are 4 types of stress, which all vary and have different effects on our performance:

1. Relaxed
This kind of stress is good and bad. It often means you’re sitting in your comfort zone and the only stress you have is coming from boredom. Boredom can also be dangerous, as it will mean that you’re not getting the most out of your life. Its good to be here when you have been in high stress situations and you want to de-stress when you’re on holiday for example.

2. Dynamic
This kind of stress is productive and pushes you towards achieving things like promotion, having new experiences, etc. This kind of stress is exciting, will increase your adrenalin, make you feel a little nervous but will mean you’re achieving your goals and feeling challenged. Its good to spend a lot of time with this kind of stress as it will mean you’re truly living life.

3. Distracted
We have to be careful being in this zone. Often when we’re in the dynamic zone then we can slip into this zone. This is when you start thinking too much about yourself and think that everything is too difficult and you wont be able to cope. It’s important to know when you slip into this zone and make sure you get out of it quickly. You can recognise when you’re in here as you’ll be using phrases like “I don’t think I can cope”, “No-one is supporting me”, “I’m never going to get all this done”. Or you may feel so stressed that you cant even get the simplest things done and so will end up doing nothing.

4. Distraught
When you get to this level of stress it’s really hard to get yourself out of it as you think everything is wrong. It’s important that if you find yourself in this zone you get out quickly.

Just by knowing what level of stress you are experiencing is a great first step in overcoming stress. Here are some other great tips to get you started:-
- Look after yourself as much as possible
- Remove yourself or limit the amount of time you spend in stressful situations
- Allow others to help you
- Take things slowly and do one thing at a time
- Be realistic about your abilities and don’t beat yourself up over things
- Talk to others about your situation
- Use deep breathing exercises
- Surround yourself with positive people
- Find ways which help you relieve stress, e.g. exercise, etc.

By Rebekah Fensome
Rebekah Fensome is an accredited professional Life Coach and Coaching Psychologist. She is also a member of the British Psychological Society. She has her own private life coaching practice in London and coaches people face to face or over the telephone. She coaches a diverse range of people from actors, writers, Mums, bankers, traders, personal trainers, celebrities and entrepreneurs. She also works with many companies helping their employees to achieve their career goals. To get in contact with her go to http://www.rebekahfensomelifecoach.com, rebekah.fensome@gmail.com.

Featured by Resources For Attorneys, a Legal Resources and Lifestyle Resources portal for attorneys, lawyers and the general internet public.

There is an old saying, "laughter is the best medicine". Why not treat yourself to some laughter? Visit our jokes index and relax with some jokes, humor and humerous anecdotes.

Comments: For those of you that would like to comment on this or any other post in this blog, go to the Contact me link on the upper right hand side of this page and send your comment via that link. If your comment is on topic, whether pro or anti, and even fairly well written, we will post it with the article. If you have a site that you would like to be linked to your comment please supply it and we will include it.

What is the one thing you can do in three minutes to take control when there seems to be none? How can you possibly make decisions when there are so many competing choices? Take a moment in the busy day of a parent. The baby is crying uncontrollably, the phone is ringing, someone is at the door and needs your attention and you have to leave for the pediatrician appointment you NEED to keep. Just the day–to-day challenges of parenting offer stresses that must be juggled. Choices have to be made. How about choosing to take the next moment and take some deep breaths. Just take three deep breaths and you can begin to change your whole perspective.

Stress can be experience from three areas, our life experiences, body and thoughts. Once stress takes hold, we may get used to the amount of tension we experience, but our body continues to feel the effects. Reducing stress can help increase our ability to manage the most challenging life circumstances. While we may not have much control over various life circumstances, we do have control over our reaction to the stress. Reaction to problems, demands and dangers set off our involuntary fight or flight response. Our bodies do not recognize the difference between a real danger, such as a physical attack and a fear or worry. Any type of threat is registered in our bodies and the fight or flight response is triggered.

When the stress response is triggered, various changes occur in the body. The centers which control our reaction to confront (fight) or escape (flight) the threat begin to accelerate and as a result other parts of the body also speed up. The pupils become larger so vision is improved; muscles tense in preparation to run or fight; and blood courses through the head so more oxygen goes to the brain to improve thinking. Chronic stress occurs when the body is not given relief from prolonged triggering of the inborn response and health problems can result. One way of managing the pattern of lingering stress is as simple as breathing!

Controlled breathing is one stress-busting technique which we can use anytime and learn easily. Controlled breathing is the deliberate, focus effort to tip the nervous system out of the fight or flight, survival reaction and into a relaxed state. The body cannot be in a state of relaxation and stress at the same time.

When we feel stress and anxious, what happens to our breathing? Typically, people begin to take shallow, quick breaths which come from the chest instead of from the diaphragm, the dome shaped muscle at the bottom of the lungs. When breath comes from the chest, instead of from the diaphragm, breath is coming from the upper parts of the lungs instead of the lower section.

Shallow breathing triggers the fight or flight response and the body is signaled to react. Less oxygen gets into the bloodstream during shallow breathing. The change in oxygen level causes more warning signals to the brain, leading to more anxiety, triggering more shallow breaths—a vicious cycle. Deep breathing from the diaphragm, on the other hand, is slower, fuller and promotes more oxygen into the bloodstream. Diaphragmatic breathing is seen then the stomach rises when inhaling and falls when exhaling.

To figure out which way you are breathing, lie on the floor and put your hand on your stomach. Breathe in and out. If your hand is still when placed on your abdomen, then you are breathing from your chest. If your abdomen rises, you are breathing from your diaphragm.

To practice deep diaphragmatic breathing try the following exercise at least once a day for three minutes. Once you are comfortable with the technique, increase the time from 5 to 15 minutes a day.

Exercise:
•Sit straight in a chair without arm rests, feet flat on the floor. Put your hands comfortably in your lap.
•Inhale through your nose until you feel your abdomen rise and expand.
•As you take in a slow, controlled breathe, picture your lungs filling with air. As you inhale, count very slowly from one to four. Some people find it helpful to imagine a balloon expanding as they fill their lungs with oxygen. Be sure your stomach and shoulders stay relaxed.
•Exhale slowly through your nose so that it takes to the count of four to release your breathe completely.
•Continue the process of slow, deep breathing in and out for at least three minutes.
•Focus your thoughts on your breathing. Notice how your shoulders and back, belly and legs feel. If your thoughts start to wander, gently shift your attention back to your breathing. This step is often the most difficult, so be patient. As you get more comfortable with the breathing exercise, concentration on your breath becomes easier

By: Cathy Rodrigues
I would love to hear what you think and about your progress. Be patient and practice! Visit my website at cathyrodrigues.com and my blog at parentingthespecialneedschild.com.

Cathy Rodriges is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Professionally Certified Coach and Parent who works with parents of children with special needs ages birth to three for the past 27 yeras. She is a consultant, trainer and support group leader. Cathystrives to help families create a satifsying and meaningful life together with the added challenge of having a child with special needs. Visit Cathy at her blog at parentingthespecialneedschild.com and her website at
http://www.cathyrodrigues.com.

Featured by Resources For Attorneys, a Legal Resources and Lifestyle Resources portal for attorneys, lawyers and the general internet public.

There is an old saying, "laughter is the best medicine". Why not treat yourself to some laughter? Visit our jokes index and relax with some jokes, humor and humerous anecdotes.

Comments: For those of you that would like to comment on this or any other post in this blog, go to the Contact me link on the upper right hand side of this page and send your comment via that link. If your comment is on topic, whether pro or anti, and even fairly well written, we will post it with the article. If you have a site that you would like to be linked to your comment please supply it and we will include it.