How can you address stress?

There are several things you can do to combat stress that you can implement for free. 
The first thing you can do is to practice breathing deeply.  Most of us don't even realize it, but we breath very shallowly all the time, and when we get stressed out, we fail to breath very deep at all, or we take it in the opposite direction and breath so fast, we're not really benefiting from a deep cleansing breath.  (C'mon, I KNOW all of you who have taken childbirth classes, have heard about the 'deep cleansing' breaths.  Same concept.)  Breath in as deeply & as slowly as you possibly can helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system & helps reduce stress levels.

Secondly, stay away from Caffeine and Sugar.
Most people are stress eaters (I've worked hard at breaking the habit through the years.)  Ever notice how when stress hits hard and fast, what do we crave?  JUNK food...Chocolate or salty foods are tops on the list.  Although one might experience a quick pick me up, you'll also experience a let down just as fast, when you make poor food choices.  The adrenal glands get stressed even further, if you choose caffeine and sugar to combat stress, giving you a more "burned out" feeling.  Avoid high carb and sugary snacks and replace them with high protein and good quality fats that you can find in nuts.  One of my favorite snacks, is raw papitos that are pan fried in Coconut oil in an iron skillet with garlic and sea salt.  YUMMO!  My family thinks these are great, too!  Something I carry called Adrenal Support, is helpful if you feel tired without caffeine and it helps build your adrenals and increase your energy.

Something else most folks don't even consider is EXERCISE.  I know someone who was battling cancer and all the stresses of dealing with that in family life while raising young children.  This person would actually go out and play racquetball and noticed the days  spent being physically active, less pain medication was required and a greater sense of peace  was experienced.  That's because our body releases endorphins, which helps the body deal with poor mood and stress by releasing a natural positive feeling in the body, similar to what morphine does, minus the side affects of addictive narcotics, causing a sedative affect on the body as well.


Nourish the nerves and take advantage of Adatagenic Herbs and Vitamins
Nerves are like the rest of the body and require good nutrition in order to work well with our body.  Foods our nervous system LOVE are high quality fats like Omega-3 EFA's (essential fatty acids), nuts, butter, flax seed oil, olive oil and coconut oil.

Vitamins that are important for healthy nerve function are Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin C.  B-complex help people cope with stress better and when Vitamin C is paired up with pantothenic acid, the adrenal glands are supported.  I LOVE Nutri-Calm!  Recently when I had to handle a very stressful situation involving my elderly parent's care, I left home in a rush and realized I had forgotten my Nutri-Calm.  I called a fellow natural healer and bummed a bottle off of her to get me through that particularly stressful several days.  It was amazing how quickly I could feel the effects on my nerves and body once I took some Nutri-Calm.  (I must admit, this is one of my ALL-time fav's in my Nature's Sunshine Product line!!!)

There are a specific family of herbs that have been shown to greatly help us reduce stress in our lives, minimizing its affect on our body.  These are called adaptagenic herbs, which which modify the signals send from the hypothalamus & pituitary glands causing  a reduction of adrenaline output by the adrenal gland as well as cortisol levels, particularly lowering overall stress levels., breaking the damaging fight or flight reaction that occurs in our system when we get "stuck" in the chronic stress mode of life.  When the cortisol levels are reduced during stressful seasons in our lives, these herbs also help boost our immune system.

One of my favorites is Eleuthero root.  Studies in Russia prove it helps increase our stamina, endurance & energy levels, increasing our concentration & stimulating male hormone production, along with helping strengthen our immune system.  Some other single herbs that are known as adaptagenic herbs are gotu kola, American & Korean Ginseng, Suma & Schizandria berries.  Nature's Sunshine has combinations available called Adaptamax, Nervous Fatigue Formula and Suma Combination.

Lastly, we must make time for rest and relaxation.  When my father was diagnosed over 8 years ago with Alzheimers, and came to live with us for a season, I wasn't able to go out of the house hardly at all.  It was then, that I took up a new hobby of making cards using rubber stamps, cool designer papers and some fabulous inks.  I continue to use this hobby as a stress buster.  Not long ago, my teenage daughter told me during a particularly trying week in life, "Mom, I think you need to go spend some time stamping something."  Believe it or not, she was right, like most teenagers are...I NEEDED to create something to leave my stress behind me.  When I am creating cards, I try to focus on making a card of encouragement to someone else who is having a difficult time with something in their life and let them know I'm thinking of them and praying for them.  It helps me get my mind off my troubles as well.  Another thing I choose to do, is take a luxurious bath, putting some epsom salts and lavender oil in the water, soaking my troubles away.  Years ago, a company called "Calgon" had a commercial that said..."Calgon...take me away..." and showed a woman with billowy casual attire heading off for her 'Calgon' moment.  I still remember that commercial when I was a kid and young adult.  (OK, so I'm dating myself...shows how good advertising has a timeless affect!)

Most of us think we're too busy to relax, and in all honesty, if we'd slow down, shut the cell phones off and our landlines, for those of us who still have one, leaving the hubbub of life, we'll actually be FAR more productive when we turn the phones off, after we take a stress break.

Some suggestions which might work to help you relax are:
*taking a relaxing bath
*a massage
*listening to easy going music
*taking a walk outside
*playing with a dog or cat  (OK, another soft spot in my heart.  Laser tag with the cat or puppy is SO fun!)
*Find something that makes you laugh and that brings out the child-heart within.  (This last week, I skipped around our country block with my 10 yr old son, acting goofy, waving at all the neighbors that went by with BIG grins on our face.  OK, my son may have SO not enjoyed this as much as I did, but we laughed and laughed all the way home.)
*Slow down and enjoy your food, chewing slowly a nicely prepared meal, appreciating the one who made it or the Creator that provided it.  (Believe it or not, we should be chewing 27-30 times per every bite of food that touches our lips to activate the digestive juices in our stomachs, thus stimulating the digestive process in our bodies.)  Next time you gulp down the food and run, try to repattern yourself to take an extra 10 minutes to savor what you have prepared to nourish your body.

Remember, anything you can do to minimize the affects of stress, will help you feel better and sleep better.  If you're experiencing insomnia, I'll be addressing that next, as having a good night's sleep is SO important to recharge our batteries and to take the day by force, rather than letting the day take us by force.

Check out my website @ mynsp.com/masterstouchherbs for more information on how to order the products I discussed at wholesale prices.  May God extend His peace to you today like the rushing of a glorious river.  (Isaiah 66:12)

Breaking into the blogging world...Let's talk about stress.

My friend, Allie, bless her heart, felt sorry for this SO non-techie soul and helped me set up a blog over a year ago, over the phone, nonetheless.  I am just now getting started on my blogging adventures, so bear with me.
  " )  Currently, I am working as a certified herbalist and taking classes to further my knowledge in natural health.  I enjoy teaching classes on natural health, both in Phoenix and in our mountain community.  I am passionate about helping others serve the Creator with health and vitality!

Today, I'd like to talk about stress. All of us know what stress feels like...Worry.  Stress.  Tight shoulders.  Sleeplessness, for some.  Traffic jams, financial troubles, work deadlines and struggles, family and marriage issues, just to name a few.  Approximatley 75-90% of all visits to the primary care doctor are for stress-related health issues.  That leads me to believe learning to manage stress in our lives should take high priority and become a major way to maintain optimal health.

In order to come up with a game plan to manage stress, we first need to define it.  When stress affects our system, the brain sends a chemical reaction to the pituitary gland by way of the hypothalamus, which releases ACTH or adrenocorticotropic hormone (the thousand dollar word for the day).  ACTH causes the adrenal glands to start making hormones like adrenaline (epinephrine) and cortisol.  Adrenaline is both a hormone & neurotransmitter.  Our bodies response to it being introduced to our system includes:  increased heart-rate, breathing becomes more rapid, rise in blood pressure, our muscles become tense, digestion shuts down, along with other functions that aren't essential for immediate survival, and it prepares the body for ACTION.

Another key response to stress is our body produces something called cortisol.  Cortisol reduces inflammation and helps us to address pain and injury better.  Even though it's role is important in our system to reduce inflammation, too much of it can cause a depressed immune system, muscle loss, weight gain, and premature aging.  Rise in these stress hormones also causes our blood sugar to rise and increases our the chances of getting blood clots.

As you can see, unmanaged long-term stress can be a leading cause of numerous health problems, such as:  tension headaches, high blood pressure, blood clotting, neck & shoulder pain, low back pain, ulcers, poor digestion, increased risk of infections, asthma, cancer, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, & even cancer.  It is probably a BIG key to most of our illesses.  Cutting down our stress is one of the most important things we can do to improve our general health.  Relaxation is a key component to help the body recover and heal from stressful seasons in life.

Obviously, with so much stress, most of us lack ways to deal with and reduce its affects in our lives.  Perhaps we can't remove completely the things that cause us stress, but by paying careful attention to managing it, we can reduce the harmful affects it has on our bodies.

I will address some key ways to managing stress in my next post, so stay tuned.