Early Warning Signs of Stress
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms it is time you take charge of your life, and begin to REALLY learn to manage your stress.
Sudden weight loss or weight gain
Tired but can’t sleep, excessive fatigue
Speech difficulties, impatience
Headaches, repeated colds or flu
Nail biting, teeth grinding
Low or high blood sugar
Low or high blood pressure
High cholesterol or triglycerides
Ulcers and gastric disturbances
Chest pains, muscle aches
Lower back, shoulder, neck pain
Menstrual problems, hair loss
Forgetfulness, withdrawal from social life
The consequences of allowing stress to rule your life can be mentally and physically debilitating!
If you have more than two or three of these signs, and honestly feel you simply will not attempt to learn to manage by yourself, consider that it might be time for you to speak to a professional in person. A counselor, your physician, or a specialist in this fieldt that you can speak with, eye to eye. You do not want to ignore your symptoms any longer.
If you are willing to give it a go, then begin right now. First, take a minute or two, and inhale through your nose slowly. Next exhale through your mouth. Do this several times and you will be fortifying your brain for new thoughts and optimum intellect.
Here are some tips that will get you started.
1. Remember a sedentary lifestyle often accompanies and accelerates out of control stress. Exercise. Simply walking an extra ten minutes a day will suffice to get started. Walk in place in front of the television, or standing in front of the computer. Find a parking space further from the stores you frequent. Walk the dog and you’ll both be happier.
2. Quit anticipating the worst. We have no guarantee of the very next moment and we stall our own progress with fears of impending doom. Drop negative thinking and a negative vocabulary. Listen to your own words and make them positive.
3. Accept the fact, if you are in a stage of your life that feels more stressful than normal, and then start doing something about making changes. Often the thought of change doesn’t feel as cozy and as safe as the current position you are in, but change is what you need if your stress level is out of control.
4. Realize there are risks (physically and mentally) if you stay continually stressed out about everything. Serious risks. Keep in mind, if you feel you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way is up.
5. Remember to use your oxygen as a secret weapon. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, let a bell ring in your head and think of it this way: “I will breathe in help to regenerate, relax, and respond better. I will exhale all those thoughts that are negative and seemingly impossible at the moment. I can begin life again this very moment.” Your mind and body will respond and you WILL BE EMPOWERED. Keep remembering the mind works this way and so does the physiology of the body.
6. Lighten up on the junk food. What you put into your body does matter. The mind and body require nutrition to function properly. Make sure you drink enough water to keep the system working effectively for you.
The choice is yours and yours alone. You CAN use your intellect to overcome any habitual feelings that fill you with sorrow, or anger, or empty you of any feelings at all. It takes practice, but the effort will reap the rewards of peace and happiness. .
Again. The choice is yours, and yours alone. You can remain miserable and stressed out to the max. You can infect all those around you or you can WORK at practicing new thoughts and new ways.
Take another breath and get started right now. There is no time like the present. Actually there is no time but the present! Use it wisely.