Stress. One of the buzz words of the 21th century.
Nonetheless you consider the fact of you being constantly high wired and
stressed out on a daily basis as a badge of honor in order to be productive, or
you already suffer from stress
related illnesses, it’s all about sympathetic nervous system
dominance.
Our daily life has an abundance of stressors and your nervous
system operates from a state called sympathetic dominance.
Sympathetic dominance sets in whenever you perceive that you are
physically or psychologically threatened. As a result an inbuilt alarm-system
in your brain triggers the adrenal glands to release complex hormonal cascade
of over 30 stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.
Those stress hormones give you the extra strength and speed you
need to deal with the threatening situation. This reaction is known as the
"fight-or-flight" reaction, or the stress response.
Why bother about stress?
Scientific evidence has demonstrated a fundamental connection
between mental and physical health. In fact, 43 percent of adults suffer
adverse health effects from stress, and 75-90 percent of all physician office
visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart
disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.
Chronically elevated cortisol also leads to weight gain. Perhaps it is simpler to say that stress affects every part of your body, mind
and emotions.
Is here a solution?
All you have to do in order to manage stress is to switch from
sympathetic dominance to parasympathetic dominance.
There are a many stress management and relation techniques which
will help you to operate from more calm and relaxed state of mind.
Simply do something you love to do. Create some ‘Me’ time:
take a bath, lie in the sun, read a book for women, listen
to relaxing music.
Feel free to explore meditation,
walking, yoga,
breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation or biofeedback. These
practices will put you into parasympathetic dominance which breaks the
adrenaline-fueled reactions you experience while you’re under stress and
reduces amounts of the stress hormone cortisol.
Slowing down and taking time to "smell the
roses" also lets you operate from parasympathetic dominance.
So does writing a gratitude journal or sending yourself or somebody
loving-kindness. Count
your blessings, express appreciation to yourself or to someone.
Take
a “mini mind vacations” during your busy and stressful day! Guided imagery can
help you activate the parasympathetic nervous system: reduce stress and achieve
a state
of deep relaxation. All you need to do is to close your eyes and visualize
a scene from your memory that brings joy. Try to get lost in that “happy
place,” event, or image for several minutes, allowing your mind to return to
that pleasurable experience.
When you act from parasympathetic dominance you'll feel
your stress melting away and your balance restored leaving you rejuvenated as a
result.
Need additional help to overcome stress eating habit?
- Start your Mindful Eating program.
