As we enter November, 2020 will be coming to an end. It has been a very interesting year to say the least; and I think we all can say we have had to deal with a lot more stress. The first Wednesday of November is Stress Awareness Day.

What is stress? It is defined as “the degree to which you feel overwhelmed or unable to cope as a result of pressures that are unmanageable”. We all have stress in our life and a little bit can be good for us; but ongoing stress can be detrimental to our health, both physically and emotionally. We all react to different stressors and with different reactions, we are all individuals when it comes to stress. Stress in our lives becomes a problem when it is long-term, and it is affecting our life in some way or another.

Signs of Stress

• Emotional changes can include anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, frustration, and depression.
• Behavioral changes can include feeling withdrawn, indecisive, inflexible, irritable, tearful, angry, and aggressive.
• Physical changes can be many and some very serious. You can experience headaches, nausea, indigestion, shortness of breath, perspiration, heart palpitations, clenching of jaw/grinding of teeth (this is one that seems to be a challenge for me now), muscle tension in the neck, face, or shoulders, weight gain or loss, and suffering from a variety of aches and pains. More serious symptoms can include sleep and memory challenges, irritable bowel symptoms, and stomach ulcers. Stress has been linked to causes of death that include heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. We all can benefit to improve how we deal with stress.

Seven Strategies for Dealing with Stress

1. Exercise can improve your mood and relax your mind and body. It also allows you to work out frustrations through movement. To maintain your stress levels, it is best to exercise on a regular basis: 150 minutes per week if moderate exercise and 75 minutes if vigorous. Even if you cannot exercise this much now, just start doing some sort of regular exercise! Some is better than none!
2. Eat a well-balanced diet which includes fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins, and whole grains. By providing your body and mind with good nourishment, you may be better able to handle stressful situations. Here are foods that can help with stress reduction.
3. Muscle relaxation through stretching, a hot bath or shower, or a massage can help release tension.

5. Finding ways to slowdown or “chilling out” helps to bring your stress level down. I do caution not to use smoking, alcohol, or other substances to “chill out.”

6. Hobbies are an awesome stress reliever as it gets your mind on something you enjoy, often you use your hands which can also be helpful for stress relief. Hobbies can include woodworking, fishing, knitting, quilting, scrap booking, painting, and gardening are just to name a few.

7. Find someone you can talk to about what is stressing you; this can be a friend, family member, trusted clergy person, doctor, or therapist.

Stress can wear you down and make you sick if it is not dealt with in a healthy manner. As a society, we have gotten used to a lot of stress so often we don’t know how stressed we really are until we finally hit a breaking point. I know for me, this year has been stressful, I have had to learn ways to deal it. I walk every day as it relieves stress for me, have learned jaw relaxing exercises to help me stop clenching my teeth, and regularly stretch my neck and shoulders to relieve that tension. Have you found you are more stressed this year? How do you relieve the stress in your life?

Be blessed and be a blessing,

Heather