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How are you dealing with stress? Do you get frequent headaches? Backaches? Stomach queasy? Lose sleep or suffer sweating or flushing or both? These can be stress symptoms.
Intro Overcome Anxiety Stress Symptoms Don’t Stress Out Tips to Overcome Anxiety. Q & A Next Month
Welcome to the May issue of Powerful Living. And, yes, the topic for the month is 'Dealing with Stress'. If you suffer from this problem, you’re not alone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, stress affects about 4 million Americans. Stress, anxious, worry, nervous, stressed out, road rage and similar words are part of our everyday vocabulary. Being stressed has become part of our lifestyle. Overcome Anxiety Anxiety starts with worry – about health, family problems, money, job or no job, or should have a job, or change job etc.……And excessive worry leads to becoming more and more stressed. Sometimes, without even thinking about it, you get keyed up or edgy, and you don’t even realize that you’re stressed. You can burst into anger when you least expect it and freak everyone out, including yourself. At times like this your behavior seems to make no sense at all. When you’re told to ‘relax’ or you know you should relax, you simply can’t. When you know there’s nothing to worry about or you’re worrying is over the top, you still can’t stop yourself. It feels like you’re out of control.
Stress symptoms - worrying for more days than not, for extended periods of time. - excessive worry about situations, or thinking there are negative situations that are bound to happen. - can’t control the anxiety. -physical signs: fatigue, losing focus, irritability, sleep disturbances, muscle ache. insomnia, headaches, bowel/bladder/stomach problems, eating too much or too little etc. Don’t Stress Out Those of us who see the glass half empty are more prone to being anxious than those who see the glass half full. There is an innate feeling of doom and gloom, which can impair everyday tasks and relationships. Worrying leads to more worrying which in turn can lead to heart palpitations and panic. You can even feel that you’re having a heart attack..
Tips to Overcome Anxiety - Learn to control your thoughts. When you're negative
- Start each day thinking positive - Keep yourself busy. - Read, exercise, meditate – and incorporate this into your lifestyle, not simply to relieve immediate stress. - Stop obsessing on your problems. Focus on the good stuff. - Set a small goal and achieve it each day. - Laughter is a great stress reliever. Watch comedies, go out with friends. Read humorous books. - Speak positively. Don’t look for the bad, even though you know it’s there. - Don’t use the computer or watch the news before bedtime. This can stir you up rather than calm you down. - Don’t avoid stressful situations. It will only be harder to accomplish the task the next time.
If you need further help there are many options. Medication will allow you to be calmer, but there is no magic pill. With anxiety, medication can work very well with psychotherapy. This will help you to recognize when you are at risk and learn to focus on what to do about it. There are also natural alternatives for relief of tension that may be affective, but don’t suffer alone for too long. You may need to get professional help so make the call before problems get worse.
You're welcome to contact me for personal advice.
Q &A The question in Q & A was chosen, from last month’s topic in Powerful Living – Self Esteem. It has been published with the writer’s permission. Dear Bev, How do I get my self-esteem back and how can I live a happy life again? Tyler
Hi Tyler I don’t know what happened to make you feel this way, but if you’re down most of the time, the first thing to do is to check with your family doctor to make sure you’re not suffering from depression. A self esteem issue can often be mistaken for depression. If this is not the case, there are self-help books and workbooks that can give you exercises to help you feel better about yourself. You should also set small personal goals to challenge yourself to succeed. Focus on your positive successes and don’t be hard on yourself. Take it one day at a time. Join activities, whether you feel like doing them or not- and go. The more you do, the more your situation changes. As you see life more positively you develop more self worth. All the best
Bev
Next Month Stress Management: What to do to manage stress, so stress doesn't manage YOU.
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