According to the American Medical Association, stress is the cause of 80 to 85
percent of all human illness and disease. Living under stressful conditions for
long periods of time (chronic stress) can have a profoundly negative impact on
our body. When we experience a threat, whether it’s physical or psychological,
our bodies go into overdrive. There’s increasing evidence that stress is a contributing
factor to illnesses.
Our lives are filled with many events that can trigger the stress response, such as major life changes, relationships, the holidays and stress at work, just to list a few. Thanks to a culture of heavy workloads, longer schedules, less time spent at home and fewer vacation days – and worry if you will even have a job – people are feeling frazzled at work.
Workers most often blame colleagues for their office anxiety, with 16 percent citing difficult co-workers as their primary cause of stress at work. Other top workplace stressors include unrealistic workloads (15 percent), tight deadlines (11 percent) and last-minute projects (10 percent).
You can learn to cope with stress so that it doesn’t make you sick. The good news is there are many simple techniques that you can use to minimize stress. Here are just a few.
• Breathe deeply – “Belly breathing” doesn’t cost anything, and you can do it anywhere. Just breathe in through your nose, use your diaphragm and expand your belly when you inhale. Then pull your belly in when you exhale. It creates many positive effects on the body, including decreased heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension.
• Learn to still your mind – Our mind is like a computer, and you get to determine which programs run. There are many release techniques to remove unwanted programs. At EOptimalHealth, we recommend a very easy one. Hold your hand gently on your forehead and cover the area between the hairline and the eyebrows. Then silently review the stressful event in your mind (not re-living the event, but asking your unconscious mind to release the stress related to the event). After releasing, you will still have the words and pictures of the event, but the emotion surrounding the event will be diffused. The end result is that your mind is stilled – at peace.
When your mind is stilled there are no more worries, doubts, repression of feelings, etc. Just a delightful peace remains. It is a deep sense of resting no matter what is happening. We offer a webinar called “Your Ultimate Potential” that gets you to this state of peace.
• EPFX Quantum Biofeedback sessions – Another option for stress relief is an EPFX Quantum Biofeedback distance session, which is a painless and non-invasive look at reactions to common stressors related to the physical, emotional and spiritual bodies.
Most people find the biofeedback experience relaxing, soothing and beneficial. The side-effects of biofeedback may include these possibilities (and many more that may be experienced): ability to relax more quickly; easier to fall asleep and stay asleep; improved general health; increase in amount of calmness and peacefulness; fewer anxiety attacks; and a greater ability to manage stress and pain.
What’s important to remember is that effectively managing your stress can be a powerful weapon against serious illness. Do some experimenting to find out what method of relaxation works best for you. In the long run, it might just save your life!
