Stress: Look Deeper, See Further
By now, most people understand what it feels like to be stressed. In previous articles, I have explained the hormonal connection of stress, which when not tamed can lead to anxiety, insomnia and possibly depression. Individually, we all respond to stress in different ways whether it’s held in your muscles and posture, digestion, immunity, or emotional and mental stress to name just a few (tip - many people ignore the effects of emotional and mental stress).
Sadly, we often become so well acquainted with being stressed that it begins to be the norm for daily life. Consequently, you can begin to say “No, I’m not stressed”. What once might have been quite high levels of stress is then considered to be ‘OK’. Especially, given that we can look around us and see others doing the same thing! That doesn’t make it OK though, does it?
WHY WE’RE TALKING ABOUT STRESS
A common message throughout the articles for this month’s theme of ‘Banishing Stress’ is actually recognising stress within your life - how you react to stress, different approaches to healing stress and the hot tips for preventing stress. For me, Live Well is lighting up a big sign that says ‘Don’t ignore stress in your life’! Don’t accept your stress levels as they are; it’s like asking you to live a life that is second best or worse.
What do you typically view as stress - being very busy at work, run off your feet and on the go? Sure, this can indeed be stressful. However, what about stress related to troubles within an intimate or important relationship, stress related to finding a network and social circle within your community or stress around accepting and loving who you are? How about those mental loops and not being able to move forward with a thought or issue? I’d love to hear about what you find stressful and how stress affects you as this discussion will help others to see that it’s a much bigger field than they think. It’s why the word ‘stress’ has become one of the most highly searched terms online.
TIP FOR OVERCOMING STRESS
The essential oil ‘Sandalwood’ keeps showing up in clinic this October and it has a great message for everyone no matter if you believe you’re stressed or not - it’s easy to become entrenched in your own life and the story that we create. Sandalwood supports us to take a step back and reflect on what is actually happening. It’s like walking to the top of a hill to be able to gain a new perspective on things. Indeed, this is a lovely action toward mindfulness!
Your homework this week is to find a hill or mountain and climb it - the very action of looking out toward the horizon and the bigger picture will enable you to do this for the many layers of your life. Gain a new perspective, see the way through and change how you do things for the better.
