Holistic Stress Management
Understanding Stress

Understanding Stress and Holistic Stress Management...

Understand stress and how it affects your body.

Learn about physical symptoms of stress and how holistic stress relief techniques can help...

Holistic Stress Management through Diet and Lifestyle

Tips to Relax and De-Stress

Herbal Natural Remedies for Stress

Stress is, sadly, all too common in the modern world…If you are feeling stressed and frantic, then you are certainly not alone…

It is thought that as many as 80% of visits to doctors are stress related.

Unfortunately, conventional treatments can’t always help. There is no single drug to treat ‘stress’. So doctors will usually prescribe to treat the main symptoms:

• drugs for anxiety
• drugs for depression
• drugs for insomnia
• drugs for high blood pressure
• drugs for ulcers and acid reflux
• drugs for headaches
etc…

Anyone can see that this doesn’t actually help the stress, just covers up the symptoms. This is where holistic stress management techniques come in very handy…

Always remember to consult your healthcare provider before taking any decisions regarding your health.

Understanding Stress

• Stress, in itself, is just a natural and normal part of everyday life.
• Some stress is actually necessary:
  • to get us out of the way of an oncoming car
  • to prepare for an interview, or test
  ...for example.
  (Stress and anxiety create ’adrenaline’ which prepares us for the ‘fight or flight’ response.)
• For some people, stress is actually a really positive thing – a challenge that they love to live up to. For many people, saying ’I’m totally stressed out!’ has become a badge of honour – like saying ‘I have an important life!’
• I guess, if you are reading this page, stress is not a positive force for you. This is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about – and it certainly doesn’t mean that you are any less competent or hard working than those who thrive on stress!
• Your response to stress is an intensely personal thing.
• Your feelings of being stressed about a certain situation (for example: at work) depend on your own personal physical, mental and emotional state - at that time...

  ...as well as factors that are happening (or happened within the past months or year) in other areas of your life too – such as your:

  • family
  • relationships
  • finances
  • health
  • home
  • etc…
• Everyone is different, and everyone responds differently to stress – even to the same stressful situation!

The Physical Response to Stress

• The stress response - flooding the body with adrenaline and other stress hormones – evolved in the times where stressors (such as an attack by a wolf or a bear) were short lived.
• Physical changes occur in the body to prepare us for our instinctive response - ’fight or flight’:
  • shallow rapid breathing
  • liver releases sugar into the blood
  • adrenal glands release the stress hormone ‘adrenaline’
  • heart rate and blood pressure increase
  • digestive system shuts down, to divert energy to the muscles
  • the body shuts down other systems which are non-vital for that moment – such as the immune system
  • sweating to cool the body
• Obviously, these physical changes are great, if you are about to run away from a wolf or a bear … but if, in the modern world, your anxieties and worries are long term, then the body still has the same response mechanisms.
• Such physical responses long term can do a lot of damage to the body…
• The body becomes tired and exhausted:
  • adrenal glands are depleted
  • the digestive system works less well
  • stress hormones flood the body, making you feel tense and ‘jittery’
  • the immune system is weakened and you are vulnerable to illnesses and disease

Symptoms of Stress

• Physical symptoms of stress mean much more than just ‘feeling stressed’…
• If you experience any of the following symptoms, they may be linked to stress, and mean you should look into some holistic stress management techniques…
  • neck pain
  • back pain
  • headaches
  • migraine
  • nail biting
  • teeth grinding
  • lump in the throat
  • nervous laughter
  • trembling
  • tics
  • high blood pressure
  • ulcer
  • digestive problems
  • IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
  • hyperventilation
  • palpitations
  • sweating
  • dry mouth
  • insomnia
  • sleep disorders
  • candida
  • fainting and dizziness
  • lack of energy
  • tiredness
  • weakness
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • lack of concentration
  • feeling of withdrawal
  • crying
  • irritability
  • eating disorders
  • alcohol or drug dependence
• As if that long list wasn’t enough … stress can also make any existing illness that much worse, and will slow down any recovery.
• If you do notice any of these stress symptoms, holistic stress management techniques will be very helpful to you:
  • to address the underlying causes of your stress
  • to learn to relax
  • to cope with the stress
  • to change your attitudes and behaviours, so that stress is not so much of a problem for you

My Recommended Resources

Stress Management
Hypnosis for Stress Management

Instant Stress Relief
Wash away built-up stress with Instant Stress Relief

Stress Management Training
Stress Management Training

And Herbal Natural Remedies for Stress

You may also find the pages on natural remedies for anxiety, and finding a natural remedy for depression helpful too.

What works for you?

Do you have any tips and experiences in using holistic stress management techniques, to share? Tell us about your experiences...

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