Stress Management
Fight Or Flight Stress Response (Maximum Health & Healing Book)
Stress
The word “stress” represents a very multifaceted, complex issue that is very costly in terms of health and resources. And the cost is rising. Globally 3 in 5 doctor visits are said to have stress origins. Here in America 2/3 of all doctor visits are stress related, as 85% of all diseases have some stress related roots. Women are among the hardest hit especially in the work place. One in four mothers who work full time have children under 13, 23% of them who are executives who report feeling “super stressed.” Overall 30% of all American workers report feeling highly stressed. This is reported to cost America $300 billion per year in stress related compensation claims. There is no way of knowing just how many Americans actually die from stress, but stress has been directly linked to 6 of the 10 leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. But what exactly is stress and what can we do about it?
What is it?
Stress is in fact, a change in our chemistry that coincides with perceived threat. Sometimes called “fight or flight,” stress response allows humans the capacity to adapt their chemistry to better react to any perceived threat. The entire body elevates it’s potential for reaction to either fight against, or flee from danger more powerfully and swiftly than normal chemistry will allow for. We’ve all heard those stories about grandmothers who lift cars off of their grandchildren. Stress chemistry is designed to save our lives during rare occasions, but nowadays many of us are living in that state full time. This full time hormonal “overdrive” is what causes our symptomatic wear and tear from stress: anxiety, tension, headaches, insomnia, and depression.
What are some safe effective natural solutions?
Diet is of the utmost importance when it comes to offsetting the ravages of stress. First, it is important to prevent stress chemistry overload by avoiding those foods that can cause and increase it. The foods that must be avoided are: caffeine, sugar, highly processed prepackaged foods, foods with additives and food coloring, tobacco and alcohol. Some of these foods may feel as though they alleviate stress when first consumed, but in the long run will they will exacerbate stress chemistry. Among the most important foods that can help reverse stress chemistry are: lean proteins (free range poultry, wild salmon, halibut, sea bass, beans and legumes), organic fruits and vegetables, and high fiber whole grains such as brown rice and oatmeal. Finally, there are a number of natural food supplements that can be of great help. Among the best “stress buster” supplements are: Magnesium (Natural Calm), Passion flower tincture, L-Tryptophan, Gaba, 5 HTP, and Inositol. These are all readily available at health stores, and may be safely taken as directed. There are however some contraindications for those on prescriptive SSRI’s.
