Are you stressed?

Think this is a trick question? Well, yes and no. April is National Stress Awareness Month. As busy wives, mothers, business owners, employees, caregivers and everything else, we know stress. We struggle to balance day-to-day responsibilities to others while juggling to find time for ourselves. Stress is a good thing because of the powerful fight-or-flight hormones our bodies produce when we’re confronted with the unexpected. Our body responds with our heart beating faster, sharpened senses, blood glucose surging to invigorate us and we leap into action.

Moderate stress, resulting in a sudden burst of hormones, can help us more efficiently perform tasks and even improve our memory. However, when the hormones flood your body longer than 24 hours (long-term, chronic stress), bad things start to happen and the body gives off unhealthy signals. An overwhelmed immune system may show up as mental fogginess, frequent colds, or increased sensitivity to aches and pains. Guess that’s why my over taxed my immune system responded with a nagging cough and sore throat three times this winter. .

Stress was also the diagnosis when I experienced two vertigo episodes the day before and the day after my second breast cancer surgery. My world, literally and physically, was spinning out of control. For those who have never experienced vertigo, just imagine being stuck on a carnival ride going round and round non-stop. All that whirling and tilting causes a loss of balance and you desperately want the spinning to stop.

While we are not able to turn off harmful stress hormones, we can direct our energies into productive actions instead of feeling out of control. Tap into your creativity to find ways to de-stress.

ABC’s of stress management:

• Ask for help and stop the juggling act
• Be optimistic -  view the as glass half-full
• Call a halt to multi-tasking
• Deepen your inner core – Meditate
• Exercise – just move, it doesn’t matter what you do
• Free up time for fun
• Give yourself Permission to Play

Did you know 75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints or disorders? Write your own prescription to de-stress today by tapping into your creativity!