Health Appeal

Is Stress the #1 Reason for YOUR Doctors’ Visit?

Balancing work and family - with time for myself is extremely important for my health and well-being.

This past weekend, we were enjoying time together at a neighbor’s birthday party for their child. We were all soaking up the first signs of spring warmth as we caught up with the neighbors. While watching the kids trying to pound open a Sponge-Bob pinata, I leaned back in my chair and scanned the budding citrus trees, enjoying their aromatic fragrances surrounding me. I observed a small child watching as her parents laughed at facial expressions she made as she took taste-after-taste of a dill pickle (too funny). I overheard a nurse talking shop with her friends. At first I was not listening enough for details, but a moment later, I heard her say “…stress is probably responsible for more than half their of patients’ visits.”

“More than Half of the visits??” I had heard this before, but when it came from someone who works in the medical profession, I stopped and listened. This was something that I could definitely relate to.

We know we can’t avoid stress. Even the quick fixes our pharmaceutical companies constantly invent (not to mention the side effects) won’t matter if we don’t learn to control it. But, we CAN learn ways to better balance our daily life stresses. We only need to take a few moments to discover what causes it, and what you can do to manage it.

Some signs of stress can be easily recognized: tension headaches, digestive problems, worry-caused sleep disturbances, irritability and overeating. These can all be signs of overload. Left unattended, these can lead, or contribute to a variety of problems from body aches and discomforts, to depression or anxiety attacks, or even worse, heart related issues.

Dealing with stress is essential for healthy immune function. And, you’ve probably made it a habit to ignore the signs your body gives you. Instead of making changes - you ask your body to push a bit harder. Even if you start to pay attention to these signals, you may find yourself asking, how you can stop this vicious cycle? Well, when you feel stress coming on, take a look at some simple steps that I found to start you in the right direction:

• Improve your mood with a favorite color. I’ll dig deep in my closest to find that one shirt that makes me feel better. Be creative! What do you like?
• Get enough water. This one is a challenge for a lot of people, but improving hydration can help with moodiness and create clearer thinking.
• Build energy with healthier eating and proper nutrition.
• Listen to music to unwind before bed. Headphones work great here.
• Trade your afternoon coffee for a short walk. Connect with the season around you. This is especially nice now that Spring has arrived.

These simple tips can become a new habit. Replacing the ‘I don’t have time for…‘ with ‘what would make me happy right now?’ can happen with ease. You’ll soon be feeling better, clearer. You may actually find yourself smiling more, even enjoying everyday tasks.

I am no different. Just last year I was spiraling out of control because of stress. I was suffering from headaches, worry-related sleep problems (pacing the house in the middle of the night), frequent heartburn and more. I had become an unhappy person unable to deal with life as it came along. I was quickly heading towards depression - all due to stress. I stopped taking time for me, and was always dwelling on everything else. Something had to change, and soon!

Well, it did. I found a way to help manage my stress. With a few of these techniques listed above, I am happy to say that I feel that I am now back in control of my life. I take care of myself, and I now have a hobby. And, I’ve added a nutritional supplement to my regular diet. I can’t emphasize just how important this step is, as getting the proper nutrition is critical, and will help your body help itself - without the need for prescription or over-the-counter medications. Nutrition is an essential component. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I didn’t want to end up on maintenance medications for the rest of my life!

Now, I am far from perfect, but I do try to eat healthier, decrease the amount of coffee and sodas from my diet, and I drink more water. As a result, I now sleep better, have few (if any) headaches, no digestive problems, and I feel overall healthier and happier. It’s amazing how your attitude will change when you feel great! Matter of fact, I haven’t even caught a cold since I made these changes. All because I almost hit rock bottom! But I started paying attention to my body signs before it was too late, and I did something about it.

Please don’t wait until it is too late. If you recognize yourself or someone you love as suffering from stress - act now. Change something. Do something to help your body help itself! And remember…

…Nutrition and Attitude is the key to better health!

For more information on the supplement that I recommend, please visit our website: http://www.gojihealthappeal.com

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.