Stress. So what is it?! Well, personally for me, stress can be described as a 10 hour day behind the reception desk of the Complementary Health Care Clinic, followed by 4 patients, and cycling home (with yet more work in my rucksack) to find my 2 12 week old kittens have yet again trashed my house: pulled the washing off the radiators and knocked my beloved plants from every surface, snapping leaves off every which where. It’s a lovely sinking feeling that I am sure you are familiar with: its 8pm, I have heaps of work to do, half the populace to email, an article to write on stress management, and now, the house to clean before I can go to bed… and then, I have to get up at 5am to go to Zen Practice. Am I MAD?! Is it time to start hyperventilating yet, or to practice what I so often preach to my clients? Try to observe a work life balance… (and no, that doesn’t mean work time 90 %, playtime 10 %!)
So what is stress I hear you thinking? Well….it’s different for all of us, and we all experience it in different ways and for different reasons. Hans Seyle, the father of stress medicine and the author of The Stress of Life, described it as the non specific response of the body to any demand. Yes, of course – that’s what it is!....but does that description really mean that much to you? The stress syndrome, the body’s mechanism of defence against stress as it tries to maintain homeostasis is known as The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). The GAS has three stages: alarm and resistance (together with subsequent adaptation), followed by exhaustion. Meaning that first you become alarmed by the stressor, you try to resist it, and finally when its won (and you are working 14 hour days with no lunch break) you try to adapt to it but collapse with all the symptoms of a super stressed out personality A type – sometimes mild (warning) symptoms such as panic attacks, infertility, painful back & shoulders, insomnia or stomach cramps, but more often chronic illnesses such as ME, MS, CFS, IBS, stroke, cancer etc. Basically, what I’m really saying is that stress initially affects your immunity and your nervous system, and sustaining a high stress level can lead to all sorts of problems… so yes. Stress can make us severely ill. It’s also a key part of life, it provides the motivation for us to achieve – so we need to learn that work life balance trick which seems to be eluding a growing number of us.
So, please tell us what to do, I hear you scream!
Sorry, I can’t do that – but what I can do is give you some general advice, however it’s up to you to follow it and change your life… you can’t pass that responsibility onwards, sorry.
First, try to relax. This is the key to a stress free life (or so I’m told!!!). Most of us find this the most difficult part of stress management to achieve, and strive for years to achieve it, only very rarely succeeding. So, to help, I would suggest a relaxation CD. I only recently overcame my scepticism regarding these, but having found a good one, I’ve decided that they do actually work! For a demo of Barry Jones’ Total Relaxation (relaxation with hypnotherapy) CD log onto www.theharleystreetcollection.com and have a listen. They really are a good collection of CD’s, from a very good hypnotherapist – who comes with my highest recommendation.
Second, try to achieve the work life balance. For example, don’t come home from work and cook tea in your work clothes. Get changed into your slogs, take a small amount of time to remove your makeup (ladies!) and put down the work persona. Become you. Then cook.
Obviously nutrition is a very important part of stress management; however I would recommend you talk to an expert Nutritionalist about that – Glen Matten is the one I always refer my patients to. If you don’t want to spend £50 on personalised advice, he also runs some very popular courses on Nutrition: The Basics & Beyond every now and then at our Clinic. These are only £25 for 5 hour long seminars; as low cost as we can make them, to enable as many people to access this information as possible.
Third, ensure you have a routine around bedtime. There WAS a reason granny always used to send you to bed with a glass of hot milk and a bourbon biscuit! Being slightly older, you might want to vary the routine a little – have a nice hot and relaxing bath, add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil if you like, drink a nice cup of Chamomile, or Chamomile and Limeflowers tea (this will help those insomnia suffers out there) and most importantly, take your time. If you find it hard to get to sleep, wake unrefreshed or wake during the night (all classic signs of insomnia) then try a drop of lavender on a tissue under the pillow slip. You could also burn a drop of Chamomile Roman in an essential oil burner in your bedroom before sleeping. Make sure you purchase good quality essential oils, organic where possible. Natural by Nature are a good high street brand, or you can buy online from www.essentiallyoils.com (and be subscribed to their fascinating monthly newsletter as an added bonus).
Also… don’t switch the TV off and jump into bed within 5 minutes and expect to be able to sleep – your brain will still be processing all that visual and sound information. The same applies to reading a book (apologies to the bookworms). You should relax and be calm for at least 30 minutes before you actually get into bed if you are expecting to get any good quality kip…
Fourth, try to get away from your normal life once in a while… now people, this IS hard – no doubts about it, but once you’ve tried it, you’ll be hooked! By this, I don’t mean go to New Zealand for 3 months – although doubtless the majority would greatly love to (and it would definitely help!). What I do mean, is indulge in your hobbies; spend time doing what you enjoy. For the walkers among us, try to get away for the odd weekend and go trek up the Snowdon highway; for the readers, MAKE time to spend the entire weekend reading that book you’ve been meaning to for the last 4 months; for the gardeners, finish that bed you’ve been eyeing up since last year. You get the picture, and believe me, you’ll be surprised to see how much difference it makes and how much easier it is to do it the second time around….for a start you’ll feel much happier, and happiness has been well proven to help improve stress levels (think laughter therapy!).
Finally, spend quality time with the people you love and enjoy being with. No matter if they live halfway across the country, if you enjoy spending time with them, and it makes you happy then its worth leaving those emails for a couple of hours, or even an entire weekend in order to be happy, and be yourself. Unfortunately, in the large scale of things, although it’s often hard to recognise, YOU are the most important person, and it’s worth being selfish for a little while if it means you are going to be a happier, healthier person.
For general health and maintenance, I always recommend you take Echinacea tincture throughout the winter months – Bioforce/A Vogel is a good and reasonably priced choice at only £7.99.
If you are prone to winter bugs, colds and flu, then consider the Homeopathic Anti Cold & Flu Vaccine made up by the Natural Food Stores Homeopath, Tricia Stephenson – a fantastic alternative to the conventional flu vaccine; it’s only £5.90 for the entire seasons supply and will help to provide natural protection from all the winter sniffles.
For the stress monkey who feels very anxious and irritable, you should consider taking a good B Vitamin supplement to help maintain the nervous system (B5 is particularly good for the adrenal glands, which will be working overtime producing all those hormones).
For those of us with an inability to relax or where stress causes muscles to tense up then magnesium – also known as nature’s tranquiliser – should help you to relax and de-stress a little.
And obviously… a massage a month keeps the stressing away….!
All the supplements and products mentioned in this article can be purchased either at the Natural Food Store, 4 Exchange Street, or online at www.shop-naturally.com. Their well trained and exceptionally helpful staff also take telephone orders (when they get a second to answer the phone!) and can be reached for orders, health and supplement advice on 01603 613228.
If you are interested in the subject of stress, how it affects the body, and to an extent, its management, for further reading I’d recommend that you start with Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky (£12.99 from Amazon). It’s a good all-round guide, well written, and it’s also funny into the bargain!
Georgina Fisher BSc (Hons) MTI ITEC HFR is the Practice Manager of The Complementary Health Care Clinic and College Registrar of The Homeopathic College of East Anglia, both found at 34 Exchange Street, Norwich, NR2 1AX. Tel 01603 665173, Web www.holistic-care.com Email georgina.fisher@holistic-care.com.
George qualified in Complementary Therapies at the University of Greenwich in 2004, after completing her MTI Holistic Massage training with Christine Way (now at Inner Space) in 2001. Specialising in Aromatherapy and Stress Management, she offers a unique approach to stressed out individuals having grown up in the Complementary & Alternative Medicine industry, and then extensively training in its theory.