stress

Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts. The posts are listed in chronological order. Click the post title to read more.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013 in , , , , , , , , , ,

Improve your skin and your health while driving - 3 ways to relax in the car



We're in the middle of a tremendously busy season of work, events, and family gatherings.  Most require time going to and fro and in America's automobile culture that generally means time in your car.  This can be a big drain or a big gain depending on how you address it.

Some people stress more while driving.  Everything from getting cut off to the amount of traffic amps up the tension.  Or perhaps you're a worrier, and spend your drive time caught in a cycle of repetitive, negative thoughts about what happened at work, the barbed email you just got from your ex, or your budget.  None of this is helpful to your body and as I've covered in other blog articles on stress and your skin it can immediately detrimentally affect your skin and bring on conditions like acne, eczema, and dermatitis.

With a few easy, accessible techniques you can short circuit this car quandary and transform yourself from frazzled to beatific as you bop around town.  With the help of Sheila Fazio I tell you how in our recent video on how to "Stress Less While Driving - 3 ways to relax during your drive".

Sheila is a truly gifted healer and a beautiful soul.  I met her at a women's retreat and learned a series of powerful breathing techniques from her that were different from most of the yogic breathing I had been taught before.  Her unique experiences as a social worker combined with her own personal life challenges give her a beautiful depth, approachability, and empathy for the challenges we all face.

 Sit with us for 20 minutes and learn what you can do to make your commute conscious and take back the valuable time you spend there each day.



Saturday, November 24, 2012 in , , , , ,

The Trick to Keeping Positive (even when it's positively grueling)

Positivity.  Happiness.  Joy.  
With so many different messages pushed our direction it's no wonder we end up confused and befuddled about why we still don't have lasting happiness.  After all, it's so easy, right?

 Here's the word from a person usually seen publicly as a healing, inspirational, energetic, happy individual - Positivity is positively HARD sometimes.  Getting to happy and maintaining a light, bright mindset isn't always shiny.  In fact, sometimes it's like nails on a chalkboard, it's slogging through the mud, it's facing every icky, awful voice inside yourself and baring it in ways you might like to otherwise avoid.  It’s striving to give even when you feel like the whiny Kindergartener inside you would like to just throw a supernova style fit. 


I still struggle with the idea of whether happiness should be a constant state of being.  Sometimes I just feel sad – deeply, intensely sad, and a smile feels like an impossible feat.  I can feel like I’ve fallen pretty far down my very own little mucky hole.  The quiet of the weekends and holidays is a particularly trying time for me as it is when I am “supposed” to be happy and have fun.  Instead it feels like a giant letdown mixed up soup of stress blowout that I’ve been trying to ride through all week.  It tends to implode on me by Saturday morning.  Blah.  

Is this a personal weakness?  Does this mean I’m not nearly as spiritually secure and accomplished as I’d like to be?  Or is this acceptable and normal?  Does the Dalai Lama have “off” days?  I’m still wrestling with trying to divine answers to these things inside myself. 

What I do know is that recovering from these funkety-funk lows often takes every trick I know and they often feel like hard, hard work to a bummed out, low energy me.  Despite being a natural and holistic health advocate I often wish there were an easy way out too.  (Where did I put my magic wand?)  Recovery takes effort and often not a small bit.  Mental discipline is also the toughest at the moments when you need it the most.  

Even though I might feel like just wallowing in my lopsided mood I make myself meditate, do yoga, take a hot bath, employ some aromatherapy, repeat myself some positive mantras, fix some nourishing food that I know will boost my happy body chemistry, and what I honestly find to be most inspirational and tide-turning of all – look towards the other people in my life for a kick in the pants in the right direction.  

Chances are that with 300+ online friends someone else might be happy even while I’m feeling down.  Since I’ve surrounded myself with a large network of encouraging, intelligent, kind, growth-oriented and truth-seeking souls oftentimes my Facebook, Twitter, or blog feed has just what I’m needing that day offered by someone who was on the up-and-up with the happy vibes. 

When you’re feeling weak and low it might be time to let the smile of another bolster you.  If you have brought the right, reinforcing people into your life they’ll happily help keep you on the positive path.  Many times I have felt like others have been my guiding lights back out of the darkness, a little lifeline cast into the murky depths and towing me back to the boat.  Often all they need to do is just show they are gamely going through their days the best they can, and just by being another empathetic example I don’t feel so alone.  Sometimes like in this blog post by Juliana of the Peaceful Peacock called How to Be Courageous the message is much more direct – get up, dammit, no excuses.   

Over time the wisdom offered by friends has saved me from sadness more times than I can count.  They fill my empty cup and quaff my thirst.   

“Reach out your hand if your cup be empty.  If your cup is full may it be again.”  Robert Hunter, Ripple

Jasper Jones, a novel by Craig Silvey, features a key conversation between Charlie and his best friend about who is the better superhero, Superman or Batman.  Charlie's friend argues that Superman is better because of all his powers.  Charlie argues back that Batman is the greater hero because he’s just a regular guy who decides to do the right thing.  Because he isn’t invulnerable it is the courage to still stand against all that is evil despite being only human that elevates Batman.  I’ve kept this conversation close in my heart since reading it.  While I’m no Batman I do attempt to keep Batman style courage fervently in mind as I’m standing each day against my challenges.  I don’t have to be superhuman, I just have to keep striving.

In the end when the good side wins it’s because those who stand in hope and love never truly stand alone.  You may be out there at the forefront of your life battling your worst fears and feeling awfully exposed, but if you look just next to you I think you’ll find there’s someone else engaged in the same struggle.  They want to see you win, and the gift of continuing your own struggle is that they might see through to the victory in theirs as well.  Don’t give up, for goodness sake.  We all win when you keep at it. 
  

I’m not perfect.  I’m not even positive all the time.  But dang it I’m out here trying.  My deepest gratitude goes to those who have gone before me as my teachers and guides.  Because of  your light my way has been a little brighter and my progress more possible.  I hope I can cast a line for a few others and pay the positive forward.  Soul warriors, spirit seekers, troubadours, lovers, and those awakening to all the possibilities – you’ve got a friend, and I hope that brings you Happiness.


Monday, February 21, 2011 in , , , , , , , , , , ,

Solutions for Stress and Skin Problems

Stress is a culprit for all kinds of problems and in today's society is rampant in our everyday lives. Our stress systems were really not designed to be used on such a constant basis. Even as recently as just a century ago people might have more commonly felt their emergency reserves kick into action in situations where life and limb were truly threatened. A bear attack, a bad fall, or perhaps combat situations would have all been legitimate times to activate extra resources and take emergency action. 
 

With the fast pace of the modern world people encounter stress situations on an almost constant basis. They may not be as extreme but they produce a lower level, ongoing response in our bodies. Battling traffic to get to work on time, getting an email from your boss about a deadline, and filling out paperwork for your child's school applications are all things that can pop us into emergency gear and activate our stress responses. We are busier than ever and everything from the daily news to our personal lives is responsible for the onslaught.
You may know some of the physiological effects of stress. One is increased heart rate and blood pressure. Many people are living life with both of these much higher than normal levels on a constant basis. Another part of the stress response is the release of a myriad of hormones including a steroid class called glucocorticoids.

The steroid type compounds released during the stress response have a function in activating and shutting down various activities in the immune system so that the body theoretically has the right white blood cells available to defend against potential infections. One of the effects of these compounds according to research done by Dr. Peter Elias of the University of San Francisco is that they decrease the skin's permeability barrier, which is what keeps needed skin components in and the exterior world out. It also increases inflammation in the under layers of tissue. What is the long term effect of this? Acne in some and eczema and dermatitis in others, depending on to which conditions your individual body is most susceptible.

With the permeability function of the skin compromised the acne bacteria have a much easier time replicating. Add to that increased sweating due to the stress response, and pores that may already be blocked or partially obscured become an immediate site for trouble. Part of the skin's natural defense is the acid mantle. If this breaks down and a more alkaline environment occurs on the skin the acne bacteria are also more prone to grow.

Topical treatments alone may not be your best bet to deal with this problem, which could be one reason that acne and other skin issues are difficult to remedy for some people - they may not be treating the root cause. Dr. Elias found in his study with mice that changing their physical environment helped alleviate the stress. The alternative was to administer tranquilizers, which calmed the stress and the skin's aggravated responses.

So what can YOU do?

Change your physical response to your environment.
Stretching and deep breathing are tremendous tools. Even 15 to 30 minutes of yoga combined with yogic breathing can lower blood pressure, stimulate circulation, and flush toxins from the body. This can short circuit the stress response and keep the flareup from getting worse. I personally take yoga breaks in the afternoon to help work out the kinks from sitting at my computer all day. I come back to the desk refreshed and ready to refocus. I am not an advanced yogi but the benefits come even with the simplest poses as long as you really put yourself into the activity.

Drink herbal tea to help with your stress level.
Teas are easy to prepare and available at any health store. They are vastly preferrable to sugary sodas and instead of increasing the unhealthful load on your body they will actually help your body heal and cope.
Chamomile is, of course, the standby for calming especially at nighttime. Another herb that would be helpful in your teas is Rhodiola. It is an adaptogenic herb and helps the body adjust to periods of stress. Additionally it will not make you sleepy and has actually been shown to increase cognitive function, an added benefit for busy people.

Take more potent relaxative herbs such as Kava Kava and Valerian.
These may be best taken as a capsule. (Valerian is pretty stinky in its raw herb form) Kava relaxes the muscles in the body without giving a lot of brain fog and for most people small amounts can be taken for a short period with no problems. Valerian is a sedative and helpful for restful sleep. If you have questions about how these herbs might work with your current medications I always recommend checking in with a naturopath to talk about your individual situation as some herbs do have contraindications. These would be safe for many people though, and are very effective at what they do.

Aromatherapy is a great, noninvasive way to combat stress.
My company Blissoma makes a Stress Relief Serum that is very helpful as a topical aid: http://www.iriestar.com/stress_relief_serum.html
A bath filled with an herb tea and 20 or so drops of essential oil would be great. Soaking helps moderate blood pressure.

For topical treatments you can incorporate a clay product for intensive, on-the-spot help. 
Clays can be a great, nonirritating way to clear pores and remineralize the skin as well. Because a mask is applied and left on the skin for a prolonged period of time it has a chance to work on the skin intensively. Blissoma also makes a clay mask that is wonderful for this purpose, our Refine Clay Renewal Treatment. http://iriestar.com/refine_clay_renewal_treatment.html

This can be applied to facial and body acne. It is gentle and yet very active at what it does. It contains Willowbark which is a known source of natural salicins, which combat acne.

All these are lifestyle changes that can help you address your acne problems thinking of the total cause-effect cycle. Working on your overall stress level will have many other health benefits as well. Once your "fight or flight" response is deactivated the steriod hormones associated with the stress response decrease rapidly, meaning you can see results quickly and prevent further problems. Clearer skin and a clearer mind await.


Monday, January 21, 2008 in , , , , , , , , , ,

Stress Less and Stay Well - Aromatherapy Winter Wellness #2


The other day as I was swiping my nose and snuffling through congestion I thought to myself this has certainly been one of my sickest winters in a long time. I am largely convinced that this is due to the fact that Tru has started preschool and has been little more than a walking petri dish. She has been sick with something at least every few weeks, and as mom I get the lovely job of sleeping with the unhappy, germ-infested child. It isn't easy to avoid catching whatever she might have when she is breathing on me all night... I try valiantly but it is a difficult fight to win.

There are many things that can make us susceptible to germs. Stress has been getting some attention in recent years as a cause of chronic illnesses as well as the average cold. All of us are affected by stress in some way. How we manage it can help stave off the sniffles or something much more serious like cancer. The Garvan Institute in Australia was responsible for correlating a key stress hormone called neuropeptide Y (NPY), and its interference with immune response.

According to their website, and related articles on Wikipedia neuropeptide Y is a hormone that is released from neurones when the body is under stress. Neuropeptide Y is also involved with the activation of immune cells that are our first line of defense against pathogens. The immune cells activate the lymph nodes, where the body's response to the pathogen is determined. If NPY is being emitted on a chronic and regular basis it deactivates the second phase of the immune response that would actually eliminate the invaders. The immune system has a cycle that must be followed and reset. That reset is not possible if the initial hormones remain elevated.

Sheldon Cohen, a psychologist for Carnegie Mellon University has been able to correlate stress with the onset of depression and worsening of cardiovascular disease. View an article about his research on Science Daily . His research encompassed 2 facets of why stress impacts health: behavioral, and hormonal. The behavioral aspect has to do with the fact that stressed people often do not take proper care of their bodies - indulging in greater excesses of drinking, food, and smoking and not sleeping or exercising properly. The hormonal aspect is exactly what the Garvin institute was concerned with.

If you read my post about scent and memory during the holidays you'll probably remember that scent affects the limbic system. The limbic system is directly linked to your adrenal gland, the pituitary and hypothalamus. These glands function together to control crucial functions like heart rate, breathing, mood, and, yes, stress. This is a key part of your "fight-or-flight" response. You sense your environment, the body prepares itself for action, and you act based on your excitement, fear, or happiness. The scent of smoke, for example, should provoke you to move quickly to evade fire. This system was not designed to be in a state of constant excitement. Much like the "Little Boy Who Cried Wolf", if you are constantly under stress your system may not be functioning well when you really need it the most. Pathogens represent a specific kind of stress to the body. To be able to fight them off we need all our body's resources available.

So, what can you do?
Check out my next post on how essential oils can help you reduce stress and stay well.

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