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As promised here is Part IV of my 5-part series on stress.  I hope you enjoy my post and will leave a comment with any other ideas or advice you may have.  Thank you and enjoy your day.

Have you ever walked into the next room to get something, and then wondered what you came to get? Or maybe you have forgotten a certain word you use all the time  -  you can picture it in your head, but you just can’t think of it.  Researchers and scientists are conducting studies that say this kind of memory loss, and even Alzheimer’s, is due  to poor nutrition.  Are you able to control the stress in your life, because this is so important to the health and well-being of your life.

As a person ages, a healthy level of antioxidants is essential to balance out the negative effects free radicals have on your body.  Free radicals increase in the body by exposure to things like pollution, household chemicals, cigarette smoke, and pesticides.  Stress is also a major cause of free radicals, along with having  an infection, and even when we exercise.

Stress and overeating are very close to each other.  When you are stressed you sometimes forget to eat or eat when you aren’t even hungry.  You eat all the wrong things not thinking about the consequences or even caring for that matter.

Managing Stress

Stress comes in many forms and affects people of all ages.  We can’t predict stress  in people.   It isn’t because you have a stressful job that you have stress in your workplace, just as a parent of one child may have more stress than a parent of more than one child. The degree of stress in our lives depends on individual things such as our physical health, the quality of our relationships, the number of commitments and responsibilities we have each day, the amount of other people’s  dependence upon us,  the amount of support and kind of support we receive from friends, family and co-workers.  It is also determined by the number of changes in our lives or traumatic events that have recently occurred.

Stress isn’t always bad. In small doses, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best.  But when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price, making it time to take action to bring your nervous system back into balance.  Your body doesn’t know the difference between physical and mental  threats. When you’re stressed out because of your  busy schedule, an argument you had with a friend or spouse, a traffic jam, or overdue bills, your body reacts to that specific thing and tells you it is time to take action.  Now!

What If We Don’t Take Care of Stress

Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Some of the things that may happen from not taking care of these symptoms are high blood pressure, susceptibility to flu or colds, the increase of heart attack or stroke, and definitely the speeding up of the aging process. If  stress is not taken care of properly and as soon as possible, it can even lead to anxiety and depression.

Each of us needs to determine what causes stress for us and how we respond it.  Start a journal and write down when something makes you feel down, how you reacted to it and what you did to deal with it. Keeping a stress journal can help you find out how much stress you can handle and then you can take steps to reduce it and handle it better.

Stress can be hard to deal with by yourself and it is okay to seek help if you need it. Talk with your doctor about what you are feeling and how it is affecting you. There are specialists that can help you find ways to know what is happening with your feelings. Those persons can also help you think about ways to reduce stress in your life.  The important thing is to realize you have stress and deal with it as soon as you can.

If you liked this post I would love for you to retweet it or leave a comment and let me know what you think.   Stay tuned for part 5 coming soon.  Have a great day.

Hi this is Donna Brogan back with you, as promised with Part III of my series on stress.  I really hope you are receiving some meaningful help from these posts. Feel free to leave me a comment and let me know any ideas you may have.

What Stress Means to You

Stress is something that is in everyone’s day-to-day life.  Dealing with it is the harder part of your day.  You can reduce stress by taking your day one step at a time, not making too much of the things that happen.  Relax, breathe deeply, smile – these are things that can make your problems seem less intense.

If not avoided, stress can lead to health risks and even mental illness.  It can affect your relationships with family and friends and can even create a risk to yourself.  It must be taken care of immediately. Thinking positive will reduce the risk of being stressed out. Worrying about things we can do nothing about is also a leading cause of stress.

Stress is preventable and manageable.  It  is the number one health problem for most people. Although stress itself is not a  cause of death, the side effects from it can be.  So many things cause stress in daily life.  It can appear in the body in many ways and in many forms.  Stress is brought on differently in every person and for some people it is a debilitating disease that can ruin an entire life.

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I hope you enjoyed Part I of my 5 part series on stress.  Here is Part II.  Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.  I would love to know what stress you may be dealing with and how you handle it.

So many people have stress-related illnesses.  How can anyone not have stress with all that goes on in the world today.  We constantly are dealing with something, whether it be with our job, home or family member.

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STRESS  that is!  Can you handle what comes your way or do you need to seek help?  I would like to share a 5-part study of stress with you.  I hope you will benefit from this series, either for yourself or maybe for a family member or friend.   Please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think and how stress has affected you.

Exactly what is stress?

That is a very hard question to answer because there are so many kinds of stress and the entire body and mind can be affected  in so many different ways.

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It seems that the real Christmas meaning has been lost these days, “the reason for the season” in one way, is to have more time to rush from store to store, spending all your pay! Shouldn’t it be ‘Tis the season to be thankful and grateful for all we have and to think about those who don’t?  To share with others and pray for those who can’t?

Then I thought, “What is it about the Christmas Season that brings out the worst, causing us to lose all, rhyme and reason?”  It begins the day after Thanksgiving when someone grabs the last sale item from the shelf, knocking down several people without even knowing it . The very day after they were sitting at their table saying how thankful they were for all they had. And yet, they were all out the very next day grabbing for more.  What happened to that thankfulness?  That story was told more than once this week, but the beauty of the Season, not once did they speak.

Then I thought of my childhood days when the season was filled with mirth, and how we planned together to celebrate the Birth.  Credit cards were a luxury only the rich could afford, and there were no Wal-Marts and shopping centers galore.

My mother would sometimes spend months crocheting a shawl, or knitting and sewing gifts for us all.  I would have that beautiful new dress I wanted to wear my first day back to school after the holiday.  My dad would work long hours for extra pay so we could have one special gift under the tree on that special day.  My mother would stuff my Dad’s big socks with nuts, fruit and some candy for each of us.  We were so grateful and happy for that toy and sock.  We were a big family that shared a lot, but there was always room for one more potato in the pot. And it seemed that there was always an extra person or two at our table to share that potato.

On Christmas Eve the only pushing and shoving I can retrace, was to see who could get the closest to the warmth of the fire.  In those days we had one car that was for us all, and there were no cell phones to interrupt with a call.  We had one pair of shoes to do for the week, and a special pair for Sunday that made us feel sheik.  The same was true of our coveralls, while mother cut our hair, and at times left us bald.  No hair salons for us.

While today, our hi-tech hustle and bustle leaves us in a whirl and many have forgotten the One that came to save the world.  Celebrate with me right now, “the reason for the season;” lift up a prayer and praise to God for that baby that was born, and our Savior that was raised.

Let’s say that extra prayer that peace will abound in the world and our servicemen and women will be safe away from their families and know just how much they are loved and admired, not only by their loved ones but by all of us who are free today because of the legacy that has been left by all men and women of all branches of the services,  who have faithfully served our country in all wars.

Thank you God for this beautiful world and the people in it,  from all walks of life.  Let us continue to prosper and help others.  We are not worthy of your greatness  God, but we will spend all eternity trying to be.  In Jesus name, we pray o’ Lord.  Amen.

You know, habits are like clothes, you wear them and they fit your personality and self-image. Some clothes make you feel like a million dollars while others make you feel dull. So  we often wear the same clothes over and over again just because we’re used to them. The same can be said for habits. Habits which include thoughts and reactions are learned. Therefore, whenever a situation arises we tend to interpret and react according to emotional responses we have previously learned.

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The quickest way to feel good about yourself and to grow in the process, is to take a risk. You have no way of knowing just how much you can do until you get out there and try. You don‘t know how far you can go until you actually find a way to get out of your comfort zone. Roger Bannister didn’t listen to the naysayers when he broke the 4 minute mile. Just because no one has ever done it before doesn’t make it impossible and you may be the very person who finally finds a way to get it done.