Tips for Dealing with Stress
Stressful home situations or working at a job that makes you crazy can lead to weight gain; as can caregiver stress, a hectic lifestyle, unresolved personal conflict and a multitude of other stressors. Stress itself can directly induce weight gain via cortisol and insulin reactions, but it also indirectly causes us to lose focus on our eating and exercise.
Over and over we see people losing weight, then some life event occurs and weight regain begins. All of us will face stress of varying degrees throughout our life. It is so important to learn strategies to cope with stress without turning to food.
The following is a summary of an article written in the Huffington Post. Questions were asked of a Dr. Quebbemann and a number of other experts in the field of stress management, and they gave solutions for coping with stress.
• Stress reduction through activity helps you feel more relaxed and keeps your metabolism from tanking.
• Plan stress-relieving activities. "Make a list of things you enjoy (a walk, bubble bath, reading) that make you feel less stressed." Then try to fit in one of the activities each day — though don't try to cram in all the relaxing activities at once. You can end up adding stress if you pressure yourself into trying to do it all.
• When possible, avoid things that cause stress. Stress happens as a part of life. You can't control things like unexpected illnesses or a rude daughter-in-law. But take note of the things that stress you out that are under your control, and try to avoid them when you can. These could include skipping anxiety-inducing TV shows before bed, or emailing and texting late at night. Turn off your phone after a certain time. Late night eating can also stress the body. "Eating ice cream at night may feel good in the moment but then it disrupts your sleep, makes you thirsty and results in fatigue the next day.”
• Practice self-hypnosis. "Hypnosis is used for many different things, but relaxation and stress reduction tops the list,” says Colin Christopher, a clinical hypnotherapist and author of "Success through Manipulation: Subconscious Reactions that Will Make or Break You."
Here's how to do it: Get in a quiet location. Dim the lights and keep the mood dark to relax your eyes and mind. Inhale deeply from your diaphragm (stomach area), hold for three seconds, and exhale slowly through your lips, dropping your shoulders as you breathe out.
Recite a memorized sentence that makes you feel good. Two examples are: "I am relaxed and in control,” and "I feel good, healthy, rejuvenated and relaxed.”
Close your eyes and think of a time where you felt really relaxed, or of a situation that makes you feel relaxed, i.e. sitting on the beach.
If your body is tense, do some muscle relaxation exercises. Start from the feet and work your way to your head. Tighten the muscles in each part of the body for a few seconds, then release and feel the tension disappear. (Consider visiting a clinical hypnotherapist for a professional hypnotherapy session for relaxation.)
• Put worry in perspective. The way you respond to stress is key and may be a long-ago learned behavior, says Christine Moll, a member of the American Counseling Association. "You can begin to relax by consciously trying to view stressors with a new perspective or balance.” Ask yourself, ‘Where does this fit into my life?' If you find it's a small or trivial matter — something that won't affect your life in a major way — try to let it go.
• Take a walk in the woods. Walking on its own helps relieve stress, but walking in the woods is shown to be even better at reducing stress, according to Dr. Aaron Michelfelder, professor of family medicine at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "When we get to nature, our health improves,” Michelfelder said.
When we walk in a forest or park, our level of natural killer cells (which fight cancer) increase, and it lowers our pulse rate, blood pressure and level of the stress hormone cortisol. Spend time in nature and feel yourself unwind.
• Meditate. Just 10 to 15 minutes of meditation a day can make a difference, says Kathy Gruver, author of "Conquer Your Stress with Mind/Body Techniques." "Do mini meditations if you ‘can't' meditate or don't have time.” Simply concentrate on your breath and on the inhale think, "I am.” On the exhale think, "at peace.” And repeat while focusing on your inhalation and exhalations. Start with five minutes and work your way up to 20 or 30 minutes a day.
• Be mindful. Being in the moment helps relieve stress by taking the focus off anything outside of that moment. So while performing daily activities — dishwashing, brushing your teeth, showering, etc. — Gruver recommends using concentration and curiosity. "Really feel the water on your hands, smell the lemony soap, watch that bubble float out of the sink and then it pops with a small spray of water... this makes any activity a meditation and pulls us into the present moment,” she says.
Work on a few or all of these ideas constantly, until they become habit. We must learn not to turn to food to feed our mood.
Learn to cope with the 'bumps in the road' that occur when trying to improve your health through better eating and exercise.
We need to develop these habits in the long term to be successful.
You can do it. Just never give up trying!
Dr. Doug