Mind & Body
By Michelle Govan
stress and know the impact that it had on my
health and my marriage. I had to step back and
reprioritize my life because I didn’t want stress to
jeopardize my health or life any more. Most of
the time, it isn’t our daily/busy lives, but
something more intrinsic. Once we identify the
stressor, we can then deal with it. Just like with
any enemy, when you identify the weak area,
you attack. That’s what you want to do with
stress. However, your plan may not work for
someone else because what causes you stress,
may minimally affect someone else. Stressors
are just as individualized as we are, so
understanding what you experience when you
are under pressure will help keep your stress under control. With this month being Stress Awareness Month, take time to identify areas that you
need to manage your stress because you don’t
want it to impact your health, finances, relationship or work.
Hair loss, sleepless nights, increased blood
pressure, decreased work productivity, ulcers,
irritability, increase or decrease in weight loss.
Some of these things can be experienced if you
are under the attack of that insidious enemy
called STRESS. Stress is a Silent Killer and its
tentacles can reach into many areas of our lives
including finances, relationships, work, as well as
our health. As Soldiers in Stilettos, it behooves
us to be aware of stressors because chronic
stress compromises our immune systems. It has
been reported that approximately 75-90% of
primary doctors visits have some root in stress.
Stress can set off a chain of events. First, you
have a stressful situation that's usually upsetting
but not harmful. The body reacts to it by releasing a hormone, adrenaline, that causes your
breathing and heart rate to speed up and your
blood pressure to rise. These physical reactions
prepare you to deal with the situation by confronting it or by running away from it — the
"fight or flight" response. When stress is constant, your body remains in high gear off and on
for days or weeks at a time. This is when you
can begin to see physical manifestation of stress
through headaches, backaches, or even tight
muscles. I personally suffered from chronic
April 2014
During this Stress Awareness Month, you may be
saying, I don’t know how to combat the enemy
stress. Here are a few tips for you to begin your
assault as a Soldier in Stilettos on Stress:
Be Aware! Keep a journal, so when you begin to
experience stress write it down; what the event
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