How Stressed Are You Anyway? 6 Common Responses to Stress and What You Can Do About Them.
How does your stress add up for you? Are you more stressed than usual? Are you more stressed than your friends and family?
Does everything seem to be an emergency? In other words, is your stress becoming out of control? Do you feel as if you need to see a professional for help controlling your stress response?
Is getting back and forth to work stressful for you? Is your work situation stressful? Many of our stress responses can be planned for and, hopefully, controlled.
If you develop the habit of staying tuned to your body, you can become aware of upcoming stress before things get out of control. Your physical body will send you signals. What are they?
DO YOU CLENCH YOUR MUSCLES? This is easy to check out. Begin by checking your body for clenched muscles. Begin at the top of your head and work your way down to your toes. Favorite stress spots for many people are jaws and teeth, neck and shoulders, fists, lower spine, and feet.
DO YOU GRIND YOUR TEETH? Many people do this when they are stressed. This habit carries over to your sleep for some.
DO YOUR HANDS GET COLD? Generally speaking, your cold hands indicate a stressed body. To test whether your hands are cold or not, hold one of your hands on your neck. If it is cooler than your body, you are probably stressed.
ARE YOU SWEATING? It can be that you are overheated. But, sweating can also be an indication that you are stressed. As humans, we sweat when we are in a protection mode. If you find yourself sweating, ask yourself what is causing this situation.
IS YOUR PULSE RACING? If you are not exerting yourself and your pulse is racing, you are most probably stressed. What is happening?
DO YOU REWIND THE SAME THOUGHT ENDLESSLY? This is a common human condition. When we are upset about something, we rewind the same concern for minutes, hours, days. Like a stuck record, we think about the same thing over and over and over.
A good thing to do is realize that you have a situation upsetting you. Once you realize what the cause may be, you can seek a solution.
Can you brainstorm with a friend or colleague to find a solution. For example, you may have a difficult commute to and from work. Can you take a bus or train instead of driving?
It may be that your situation is too much for you to handle alone and you need to seek professional help to identify your stressor and then deal with it. If that is the case, go for it! You will be much better off when you find a solution to your problem.
Meanwhile, there are a couple of generic things you can do which will help until you begin your therapy. These things include
MEDITATION – Spend a few minutes each day meditating . This should help you cope with your situation while promoting a positive attitude. You can take a meditation class or find or write guided meditation focusing on your situation.
Either way, meditation promotes homeostasis which can only help because it promotes the balance of all your body systems.
TAKE INVENTORY DAILY. A good thing to do is to take an inventory daily of the things in your life which might affect you today. This inventory will help you prepare for all the little things which add up to stress. This inventory will include things which are not necessarily major sources of stress. But they are there – waiting to happen. Being aware of them in advance helps.
With a little practice, this inventory can help reduce your stress levels daily. More tips will follow in future blog posts. Your goal is to try them out and choose the ones which work best for you.
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Allergies are a Spiritual Problem for Many of us
Spiritually, you (and all allergy sufferers) are having a power struggle experience. You battle inflammation, a major cause of disease in humans. Spiritual challenges plague you all year.
Work on accepting your world as safe and friendly. Seek your spiritual peace. You are annoyed and aggravated by other people and you worry about giving away your power. This challenges forgiveness when you blame others for negativity.
Allergies present year-round spiritual challenges. Many of your diseases can be food-based, but few allergies are food-based. Most allergy sufferers experience asthma, hay fever, sinusitis.
Pollen, animal dander, dust mites, mold usually cause many of your allergies. Even though few allergies are food-based, some foods commonly causing allergies include peanuts, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish, eggs, and milk. You can have allergies to bee and wasp stings. Sometimes these allergic reactions can be serious. Finally, you can have an allergic reaction to medications. A common medication causing an allergic reaction is penicillin.
Allergies are increasing. Common culprits are said to be increased stressful lifestyles, overexposure to food additives, insecticides, and synthetic chemicals.
Children risk developing allergies. Sometimes childhood allergies are outgrown. Finally, if you have asthma, you risk developing allergies.
Congestion, runny nose, nasal itching, and sneezing are irritating and persistent. To make matters worse, there is no real cure for allergies. The power struggle is yours.
Depending on the allergy, your symptoms may include hives (food or drug allergies). Your lips and tongue may swell (food or drug allergies). You may have a rash (drug, skin), or itching (hay fever, bug bite, drug allergies, skin allergy). If you have allergies, visit a reflexologist weekly. These sessions can also include Reiki and chakra healing. Using reflexology sessions to successfully treat allergies requires a strong commitment, not just a few visits. But, it’s no different with the reflexologist than with the allergist and the ENT specialist.
I received Reiki and reflexology sessions regularly for years and can vouch that going to the allergist and the ENT would never have been as successful without the regular reflexology and Reiki sessions to facilitate homeostasis. These regular sessions offered me a minor detox, and helped me get rid of the mucus. They helped manage my allergy side effects during treatment.
I’m convinced they both lessened and prevented sinus or hay fever attacks.
Regular reflexology and Reiki sessions prevent attack before they start.
If your allergies are still challenging with regular medication and reflexology, it’s time to visit an allergist. Allergists desensitize your allergies with weekly injections.
I’ve experienced allergy shots four different times in my life and can vouch for their effectiveness and lasting protection.
What is the source of your allergy? Get rid of it!
If you are sensitive to indoor allergens, use dust mite covers on mattresses and pillows. Eliminating house dust is important. Discard the curtains, stuffed animals, throw rugs. Wash your human and pet bedding often. Ditch the scented candles.
A good basic question is to ask: “Do I really need these dusty curtains, stuffed animals, throw rugs?”
Pets are often a source of allergic reactions. You shouldn’t have to give up your pets because you have allergies. You can reduce the allergens. It’s not as challenging as it seems.
Brush and bathe your pet weekly in hypoallergenic shampoo.’
Cats are easy to bathe too. All you have to do is avoid letting your cat hear the splashing water.
If your dog is long coated, consider having the coat trimmed short.
Some dog breeds who should not be cut down: collies, Labrador retrievers, shelties.
Regular visits to a professional groomer will help. Let the groomer know about your allergies. A good groomer will use special shampoos, special brushing and drying techniques to remove as much hair/coat dander as possible in a groom shop.
Better yet, find a groomer who comes to your home. Van groomers drive up to your home, take your pet out to the groom shop in the van and return your pet an hour or so later minus the extra coat, allergens, and anything else causing your allergic reactions.
Vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture frequently. Clean air filters regularly. Roaches and mice must go.
Use only products on your home, pets, car, and workplace which you are not allergic to. I clean my home, car, pets, and myself with Dr. Bronner’s soaps. I even use Dr. Bronner’s soap in my washing machine.
In the end, my home and pets are cleaner with the special products I use. I’m healthier because I have fewer respiratory problems. My life is less stressful.
I’m careful about shampoos and makeup. And, frankly, I use minimal makeup.
You’ll save money in the long run by consulting with a capable otolaryngologist and an allergist. Allergy shots are a natural method of desensitizing that can be effective for years.
I was eight years old the first time my mother took me to an allergist. She took me to see Dr. Russell Guill in Kerrville, Texas. Dr. Guill was a pediatrician who got his second speciailty I got allergy shots for three years that time. The desensitizing effects for this first round lasted for many years.
The last time I got a round of allergy shots, I was a Dr. Furst patient in Fairfax, Virginia. His specialties were otolaryngology and allergy. For me, this man was a near miracle worker. The entire time I was his patient, I had no sinus infections and few allergy attacks.
Recently, I’ve begun to get allergy desensitization through dr. Korbutz in Red Hook. Recently, I waited too long for this current round because I had two serious sinus infections that probably could have been prevented or diminished with weekly allergy injections.
After this second sinus infection which really was severe, I eagerly drive to Red Hook weekly for the shot. Only, it isn’t one. Every Tuesday afternoon I get two injections, one in each arm.
I’m grateful to every physician who gave me the shots throughout my life. Taking allergy shots may seem like a lot to do to get rid of allergies. But, over time, a better quality of life emerges. You’ll spend less money on over-the-counter preparations and prescription medications.
If you’re groaning because of your dread of injections, don’t even bother. The needles are so small, I never feel them.
CHAKRA:
Allergies are both fourth chakra imbalance.
REFLEXOLOGY SYSTEMS TO WORK:
respiratory system, immune system, sinuses, digestive system, endocrine system, liver and solar plexus
ESSENTIAL OILS:
eucalyptus, German or Roman chamomile, lavender, peppermint, tea tree
THINGS TO TRY:
Wash your shower curtain in hot water, Dr. Bronner’s soap and bleach monthly. If this seems like too much work, change your curtain monthly and discard the old one. Declutter your home by discarding anything you haven’t used in two or more years. Things you haven’t used are sitting around collecting dust and mold which you don’t need. Put a shelf by your front door and encourage everyone coming into your home to leave their shoes and boots outside. This keeps mold and outside dust and dirt outside the door.
FOODS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR DIET
Apples, berries, black tea, garlic, fresh fruits, garlic, kefir, leafy greens, lemon balm, mackerel, onions, oregano, red grapes, rosemary, salmon, sardines, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, tuna, fresh vegetables, walnuts, wheat germ, yogurt
QUESTIONS TO ASK
How can I create effective boundaries? What makes me afraid?
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
angel with cat
Sleep for a Healthy Lifestyle
As a reflexology practitioner, it’s important that you stay as healthy as possible. When you take care of your body, you inspire your client partners to take care of theirs.
Many conditions lurk unnoticed for years to develop in the body before they are recognized for what they are: diseases that, in the early stages, are seen as fatigue, headaches, insomnia.
But, whatever these conditions are called, they are actually ongoing health issues that no one has solved. Often, we just ignore these problems.
“I just need to learn to live with this……” is a remark I hear often. The problem is common, persistent, chronic.
Now is the time to see these issues for what they are and take steps to deal with them before they become full blown, serious, illnesses. Look at yourself:
Do you look healthy?
Do you feel healthy?
Do you have enough energy for all the things you want to do each day?
Do you sleep well?
Do you have digestive issues?
Do you feel toxic?
Make 2017 the year you turn your life around.
Begin by learning to get enough sleep.
The first step in a healthy sleep is having a healthy sleeping environment.
Do you or your sleep partner snore? This can rob you of hours and hours of sleep, necessary to good health. People don’t realize it but snoring can be a symptom of sleep apnea, a serious medical condition which contributes to Alzheimer’s. So, today, begin to address the snoring.
Snoring is not always expensive to treat. So, make your first step to a healthy year, a trip to a physician to address any and all snoring and sleep issues.
The second thing to do is declutter the sleep space. Move the home office into another room. Move the TV out. The bedroom is for sleeping and sex. Everything else goes in another part of your home or apartment.
About an hour before you are ready to go to bed, begin to calm yourself down. Prepare your body to sleep.
Taking sleeping pills is not the answer.
Instead, don’t watch television or play video games immediately before sleep. Attend fewer evening meetings.
Is your bed comfortable? Do you have enough blankets? How about the pillows?
What is your most comfortable sleep position? Do you sleep better on your stomach or are you a sleeper who prefers to be face up? Do your bed, bedding, and pillows encourage a healthy sleep every night?
Finally, schedule sufficient hours to sleep. You need at least eight hours of sleep in order to get the optimum energy and rejuvenation out of your body the next day.
One thing you can do to improve your sleep situation is to receive a reflexology session weekly. People universally claim that regular reflexology encourages better sleep. So, while you are offering reflexology sessions to your client partners to encourage their improved sleep, schedule reflexology sessions for yourself. At least, that way, you’ll know exactly how wonderful a reflexology encouraged sleep really feels.
Make it a habit to offer self-reiki therapy to encourage sleep. Teach reiki therapy to your client partners so they can give themselves sessions as they go to bed at night.
One of the secrets to a healthy body is sufficient sleep on a continued basis. Share this secret with your client partners!
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Thanks!
Thurman Greco
