Breathe in and breathe out

Breathe in, breathe out, some day’s that’s all we can do when we are left with no other option.

Stress in itself creates such havoc on our bodies, our minds, our souls. One thing which I learned while suffering depression all those years ago was this:

If it is within my power to change something that is wrong then I have to take the actions to change it. If whatever is wrong is outside of my power, if I have no control over the situation whatsoever then I need to just move on and let it be.

This is sometimes easier said than done, more times then not I can follow this but there are times when I cannot accept this philosophy and I cannot move on and this is when it wreaks havoc on my body and I pay the price for allowing myself to let the stress take over.

How we all react to stress is somewhat individual and often I find it to be totally dependent on the situation at hand. Some days I can be totally in tune to what’s going on and what is needed to get through it, other times I simply fall into old bad habits and then correct it all a day or two later, paying the price along the way.

Stress affects physical, emotional and psychological well being. Stress affects your adrenal glands which in turn affect your hormone secretion as well as digestion; this can then lead to a whole new level of stress!

Stress often affects your blood pressure, your sleep habits, you may be sleeping more, you may be sleeping less, regardless, when stressed you are not getting a good nights sleep, meaning you probably didn’t get your brain to shut off and you may very well be “sleeping”, however not feeling very rested; and then there's the eating habits, this is always a big one!

Eating when stressed, are you eating more or eating less? Is your diet all of a sudden full of quick pick me ups like caffeine, sugar, high fat convenience foods, just to keep you going and then waiting for the ultimate crash? Or it can be the other extreme, you get stressed out and even something as simple as eating becomes a total burden to you?

Personally I tend to fall into the category of overeating and reaching for the junk food even though I know the consequences. You don’t reach a weight of 278lbs without having a food addiction and simply because I have lost that weight doesn’t mean I lost the addiction, it still lingers and still needs to be kept under control and sometimes I have to fight hard against it. I have the tools and have been using them for many years, however I have found that just because you have the tools and know how to use them, it doesn’t mean you are always that handy!

So to deal with stress today I am going to make a conscious effort to not grab the extra cup of coffee that I am so wanting to grab but stick to water, I know I will feel much better for it, I will not drive to the store and buy some chocolate (even though one half of me is saying that it will make things so much better, I know that the other half of me is correct in saying that I will pay a price for that!)  and I will try to breathe in and breathe out and not unleash a fireball at someone in my path (I said try….sometimes you gotta let it out!). And then, to finish it off I am going to the gym and I am going to kick my own ass, along with my dedicated spinners at tonight’s spin class. Nothing like some great music, great people and sweat to work off some frustrations, and its good for me, just an added bonus!

So, hope your stress levels are down and if they aren’t then I hope you are consciously making an effort to get them down, you’ll feel better for it.

Happy de-stressing!