How to naturally overcome stress

How to naturally overcome stress

A guide to better health

By Jules Gregory

How to naturally overcome stress 2

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The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of thedate of publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, theauthor reserves the right to alter and update his opinion based on newconditions. While every attempt has been made to verify the information inthis report, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume anyresponsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people ororganizations are unintentional. The report is for informational purposes only.

© 2012 Jules Gregory & Julian Freeman


Introduction:

It’s a proven fact that stress is the biggest single cause of death and disease in the modern World; Even more than smoking and heart disease!

Stress is your body’s natural reaction to any kind of demand that disrupts life as usual. In small doses, stress is good; Like when it helps your conquer a fear or gives extra endurance and motivation to get something done. But there’s also bad stress, which is often caused by worries such as our money, jobs, relationships or health, whether it be sudden and short or long-lasting. Feeling stress for too long, whether for several hours, days or months, sets off your body’s warning system of physical and emotional alarms.

When faced with chronic stress and an overactivated autonomic nervous system, people begin to see physical symptoms. The first symptoms are relatively mild, like chronic headaches and increased susceptibility to colds. With more exposure to chronic stress, however, more serious health problems may develop. These stress-influenced conditions include, but are not limited to:

• depression• diabetes• hair loss• heart disease• hyperthyroidism• obesity• obsessive-compulsive or anxiety disorder• sexual dysfunction• tooth and gum disease• ulcers• cancer

In fact, most it’s been estimated that as many as 90% of doctor’s visits are for symptoms that are at least partially stress-related!

“Your body's stress reaction was meant to protect you. But when it's constantly on alert, your health can pay the price” - Mayo Clinic



We all suffer from stress at some point in our lives, but armed with the knowledge that if it is allowed to go unchecked it will undoubtedly have an adverse affect on our health, we must learn to recognise when stress is becoming a problem and find useful ways to reduce it’s impact on our lives.

Recognising the symptoms of stress:

Your body’s stress warning signs tell you that that something isn’t right. Much like the glowing orange, “check engine” light on your car’s dashboard, if you neglect the alerts sent out by your body, you could have a major engine malfunction. Stress that is left unchecked or poorly managed is known to contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and suicide.

So when things aren’t going your way, or you feel like you are losing control or are overwhelmed, pay attention to the warning signs listed below. They are just some of the ways that your body is telling you it needs maintenance and extra care.

• Headaches, muscle tension, neck or back pain• Upset stomach• Dry mouth• Chest pains, rapid heartbeat• Difficulty falling or staying asleep• Fatigue• Loss of appetite or overeating “comfort foods”• Increased frequency of colds• Lack of concentration or focus• Memory problems or forgetfulness• Jitters• Irritability• Short temper• Anxiety

Everyone reacts to stress differently, and each body sends out its different set of red flags. Some people may not even feel the physical or emotional warning signs until hours or days of stressful activities. But when you do notice a stiff back or that you are snapping at your friends, pay attention to the signs and listen to what your body is telling you. By noticing how you respond to stress, you can manage it better and in healthy ways, which will help your body correct itself, reducing the high cost and care of chronic, long-term health problems.



Reducing our dependence on health care:

You have probably heard the old saying ‘Prevention is better than cure’, but how many of us actively seek out ways to prevent ourselves becoming ill? It is easy in our modern societies

to develop an over reliance on the health care systems and pharmaceutical drug manufacturers to help us when things go wrong, but is this the right solution or do we need to take a greater responsibility for our own well being?

Our health care systems are seriously overloaded and can be very expensive if we find ourselves in need of long term care. And what about the enormous cost of pharmaceutical drugs and the potential implications of relying too heavily on an industry that makes trillions of dollars in profit from our sickness and disease?

Ultimately, our health and well being is our own responsibility and we need to actively become aware of the steps we can take to increase our chances of living a long and happy life, free of disease and an over reliance on an unfair health system that favours the wealthy and punishes the less well off in our society.

“If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as a sorry state as the

souls who live under tyranny.” ― Thomas Jefferson

So let’s now take at look at realistic steps we can take to begin to take control of our own health by reducing the stress in our lives and learning to recognise and manage stressful situations when they arise.

Coincidently, many of these techniques have their own health benefits aside from the ability to reduce stress...Guess that’s what you could call a win/win!



Simple techniques for reducing stress:

Stress busting tip #1: Breathe!

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

One of the simplest things you can do when stress or anxiety are overwhelming you, is to focus on your breathing. Slow and steady deep breaths will quickly and naturally reduce your stress within a few minutes and begin to restore your inner calm.

Start to become aware of your stress triggers so you can begin to breathe at the first signs of anxiety.

Here are five easy ways to use your breath to lighten your load:

1. Belly Breathing

Sometimes called abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing, this exercise is a great place to start and ensures that you are cleansing your lungs as well as calming your mind.Belly breathing is good for releasing anger and upsetting thoughts, it’s also useful for pain relief and relaxation in general.

• Place your right hand over the centre of your chest, and your left hand over the centre of your stomach and take a slow deep breath in. If you notice that the hand on your stomach rises higher than the hand on your chest, you have been successful in drawing that breath deeply into the depths of your lungs. If that isn’t what happened for you take a minute or two to experiment, be sure to empty your lungs fully on your out-breath to encourage the next breath in to deepen and cause your stomach to rise.

• Exhale through your mouth, letting the breath out slowly and completely. When you feel that your lungs are nearly empty, pull your stomach in a little to squeeze the very last air from your lungs.

• Repeat four times, until you have completed five cycles of deep refreshing abdominal breathing.

Once you are comfortable with this breathing technique you can stop using your hands,

and you might like to add some words to the exercise to help you feel even more calm and in control.

Some people find it helpful to simply say something like “calm” or “peace” on their out-breath, you can say it in your mind or whisper it with your breath - it’s up to you.



2. Counting Breaths

Counting Breaths is a simple technique that occupies your mind by keeping it focused on counting every time you exhale. As you place your full attention on your outgoing breath you may notice that things start to feel less rushed and more peaceful for you.

• Take a few deep breaths and let tension drain away from your shoulders and concentrate on breathing steadily, slowly and quietly.

• Count "one" to yourself as you exhale, and the next time you exhale, count "two", on the next exhalation count "three" and onwards until you reach the number five.

• Begin a new cycle, starting again with "one" on your next exhalation. Watch your breath and try and breath deeply and steadily until you have counted up to five and then begin again.

• Repeat this cycle five times, or more if you feel comfortable.

3. The Calming Breath

This is a real favourite of mine, it's so quick and simple to do and you can feel the benefits immediately. The power in this particular technique lies in counting out an extended exhalation which feels very calming and also helps slow your heart rate if it's racing away due to stress or anxiety.

Here's how to do it: take a deep breath in for the count of four (count one thousand,

two thousand, three thousand, four to set a slow and steady pace), then hold your breath for the count of two, and release slowly through slightly pursed lips for the count of eight.

The calming breath is also useful if you feel angry or irritated, it can quickly calm and cool your mind and help you gain a sense of clarity and control

4. Cooling Breath

Borrowed from the yoga practice of pranayama, the cooling breath is useful for times when you feel hot and bothered, this breathing exercise has a similar effect to the way dogs cool themselves down by panting, though you'll be glad to know it looks more discreet and you can do it without anyone noticing.

Part your lips slightly and curl your tongue up so it's resting on the roof of your mouth, behind your top teeth (the place you put your tongue to make the sound of the letter "l"). Now breath in slowly through your slightly open mouth, and feel the cool sensation of the incoming air on the underside of your tongue. Hold the breath for a moment or two and then exhale slowly through your nose. You can repeat this until you feel cool, calm and collected.



5. The Single Breath

Courtesy of the inspiring Mary Jaksch, this has got to be the simplest technique of all. Walk to a window, look outside, as far into the distance as you can and take one single, slow, deep breath. That's it! If you think it's too simple to bother with, I challenge you to try it for a day or two and feel for yourself just how much it can steady and calm your mind.

You could try this several times a day, using any window you see as a cue to stop for a second or two, drop your shoulders, and breathe. Be fully aware of your breath, feel it enter and leave your lungs and allow yourself to feel how it calms you for that one moment of reflective pause.

Stress busting tip #2: Exercise

“Exercise should be regarded as tribute to the heart” -Gene Tunney

This is one of those stress busting strategies that has it’s own obvious health benefits as well as having the ability to lift our mood, stimulate brain cell growth, increase stamina, improve sleep and make for a better sex life. How many reasons to you need to get physical!

Some forms of exercise have meditative similarities. Steady-state exercise (running long distances, swimming at a slow pace), may alter one’s state of consciousness as the deep breathing patterns maintained over a long period of time are similar to the breathing techniques used in meditation. Some runners experience a “high” feeling during or after a run.

Exercise can also enhance one’s feelings of self-esteem. By participating in bouts of exercise, one tends to feel better knowing they are doing something for their health.

Setting and overcoming goals can be a great tool in enhancing self-esteem. And don’t forget about improved body image. Perhaps the greatest self-esteem boost comes from fitting into a smaller size or seeing muscles where there once was flab!

During stressful times, muscles contract. During exercise, muscles do work, releasing stored energy and allowing the muscles to return back to their resting state. This also happens with massage.

Sometimes too little in one’s life can be stressful. It is natural for humans to seek out stimulation and excitement. Exercise provides a social opportunity, which can be of some stress relief. Bored with your daily routine? Run with a friend; join in on a pick-up basketball or volleyball game. HAVE FUN!



Stress busting tip #3: Laugh!

“Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand” - Mark Twain

Ever heard the expression ‘Laughter is the best medicine’? Consider that statement for a moment...Can you ever remember a time in your life when you felt stressed whilst you were laughing or enjoying some comedy? I very much doubt it!

Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy.

Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh,or even simply a smile,can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious. Just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun.

Here are some ways to start:

Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling.

Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.

When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”



Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.

Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Watch comedy on TV or even Youtube. The internet can be a valuable resource for finding a quick comedy fix if you are short on time and if you absolutely have to watch TV, try and keep it light rather than opting for heavy dramas!

Stress busting tip #4: Eat healthily

“The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and

prevention of disease” - Thomas A Edison

Another top tip on beating stress that has obvious benefits of it’s own, aside from helping you overcome stress, eating a well balanced, healthy diet is essential for your general well being.

Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, stabilizing your mood, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible– all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and using them in a way that works for you.

You can expand your range of healthy food choices and learn how to plan ahead to create and maintain a tasty, healthy diet.

To set yourself up for success, think about planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps rather than one big drastic change. If you approach the changes gradually and with commitment, you will have a healthy diet sooner than you think.

Simplify. Instead of being overly concerned with counting calories or measuring portion sizes, think of your diet in terms of color, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make healthy choices. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your diet will become healthier and more delicious.

Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your diet healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different color vegetables) to your diet once a day or switching from butter to olive oil when cooking. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your diet.



Every change you make to improve your diet matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy to have a healthy diet. The long term goal is to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of cancer and disease. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.

Healthy eating is about more than the food on your plate...It is also about how you think about food. Healthy eating habits can be learned and it is important to slow down and think about food as nourishment rather than just something to gulp down in between meetings or on the way to pick up the kids.

Eat with others whenever possible. Eating with other people has numerous social and emotional benefits—particularly for children—and allows you to model healthy eating habits. Eating in front of the TV or computer often leads to mindless overeating.

Take time to chew your food and enjoy mealtimes. Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating.

Listen to your body. Ask yourself if you are really hungry, or have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty instead of hungry. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly.

Eat breakfast, and eat smaller meals throughout the day. A healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day (rather than the standard three large meals) keeps your energy up and your metabolism going.

Avoid eating at night. Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 14-16 hours until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help to regulate weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided, anyway.

The antioxidants and other nutrients in fruits and vegetables help protect against certain types of cancer and other diseases. And while advertisements abound for supplements promising to deliver the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables in pill or powder form, research suggests that it’s just not the same.

A daily regimen of nutritional supplements is not going to have the same impact of eating right. That’s because the benefits of fruits and vegetables don’t come from a single vitamin or an isolated antioxidant.

The health benefits of fruits and vegetables come from numerous vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals working together synergistically. They can’t be broken down into the sum of their parts or replicated in pill form.



Stress busting tip #5: Meditate

“Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end” - Jiddu Krishnamurti

Meditation might just be the single most important tool we have available to us in dealing with stress as well as being the gateway to an inner peace that almost guarantees our future health and well being.

You don't need to quit your job, give up your possessions and spend 30 years chanting to benefit from meditation either. Recent research indicates that meditating brings about dramatic effects in as little as a few minutes.

Several studies have demonstrated that subjects who meditated for a short time showed increased alpha waves (the relaxed brain waves) and decreased anxiety and depression.

To explore exactly what part of the brain meditation acts on, researchers at Harvard Medical School used MRI technology on participants to monitor brain activity while they meditated. They found that it activates the sections of the brain in charge of the autonomic nervous system, which governs the functions in our bodies that we can't control, such as digestion and blood pressure.

These are also the functions that are often compromised by stress. It makes sense, then, that modulating these functions would help to ward off stress-related conditions such as heart disease, digestive problems and infertility.

The physical act of meditation generally consists of simply sitting quietly, focusing on one's breath, a word or phrase. However, a meditator may also be walking or standing. It isn't unusual, in fact, to see a meditating monk in the highlands walking a few steps and then lying prostrate over and over again until he reaches his destination many miles away.

There are many traditions and countless ways to practice meditation, and perhaps because of its polymorphous nature new meditators wonder whether they are doing it correctly. According to Roger Thomson, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice in Chicago and a Zen meditator, there is one way to know for sure: "If you're feeling better at the end, you are probably doing it right."

Certainly anything that helps us fight stress is a welcome tool. But what else might meditation be doing for us? Since researchers like Herbert Benson, M.D. began amassing data, many studies have shown that indeed meditation has not only a mental but a profound physiological effect on the body. Studies have shown that, among other benefits, meditation can help reverse heart disease, the number-one killer in the U.S. It can reduce pain and enhance the body's immune system, enabling it to better fight disease.

More new research offers additional encouragement. In a study published last year in the journalStroke, 60 African-Americans with atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries,



practiced meditation for six to nine months. (African-Americans are twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease as are whites.)

The meditators showed a marked decrease in the thickness of their artery walls, while the nonmeditators actually showed an increase. The change for the meditation group could potentially bring about an 11 percent decrease in the risk of heart attack and an 8 percent to 15 percent decrease in the risk of stroke.

Other recent research has looked at precisely what happens during meditation that allows it to cause these positive physical changes. Researchers at the Maharishi School of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, found that meditation has a pervasive effect on stress.

They looked at a group of people who had meditated for four months and found that they produced less of the stress hormone cortisol. They were therefore better able to adapt to stress in their lives, no matter what their circumstances were.

While western scientists are still exploring exactly how and why meditation works, we already know that it has both physiological and psychological benefits. And many therapists consider it a valid complement to more traditional therapies.

So perhaps we should simply take Thomson's advice—and the Tibetans' lead—and do what makes us feel better in the end...

"How we perceive a situation and how we react to it is the basis of our stress. If you focus on the negative in any

situation, you can expect high stress levels. However, if you try and see the good in the situation, your stress levels will

greatly diminish." - Catherine Pulsifer



Most people find the act of meditating difficult to master and as a result, tend to give up on the idea after a few sessions, but there is a way to overcome your mind's natural objections and meditate with ease almost immediately...

Brainwave Entrainment

The concept of brainwave entrainment sounds very technical, and indeed to be created for specific benefits, the techniques and protocols can be very complex. However, understanding what brainwave is doesn't have to be difficult. Human beings have used the phenomenon of Frequency Following Response (FFR) for millennium, after all.

Visualize a primitive human tribe gathered together and dancing or swaying hypnotically with the rhythm of a drum beat, imagine the hypnotic trance created by the repeating rhythms, and you have an understanding of the underlying principles of brainwave entrainment.

But let's back up a little bit. Your brain produces brainwaves, and these brainwaves are measured in frequency (Hertz, or Hz), which is how speedy they are; and in amplitude, which is how strong they are. Your experience of your consciousness at any time depends on the brainwaves you are producing at that moment.

This is a simplistic explanation, but say you are feeling anxious, even panicky-your brainwaves are very fast, a very high frequency. As you calm down, your brainwaves slow down, through the beta frequency range, which is your usual wide-awake functioning state, down into alpha, which is the brainwave of relaxation and hypnosis, down further into theta, which is a state of consciousness even though the brainwaves are too slow to support thought.

Finally, you drift all the way down into delta, the brainwave of deep sleep. This explanation makes it sound like you only experience one type of brainwave at a time, but in fact, your brain produces all of these brainwave frequencies simultaneously, to a greater or lesser degree.

Frequency Following Response (FFR) is the phenomenon of the brain "synching up" with a frequency introduced from an external source, that falls within the range of frequencies produced by the brain naturally. Within a few minutes the brain will synchronize its primary brainwave frequency with the external source and a corresponding change in experience of consciousness will occur.

It has been discovered by scientific experimentation and study that certain brainwave frequencies and patterns create specific effects on the mind and therefore on the body, and so protocols have been developed to help with all manner of illness and disease, from ADD/ADHD to migraines, and more.


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