Time in a Bottle

Over the last few months I’ve inundated you with options for combating the destructive effects of stress, including the Breath of Life, the Attitude Adjustment Routine, Relaxation Therapy, Visualization/Imagery, Deep Trance Meditation, Suggestive Relaxation with Magic Words, and Simulation Training. And of course I also suggested you could visit practitioners of massage, energy healing, acupuncture/acupressure, chiropractic, osteopathy, and reflexology. Did I miss any? I know that the process can be so overwhelming that it adds even more stress. So let’s take a Breath (of Life that is) and see where we’re at.

First, you must decide that you want to live stress free. Remember, stress is not the adverse or unwanted situations in your life but your responses to them. No matter what we do, life still happens and there are many things in life that are unwanted. But as Byron Katie, author of Loving What Is, states, “We only suffer when we argue with what is.” If you resent something in your life and argue it should be different you give it energy and that situation takes over control of your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and life in general. You are its victim. So you must decide whether you want the suffering to end even though the situation may not change, at least in that moment.

Every situation, good or bad produces both costs and benefits. My 99 year old maternal grandmother (Nanny to me) suffered a number of traumatic events in her early childhood that left deep emotional scars. She lives in Wisconsin with my parents and is in no hurry to transition out of this earthly life. When I call her on the phone and ask, “How are you doing” she replies, “So so.” I’ll then ask what’s the problem (because I know she wants to relate some misery) she’ll describe in detail what’s causing her suffering today. I’ll listen and then change the subject to talk about something funny or good that’s happening in my life or hers and she immediately perks up. She has learned that she gets more attention by relating her suffering to others than by expressing joy. She has outlived all of her siblings and friends and the younger members of our family have too many things going on in their lives to spend time with Nanny. It's not that they don't want to spend time with her. It's just that with everything they've got going on in life they don't think about spending time with her and she enjoys a lot of attention, as we all do. However, if they know she’s in pain they’ll make the effort to see her. All she really wants is attention and gets it through her suffering.

Are there benefits to your suffering? Do they outweigh the costs? If not then you need to take action. If not, you’ll continue to suffer. If time is an issue, choose one behavior: I would suggest the Breath of Life. Remember, proper breathing eliminates up to ninety percent of all stress hormones. You can find the directions for the Breath of Life in an earlier blog, Breathing is Life. Practice it for about five minutes each night when you retire to bed. It should help you fall asleep if you have any troubles falling asleep. Then practice it again for five minutes when you awake. It can bring in sufficient fresh oxygen into your system to give you a little boost. It’s very versatile as you can see. Practicing the Breath of Life at night and in the morning may help you remember to use it in times of distress.

Another activity that you can add to the Breath of Life once you’re comfortable with it is exercise, if you’re not already exercising. The best time to exercise is when you start noticing that you’ve succumbed to the pressures of stress. Exercise done at the time of a stressful episode can eliminate the effects of stress before the stress hormones have a chance to accumulate. While we may suffer during stress, it’s the long-term accumulation of stress hormones that are the most destructive. I like to do the Happy Penguin.

The Happy Penguin is nothing more than walking in place and gently slapping one’s thighs, mimicking the behaviors of penguins. This activity always brings a smile to my face as I consider how silly I look doing it. Smiling is another effective stress relief tool as the simple act of smiling releases chemicals into the bloodstream that counters the effects of stress hormones. If that’s not for you, walk, do jumping jacks, stamp your feet, any physical activity that gets your heart beating a little faster and your breathing a little deeper.

Also consider scheduling about thirty minutes of exercise at least three times per week. There are many more benefits to exercise than just stress relief, but that’s for another blog. First and foremost choose an activity that you enjoy. Yoga, jogging, cycling, swimming, Qi Gong, rebounding (trampolining), or a simple stroll will get your mind off your problems and provide some stress relief as well.

One of the side effects of stress is dehydration and very few people drink sufficient water anyway and so suffer from dehydration stress. This has a major impact on all the organs, joints, muscles, and brain function. Drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces is now the recommended daily intake of water. If you weigh 100 pounds, that’s 50 ounces of water or 100 ounces (about a gallon) if you weigh 200 pounds. Sip the water every ten minutes or so, so you don’t find that you have to go to the bathroom every time you gulp down a glass. Remember, coffe, tea, soda, beer, or other alcoholic beverages are not a good substitue for pure clear water.

So, I’ve given you three things to do to alleviate the destructive effects of stress, breathing, exercising, and drinking water. If you can’t remember to do them, write down, Breathe, Exercise, Drink Water, on note cards and keep them in places where you’ll see them, like the bathroom mirror, on your desk, in your car.

Once these behaviors become habitual and you do them without thinking, then consider adding the Attitude Adjustment Routine, Visualization/Imagery training, Deep Trance Meditation, Suggestive Relaxation with Magic Words, and Simulation Training, one at a time in that order until your reaction to stress is minimal at best and can be dealt with quickly and easily. This may take a few months, but if you’ve suffered with stress for years then this is no time at all. Until next time…