Does stress really increase pain, effect memory, and aggravate physical conditions or even create them?
And if so, how does this happen and what you can do about it. Click to learn Self-Hypnosis
I recently was under a type of pressure, a stress that wasn’t noticeable in the usual way- meaning I wasn’t anxious, worried, or overwhelmed. Emotionally, I felt good and was just doing whatever I needed to do.
As you may know, I led a women’s retreat a few weeks ago. What’s fascinating is that during the event, I felt good –upbeat, strong, focused, and able to lead everyone in empowering upgrades. I do have to sidebar for a moment and share that besides everyone getting hypnotized each morning, we bent or twisted spoons, and literally levitated every person at the retreat with a total of 8 fingers for each human levitation. I think my other favorite part was that I got to sleep outside, eat outside, and teach outside.
During the retreat, I did notice my body being a little sore but when I got home, the discomfort increased and so did the exhaustion. My body ached. I want to say it hurt all over, but the truth is it hurt in all my usual spots at the same time.
When I got out for a hike, which I do almost daily, I could barely make it up the hills and dunes. My buddy had to be my cheerleader and encourage me to get up the dunes that I walk up all the time. WTH?
When the weekend came and I didn’t have to see clients or work on my business, I slept 9 hours for 2 days in a row. For me, that’s an extreme amount of sleep. Wow. What was happening?
In today’s world this is exactly what happens when we are stressed. But this stress had a beginning, a middle and an end. Which means I did return to homeostasis, had energy and my body felt good. Although it’s fascinating to me that my nervous system waited until after the stress was over to feel the effects. Has that ever happened to you?
As you know stress comes in all shapes and sizes. In a nutshell stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension from adverse or very demanding circumstances. Strain, pressure, tension, nervous tension, worry, anxiety, nervousness, trouble, difficulty, distress, trauma, suffering, pain, and grief are all words that describe stress.
Here’s the challenge, many people stay stuck in a stress state. Which means your adrenal glands can become exhausted because they are continuously manufacturing adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormone. Here’s a short summary.
Your Body:
Is not designed to withstand long periods of stress
Cannot simultaneously manufacture the feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine while it’s manufacturing the stress hormones
Cannot be in growth and repair while in protection mode from the stress
Sends signals to the immune system to increase, thereby exhausting the immune system
Stops using energy to digest food, if it thinks you are going to be digested.
With its increased cortisol levels, increases inflammation and exacerbates chronic physical conditions
How do you get yourself out of the fight or flight stress response?
Take charge of what you can learn to control
• Your thoughts – Change the focus of your thoughts to what you want. • Your breathing – Choose a way to deep breath 10-15 times in a row to activate your calming nervous system. • Your body postures – Become aware of your posture. Stand tall with shoulders back and head high. Smile more. • Your state of mind - The best way to take charge of your state is to learn Self-Hypnosis.
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