Page 44 - Panama City Living Magazine

STRESS AND ITS FACTORSCertain situations can make you nervous, cause your blood pressure to rise, make you uncomfortable, and set free stress hormones. Your body goes into “need to ee” mode. Some people work well under pressure. But for how long? The rst step to ght anxiety and stress is to nd the cause and recognize the stress triggers in your life. We have all heard about the Wall Street broker who be- came a happy farmer... removing yourself from a stressful job or life is one way to in- crease your life span and add quality to your life. The alternatives; learn to deal with stress or try to diminish it at is happens. Certainly, some of us have jobs or situations at home that put them on edge all the time–think of the mom with four small kids and a barking dog, think of the Realtor who faces a mar- ket downturn while going through a divorce. When do your shoulders start cramping? When and why does your body get tense and what can you do about it? Being aware of the stress triggers might help you nd a solution.STEPS TO A BALANCED LIFERemoving yourself from a situation might be the best advice to avoid stress and anxiety. Why deal with a stressful situation unless you absolutely have to?GET ORGANIZEDPut yourself on declutter-mode and toss out all the items you have not used or worn in a year. How does this help stress? It gives you a sense of order and in uences your mindset. When your life is organized and free of unnecessary ballast, you will feel in charge and less vulnerable to out- side stress factors.FIND PEACE, JOY... OR OUTRAGEOUS LAUGHTERWhether you tend to your garden, take a walk on the beautiful Northwest Florida beaches, or watch your favorite comedy–all these activities are healthy. The Mayo Clinic explains the health bene ts of laughter:“A good laugh has great short-term e ects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can: Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and in- creases the endorphins that are released by your brain. Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh res up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, re- laxed feeling. Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physi- cal symptoms of stress. Laughter isn't just a quick pick-me-up, though. It's also good for you over the long term. Laughter may:Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. In contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers. Increase per- sonal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it eas- ier to cope with di cult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illness- es. Laughter can help lessen your depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier.”(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-manage- ment/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456?pg=2, retrieved on February 12, 2018)UNPLUGWe are conditioned to instantly look and re- act when our technology peeps and beeps. Email, text messages, news, weather, and price alerts, and your ever-present social media updates, timelines, and friends’ real- ity feeds... have you ever considered how much time you spend listening to, reading, or watching meaningless information? Here a few tips to help you unplug from technology:• Do not keep your cell phone by your bedside. Your sleeping area should be free of all technolo- gy. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, pur- chase a battery operated alarm clock instead.• Mind your manners and put technology away every time you meet one person or several.44 • March - April 2018 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com