Day Seventy Seven!!

Lets talk about stress!
Stress is like a poison, we can handle a little bit of poison everyday, but eventually it will take us out, says Dr. Laurie. 
A good percentage of illnesses are due to stress. Stress can cause headaches, sleep problems, appetite problems, which can lead to eating too much or eating too little, as well as psychological problems such as depression and anxiety, gastro intestinal problems, immune problems, as well as obesity, high blood pressure, increased cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and blood sugar, as well as a higher risk of having a heart attack. 
Stress is a natural everyday part of life. There is both bad stress and there is also good stress too, which is called ‘yew stress’. Good stress results from the positive things that happen, yet are still stressful; like having a baby or graduating. Stress is good for a while but, if the stress doesn't stop, the flush of chemicals that flow into your blood stream starts to turn against you compromising your immune system, and throwing everything out of whack in your system causing you to crave sugar. 
There is something called ‘acute stress’ which is like having a deadline that you need to meet. And Chronic stress which can overwhelm your system, leads to burn out, and a need to retreat and remove yourself from life ,in order to get your energy back.

I remember a few years ago when my brother and I were young, we took a trip to Disney. It was fun and exciting and we ate out at all these different restaurants. At a certain point I realized that my mom was having some trouble as she kept having the need to go to the washroom and at one point we went to an Asian restaurant where we had a new meal we had never experienced before, which was like ground meat and lettuce cups. 

My mother took a couple of bites and then something happened, it was like she had an allergic reaction to something in the lettuce cups. She had the feeling that her throat constricted and she immediately stopped eating because the feeling was scary. 

All of a sudden things changed, every time she swallowed she felt like there was something in her throat, and so all of a sudden eating became a huge issue. We are not meant to feel swallowing says Dr. Laurie. When we do, it causes a huge amount of anxiety, which is based in fear, and all of a sudden life becomes about the fear of choking. This experience lasted for months for my mom, and she lost a good twenty pounds because everything became about eating foods that were not going to be felt due to this new throat sensation.

Stress can cause a huge amount of different physical, emotional, and mental reactions. It is important to recognize that when stress sets in, so does inflammation, and those inflamed parts can cause a huge amount of stress, the result of which is stressful. 

It is important at these times to be able to realize that in order to calm the system  and ‘anti-inflame’ you need to be able to develop coping skills in order to remain calm, recognize that it is just a feeling. As you become relaxed about the fact that it is just a feeling you will be able to start to be able to manage through it. Because that particular area has become irritated, then it is a matter of taking the time you need to take, to be able to self-soothe. The self-soothing of positive and encouraging self-statements will allow you to manage until your system has the opportunity to be able to overcome the irritation, and when that happens, life will be able to get back to normal eventually.