Stress and Illness it's connected

    Today I would like to talk about dealing with stress so we can be a little healthier and keep our immunity in better shape to avoid illness. 

    We have all heard about it. We all deal with it. Some better than others. Sometimes I can handle things that would put someone else in a coma. It still bothers me but maybe not as much as someone else.  

    Many of you probably know all about this stuff called stress. If nothing else maybe this will remind some of us that are deep into the stress / can't see the forest for the trees mode that we really can make things better. Maybe it's a reminder to stop and make changes to make your life and everyone around you happier. Happy really does = healthier most of the time. 

Here are some things I found on the net and a few things I added. 

What is stress What can stress do to a person physically What causes stress Make your Sh**t List
Make your battle plan
Get it off your chest
What is the best definition of stress?
Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension. Stresses can be external (from the environment, psychological, or social situations) or internal (illness, or from a medical procedure).
    The physical effects of prolonged stress are numerous, including a greater susceptibility to ILLNESS, a lack of ENERGY, problems with SLEEP, HEADACHES, poor JUDGEMENT, WEIGHT gain, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, and a host of other ills. Stress may also contribute to physical illness such as HEART disease. You can literally worry yourself sick.
   When my son Jon died at 21 yo. It was a few days after the funeral. I was running a business at the time and it was time to get back to my new normal without my son. I was in Dollar General shopping with my brother that was in town for the funeral. I suddenly started having chest pains. It was scary. I just stood in one place hanging onto the cart waiting for the chest pains to hopefully go away. Thankfully they did and went home took some tylenol to not only calm down but to thin the blood just in case. I rested a lot. I had no clue about blood pressure at the time so I have no clue what that was.
You can stress yourself out just by worrying about things. All of these factors can lead to stress:
    Fear and uncertainty. When you regularly hear about the threat of terrorist attacks, global warming, and toxic chemicals on the news, it can cause you to feel stressed, especially because you feel like you have no control over those events. And even though disasters are typically very rare events, their vivid coverage in the media may make them seem as if they are more likely to occur than they really are. Fears can also hit closer to home, such as being worried that you won't finish a project at work or won't have enough money to pay your bills this month.  
        Oh I have one for this one. It was about 10?? years maybe more after Jon died. We needed to make some repairs in his ceiling since the fireplace next his room leaked. I decided to put in a new floor, paint the room and re-texture the whole ceiling. As I started to move things around and out I got weak and shaky. I was totally wiped out. I took my blood pressure and it had dropped to something really low like 100 over 69. I had to quit after just moving 2 or 3 things around. I went out and sat down with a Mt Dew to get my BP back up. After several more attempts in his room I realized I was just upset with making changes in his room. It took me over a week of do a little something. Go sit down with a dew and rest then try it again the next day. Finally I found a way to deal with it. Jon had some big bags of clothes in the room that Nikki had brought up from their house. I put this in the closet leaving it in the room technically. Somehow that helped me get through the changes and my body adjusted to getting the room repaired and in order. I never would have thought his room would have caused me that kind of stress to the point I couldn't even stand and function. I thought it was a great idea but I guess my heart didn't.
The three main causes of stress today are: Money, Work, Poor health
( I want to insert TV, Internet News )
 Look at this list below. How many check marks do you have stressing you out? You can probably add a few they don't have on there. Go ahead list them all.... all the little and big things bugging you. I call it making a Sh**t list.  Maybe it's something little like not putting the toilet seat down, or not taking out the trash when you ask someone to do it, something you have been wanting to do but never have the time. Whatever it is put it on your list. If you want some real fun you can have to whole family do it but I don't think I would advise showing it to each other. You may create a whole new category of stress !
Here is a list from Webmd. https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/causes-of-stress#1

__ Being unhappy in your job ( maybe change jobs or get training for a better one?)

__ Having a heavy workload or too much responsibility (this goes for home also. Delegate !)

__ Working long hours ( if it is damaging your health or family life make the change)

__ Having poor management, unclear expectations of your work, or no say in the decision-making process

__ Working under dangerous conditions ( some folks just love the excitement )

__ Being insecure about your chance for advancement or risk of termination ( usually if you have these worries it's time to make a change)

__ Having to give speeches in front of colleagues

__ Facing discrimination or harassment at work, especially if your company isn't supportive ( in todays market they say there are plenty of other jobs to be had in better conditions)

Life stresses can also have a big impact. Examples of life stresses are: __ The death of a loved one

__ Divorce ( oh good grief, pick your fights, somethings are just not worth it )

__ Loss of a job ( all the more reason to stock up on food and try to save loot in the house for the bad times)

__ Increase in financial obligations

__ Getting married ( at least it's a happy stress ! )

__ Moving to a new home ( oh come on! It's a nice stress ! Enjoy!)

__ Chronic illness or injury

__ Emotional problems (depression, anxiety, anger, grief, guilt, low self-esteem)

__ Taking care of an elderly or sick family member

__ Traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, theft, rape, or violence against you or a loved one
How to fix your stresses. Make your battle plan   Good grief, wouldn't it be nice if we could just fix them all ?!! The best thing to do is to go down the list and see if there are some little quick fixes you can knock off the list. It's like making a daily to do list. It just feels good when you can mark it off. Some of them maybe you can let some of the other members of your family or in your life help with if you let them know what's bugging you. I didn't say argue about these things that have caused wars before.... skip those.... we are trying to fix what can be fixed not bring up old ammo to sling at the other folks.
   It is easy to suggest things for a person but everyone is different and at a different place in life. Maybe on your Sh**t list make a note of how you would like to attempt to make it better beside the item bugging you. Maybe you don't tackle it today. Maybe you look at it next week and see the opportunity to knock another off the list.
   The thing is ...... it can't get better if you don't try. Some things may take longer than others like debt. Ok it sucks. Make a plan. Put it on paper so you can see it in your head how to tackle it.
    When you know where you are and where your going and what road your going to take to get out of any mess it's on it's way off your !!@# list.  It's amazing how sometimes just having a plan can make you feel sooo much better!
   Don't keep things bottled up.
  That doesn't mean go yell at the people you love either.
   Find someone to talk to that you can talk to.
   Write things down in a diary or write a letter and send it to Santa Clause.
   Write the letter burn it and let the smoke carry the troubles away.
   I know some of those things sound crazy but find something that works for you.
  Sometimes you just have to get it out of your system.
   If your desperate you can even email me. I've had a few folks do that before I don't mind. Don't put your name or any contact info in it if you do. If you want me to answer you let me know.
I hope some of this helps and you can knock some things off your list.
Love
Ranchmama