This time of year means a lot of different things to people. It’s a time when people make the effort to visit family and friends. It can be a fun time but it can also be a depressing and stressful time of the year.
Daily life has become very hectic. Then add extra shopping, baking, cooking, cleaning, family time and travel and what you are left with is stress. Stress reacts different to different people.
Some people hold stress in their abdominal area and their bowel movements change either to a lot faster or constipation. Then there are the type of people who hold stress in their muscles. It could be their legs, back, shoulders, neck or anywhere but the results are tight, sore, restless, cramping muscles. Are you the type that gets headaches when you are stressed? It could be due to constriction of blood flow or tight muscles. Under stress people can over eat or lose their appetite. Sleep can also be affected when you are stressed. Some might go to bed, drop dead tired and then their mind starts going, thinking, what do I have to do, what didn’t I get done, how will I ever get it done and they watch the clock hour after hour. Regardless of how you feel stress, we all free stress to some degree or another but this time of year stress can hit an all time high.
Funny isn’t it? Really think about it, most people will get a few extra days off but have so much to do they can’t enjoy it! Or it could be the opposite for some. Their family has moved away, passed away or family relationships are strained and it means they will be alone. The thought of others with their families can be depressing for some, especially when they have no family to spend the holidays with. This stress can also be related to depression.
No matter what type of stress you incur, stress is stress and what stress does to the body is detrimental to ones immune system. When the immune system is lowered or depleted due to stress our defences are down. Then in a lot of cases, due to holiday festivities, we over indulge in sugary special treats that we wouldn’t normally be eating. Sugar is not a friend to the immune system, especially a depleted immune system.
What to do. Avoid sugar, eat alive food, food that will feed your body. Alive food is full of enzymes which are needed for digestion and utilization of our food.
Sometimes we are our own worst enemies when it comes to adding to much to our plate and creating our own stress. The one thing that makes each and every person equal is time. We all have 24 hours in a day. Know your limitations and don’t add more to your day then you can handle. Add up the amount of time you need to sleep, not the time you actually allow yourself to sleep but the time you actually need to sleep. For myself I need 8 hours of sleep. Add the hours of your work day, drive time, sleep, eating, all the essentials and how many hours do you have left out of 24? Plan your activities accordingly. Don’t create your own stress because guaranteed others will provide enough stress for you to deal with.
Finances are one of the stress triggers in our life. Credit cards, or more specifically credit card debt causes stress, if you can’t pay cash don’t buy it, the stress isn’t worth it. Financial issues are the number 1 cause of divorce, divorce is stress. Don’t be embarrassed to get help.
Minerals! I don’t think I could ever say enough about minerals. Dr. Linus Pauling a two time Noble prize winner stated, “every sickness, illness, and disease is caused from a mineral deficiency.” Mineral soaks in a bath are the absolute best thing you can do to absorb minerals. The key to mineral soaks is you should soak in water that is comfortable but not hot. If the water is hot, you will sweat and then be detoxing. You want to absorb the minerals not sweat them out.
Last but not least, be kind to one another. Do something special, it doesn’t have to be a big deal, just something special for someone. It has been my experience that when you do something nice for someone else you actually feel good.
Diane Elms is a homeopath and specialist in iridology. Any health-related questions can be sent to diane@choicesforhealthandharmony.com