Do you feel run down? Do you feel you have no energy? Has life lost its luster? Maybe you’re battling chronic pain or persistent illness that feels like a whack-a-mole game. Do you get one thing figured out and then something else pops up? Are you always on the cycle of symptom-medication-repeat?
That was my story too! I thought I was doing a great job with managing stress. Unfortunately, I wasn’t doing as effective of a job as I thought I was. That is what caused me to get into this line of work. I learned through hard-earned life experience that you can’t numb out, ignore or simply adapt to stress.
You need a systematic approach that addresses all the sources of stress from an integrative perspective that includes mind, body and the emotions. That is exactly what I do with my clients. As a stress transformation coach, I help you understand and uncover the patterns and types of stress that keep you from living the life that you want.
Stress is referred to as the silent killer. Why? Because we tend to numb out, ignore it, or just simply adapt to it. We are very adept at coping with stress but, our coping mechanisms are often contributors to greater levels of stress over the long term! Numbing out tactics like binge watching TV, eating ‘comfort’ foods, obsessing over social media and excessive shopping only add to the stress we are already dealing with.
When we numb out, ignore, or tolerate stress over long periods of time we are not addressing the root cause which means we aren’t making any lasting changes to reduce stress or improve our resilience. We think we are ‘managing’ stress well, but these tactics don’t work.
As stress accumulates, it creates problems in all systems of our bodies. Stress can affect our sleep quality, impair our cognitive function, suppress our immune and hormonal systems functions, and of course, it creates tension in our muscles. Vital energy and resources are unavailable to the body for it to function in a balanced and healthy way because the body is in fight-flight-freeze mode most of the time. And that’s a big waste of energy!
Stress keeps accumulating, hindering the body’s ability to function normally, working its way through the body’s various systems and functions creating minor problems that grow into larger ones. Early warning signs are usually mild, and they get dismissed. Then symptoms become moderate, and we seek help – perhaps getting medication for our digestive issues, or inhalers for respiratory issues, and so on.
Unresolved stress starts with irritating problems and ultimately will lead to chronic illness and sometimes life-threatening conditions. As I was on my journey of health issues, as soon as I got one challenge under control (via medication) another would show up. Each system in my body took turns trying to get my attention and I was a pretty slow learner! It wasn’t until I made some radical life changes that I began to realize the common thread connecting all my diagnoses and conditions was unresolved stress.
While it’s an on-going process and we never eliminate stress, I am one of the lucky ones. I made changes to my lifestyle and health practices and have been able to break the cycle of the whack-a-mole game of symptom, medication, repeat. I have been medication free for over 10 years and my health has been steadily improving.
Managing stress effectively is really important and that’s what I help my clients do.
If you would like to learn more, I invite you to check out my “Art of Living Well” podcast. This podcast is available wherever podcasts are found.
