Tips to soothe, manage stress
By Ronald Brand

Although research shows that stress contributes to disease, stress itself is not a disease. It has been directly linked to heart attacks, ulcers, headaches, a variety of other diseases and even death.

Stress has been linked to a decrease in the immune response as well as autoimmune diseases.

Stress itself is a physiological response that contributes to the wear and tear on your mind and body.

The more one looks at stress the more confusing a definition becomes.

At some level it is this metamorphic vague response to life. One definition that I have found helpful is that stress is a nonspecific response of our mind and bodies to feelings of being overwhelmed by too many events.

It is a feeling that we do not have the resources to deal with all that life is presenting to us.

When you begin examining the stress in your life, you will begin to see specific stressors. This will then allow you to develop specific plans to deal with those areas. In the meantime, it is important to look at ways to nurture and care for yourself so you can deal effectively with this overall feeling of stress.

The first place to start in managing stress is to look at things in your life that can act as stress buffers or things that can strengthen your mind and body.

When we are stressed some of these behaviors are the first to go.

We don't find time to eat right, exercise, meditate or seek support from friends. So in order to combat distress and to improve your overall quality of life it is important to find time to take care of yourself.

To manage this general feeling of distress it is important to maintain an exercise routine. This will serve two purposes.

It is a wonderful way to get rid of stressful feelings and a way to strengthen your body. Regular exercise improves our overall function and has been shown to improve symptoms of mild depression.

Maintain a healthy diet by eating regularly and avoiding highly processed and fast foods.

Avoid excessive use of caffeine and alcohol to deal with stress.

Practice some form of relaxation training or quiet time.

This will help lower your overall baseline level of stress.

By lowering this baseline level of stress you will be able to handle your stress effectively and not become distressed so quickly.

For a brochure on symptoms of stress and ways to deal with stress, send $1 to cover postage and handling to Ronald Brand, PhD, 445 Rosewood Ave., Ste. K, Camarillo, CA 93010.