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Caring Spirit

Winter 1998

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NEWS for the Friends of the Lutheran Home Care Agency
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STRESS DISEASE PREVENTION-AN INSIDE JOB

We live in a world that produces an unbelievable amount of stress. We live in a body created by God to cope with stress in order to protect ourselves. Stress can result from anything that:

· annoys you	· threatens you	· prods you
· excites you	· scares you	· worries you
· hurries you	· angers you	· frustrates you
· challenges you	· criticizes you	· reduces your self esteem

Anything pleasant or unpleasant that excites us, causes our highly sophisticated defense system to produce adrenaline and a complex array of other hormones to bathe our body's tissues and systems for the "fight or flight" response. In today's world, many of us are in a constant state of "stress response". It is that prolonged or frequent stress response which scientists attribute to numerous physical, mental and spiritual illnesses. Warning signs of stress disease include:

Physical

• frequent headaches, high cholesterol
  

• tight neck/shoulders, general muscle/back ailments
  
• pounding heart, chest pain, high blood pressure
  
• stomach or digestive discomfort, frequent colds, flu or other illnesses

  Emotional

• sadness, hopelessness, helplessness, negative thoughts
  

• anger and resentment, irritability, forgetfulness

  Behavior

• extreme behaviors such as eating, sleeping, spending
  

• increased use of alcohol or mind altering medications/chemicals
  
• irritability-hurting others
  
• emotions/actions that are out of control
  
• withdrawal from family, friends, life

An occasional stress response may be good. Think of a rubber band when you stretch and release it, it returns to its normal state. Our bodies also must return and maintain a normal, non-stressed state, otherwise our body functions lose their health and may "snap" like a rubber band. This excessive stress response causes illness by undermining our immune system and causing irritation to our tissues. Bacteria and viruses thrive on highly stressed bodies. Cancer can be the result of a stressed part of our bodies. The delicate balance that "God" intended is thrown "out of whack."

Stress management is an inside job. We can only change ourselves. Effective ways to reduce stress are:

• physical exercise daily
  

• keep your body healthy and in balance including good nutritional intake
  
• reduce noise or other irritants in the environment--consider a "media fast"
  
• mentally relax-visualize a pleasant scene, color, image, vacation spot
  
• take time to physically relax--a 15 minute power nap can help
  
• listen to others and consider what they can teach you
  
• talk positively to yourself--take credit for all the good you do
  
• forgive yourself (and others)--fail forward
  
• put challenges into perspective--don't spend $10 worth of energy worrying about a 10 cent problem
  
• say "no" when your activity (stress) plate is full
  
• allow enough time for delays, interruptions, etc., etc., etc.
  
• take short cuts for tasks and more time for relationships
  
• Hug, Hug, Hug--everyone needs a minimum of 15/day!
  
• find humor in as many situations as possible--causing a stress relieving chemical to be produced in the brain
  
• replace worry with prayer, meditation, and Bible study
  
• remember, God Loves You and He is in control
  
• practice the Serenity Prayer:

  God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change; The courage to change the things I can; and The wisdom to know the difference.

If you are interested in a stress management workshop or other health related education presentations for your group, contact Lutheran HOME CARE Agency (652-HOME) for more information.

Clearly, stress management is an inside job. With God's help to prioritize that which is important, we can change our ways and reduce our potential for "stress disease".

Sources: Adrenaline and Stress by Dr. Archibald D. Hart
The Overworked American, by Juliet IS. Schom
Washington Post 8/23/97
Bible NIV

Lutheran HOME CARE Agency Christian care for loved ones
SUBSIDIARY OF LUTHERAN HOMES OF MICHIGAN, INC.

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