Medifast
April Newsletter

Got stress?

April 15th is fast-approaching. Gulp!

I got a cutesy-wootsey email forward from someone recently reminding me that stressed spelled backwards creates the word “desserts.”

How ‘boutchoo – got stress in your life, too?

You might be thinking, “Yeah, well, who doesn’t?”

Perhaps you’ve seen those funny little stress test indicators available on the market these days – they remind me of the Mood Rings of the ‘70’s. Remember them? The current craze stress testers are heat sensitive ‘dots’ placed on the webby area of your hand (where your thumb attaches to your hand). The dot is left in place for a few minutes and allowed to change its shade. The colors are used to determine the degree of stress one is currently experiencing.

Golden Yellow:
Tense. You have difficulty focusing and are easily bothered. Avoid the kitchen.
Blue:
You are reasonably calm, cool and happy. You seem to have it all together. Are you for real?
Purple:
Uh oh, you are on the verge of a total crack-up. Your emotions are erratic. Consider Prozac.
Black:
You are definitely overloaded and terribly confused. Check for a pulse. Lie down, get a massage and have a cuppa while listening to Brahm’s Lullaby.
Reddish brown:
You are on the line between insanity and normal, you could go either way. When the phone rings, run and then check your Caller ID. If it says ‘unavailable,’ pick up immediately and give the telemarketer the run-around. It’ll make you feel a lot better to know there is someone else out there weirder than you.
Clear:
Fake. You are a fake and your tension tester dot is a total fake, too. You are having financial stressors in your life right now so avoid the mall at all costs – the wafting smell of Cinnabon will pull you inside their store. It’s all over once you cross Cinnabon’s threshold.
Green:
Cool as a cucumber and easily humored. If you are still reading this, you are easily amused. Sheesh! Stress Tester Dots…as if I need to have some dippy dot tell me that I am feeling stressed out. Let’s get real, Folks!

I’ve got other stress indicators that are more reliable than a stress dot or a mood ring – maybe you’ve got them, too: tension headache, upset stomach, sleep disturbances, muscle fatigue, heart racing, feeling cranky and irritable.

One of my mottos: when under stress, buy a dress!

There are many ways people react to stress. Behaviorally – crying, eating, smoking, continual remote control clicking and irritability can lead to abusive language and actions. Physiologically - sweaty pits and palms, stuttering, trembling, tics or developing other physical symptoms. Emotionally – feeling anxious, fearful, guilty, depressed, sleeping longer than usual.

Cognitively – dwelling on it, thinking about it, reliving and analyzing the stressful event or situation.

Stress certainly can lead to self-destructive behaviors: Drinking; Drugging; and/or Fooders…all these behaviors add to our stress loads.

We live in a hyperculture society that moves at warp speed and some of us are not dealing with it very well.

Stress can have a powerful affect on health and while stress itself may not actually kill, it clearly undermines our ability to stay well.

We’ve grown accustomed to warning labels on everything from cigarettes, and alcohol to hot coffee containers. I think we need built in hazard lights or a Stress Siren to let us know when we are in danger of exploding.

The Stress Siren could blare an initial “Woo-woo-ooh Warning!” just prior to the body reacting with changes that temporarily lower its resistance to some infections or diseases and the rise of certain hormone levels and blood pressure increases.

As stressors continue to increase, a Resistance Ringer could get our attention to let us know it is really time to take a restful retreat. God created our body is such a way that it endeavors to maintain homeostasis. When we get it out of whack it may take considerable effort on our part to carry on as normally as possible, if for example, a loved one is hurt or seriously ill. The body rallies its resources to try to sustain a normal and stable physiological state.

The third stage is what I call the CAT-a-tonic Stress State – it’s where ya feel meaner than a catbox and ya wanna scratch and yeowl and it occurs when stressors get outta hand and we cannot keep up normal functioning if the stress continues long enough. Even a small amount of additional stress can cause a meltdown. The ongoing stressors eventually deplete the bod’s resources so it functions at less than normal capacity.

Stress triggers complex changes in our endocrine or hormone-secreting system. The adrenal glands produce epinephrine (adrenaline) and catecholamines. These hormones speed up the heart rate, raise BP and prepare the body to deal with the threat – yup, it’s the old “fight or flight” response.

Our body takes a fighting stance: the muscles tense, the heart works harder to pump more blood to the legs and arms, the breathing quickens and the brain begins to power up and becomes extra alert. Because they are non-essential in a crisis, the immune and digestive systems practically shut down.

Most stress hormones are non water soluble – in plain talk that means they don’t get flushed! Therefore, they remain in your blood steam – they linger longer – for hours. Cortisol has the most important long-term effects on our health.

One effect of stress hormones, particularly cortisol, is it speeds conversion of proteins and fats into carbs – the body’s basic fuel source. Another effect is to increase appetite and food-seeking behavior. Yikes! That is NOT good news, Folks!

As many as 75-90% of current physician visits are considered to be for stress-related reasons.

Hundreds of studies over the past twenty years show stress contributes to approximately 80% of all major illnesses. Cortisol can cause excessive central or abdominal fat, which also heightens the risk of diseases such as diabetes, high BP and stroke. Persistent or repeated increases in the stress hormones can be hazardous throughout the body.

Catecholamines cause rises in heart rate, blood pressure, makes breathing short and shallow, and increases the potential for blood clots which ups the risk for heart attack and stroke. Yikes!

Other illnesses that are considered to be stress related are: cardiovascular disease, some cancers, endocrine and metabolic disease, skin rashes, ulcers, ulcerative colitis, emotional disorders, musculoskeletal disease, infectious ailments, PMS, uterine fibroid cysts and breast cysts. Argh!

Are you in a stress mess, Bunky?

What’s a body to do?

Here are some relatively cheap stress busters:

Humor – Norman Cousins was known as the man who laughed his way to health. I find that a quick trip to the Hallmark store is a wonderful resource for jangled nerves. I yuck it up in the aisles until I giggle, roar and snort and then I go home feeling much better. Other laffy taffy resources are videotapes of comedians or comedic movies.

Writing or journaling about stressful events can be cathartic as well as prayer or mediation.

Pace yourself, even if you have a lot to do. Allow some time off to relax and attempt to stick to a reasonable schedule. Don’t rush into action and make weird and wild decisions when undergoing stress and anxiety. Take time to talk to someone, get wise counsel. Engage in a social support system – join the www.MakeMeThinner.com Forum. We all benefit from having a companion or a peer mentor. Talk with someone that you trust.

Take care of yourself – buy a new necktie (Yeah, they are adjustable so as your neck gets smaller, you can still wear that cool Jerry Garcia tie!), go for a pedicure or a manicure, get a hair cut or have your hair highlighted.

Start a new hobby.

Exercise: walk, swim, bike, workout. Relax.

Turn elephants into hors d’oeuvres – take that huge task you’re facing and cut it into smaller bites so it seems less enormous.

Change your ‘tude toward food – Don’t be a food fool! Don’t stuff it! Remember…food is fuel, not the answer to what’s eating you – food will not solve your stress problem.

Don’t look at the stressful events as disruptions in the way things ‘ought’ to be but rather view each change as a part of life’s natural flow of events. Discover the joy of the journey!