Stress Less Session 4: Stress and Your Emotions

Take a moment to reflect on last week. How did it go for you? On a level of 1-7; 1 being completely relaxed to a 7 being extremely tense how would you rate yourself? And what techniques did you use? Did your number decrease after using one?

Your missions for this week:
-to understand the causes and consequences of stress-related depression.
-to learn three new stress coping techniques: physical activity, expressive writing, and guided imagery

Stress can cause depression by affecting our brains. It involves chemical changes in cells of the brain, as well as the way we think and feel. When we experience stress we can also experience having trouble thinking clearly and focusing, become depressed, and you may lose the ability to remember at a younger age.

When your brain releases SRA (stress reactive areas) your mind/body can benefit in different ways...*more frequent feelings of calm *more patience *less anger *fewer temper outbursts *improved interpersonal communication *more restful sleep *improved sense of well-being *improved ability to manage difficulties *improved self-confidence during stressful situations * improved ability to concentrate *greater enjoyment of life *increased resilience

There is a relationship between depression and stress, but what is it exactly. Depression is caused by constant elevated stress (chronic stress). High levels if not dealt with healthy coping can increase the odds of becoming depressed as an adult.
 
To avoid you should recognize some common signs:
-chronic feeling of sadness -no longer finding pleasure in activities you once enjoyed -lack of interest in usual sexual relationship -always feeling tired, lacking energy -sleeping too much or too little -changing eating habits along with weight loss/gain -difficulty making decisions -excessive crying -feeling worthless/hopeless -frequent irritability -difficulty concentrating/remembering -chronic aches/pains that do not get better when treated. There are always health risks associated with depression. This can cause an increase in heart disease, heart attack (which includes increased risk of death from heart attack), & stroke. Do you see how this is all linked together...chronic stress is the risk factor for lots of chronic diseases. All of these diseases can further increase your risk for other chronic disorders.

So how can you cope with chronic stress. What will decrease your chances? One way is physical activity. It helps lower the concentration of the hormone which causes you to become depressed. It offers a quality of life. Walking is a great way to start, it helps get your heart pumping, muscle groups working, and calories burning. If you are choosing to use physical activity it is suggested that you use "FIT"

Frequency: how many days of the week will you start walking?
Intensity: referring to how fast you will be walking.
Time: set yourself a time.

If you start with walking it will not only decrease your chances of diseases but it can also have an impact on your to start making other healthy changes like quitting smoking or eating healthier. Start with the small changes first to build yourself up for a bigger goal you may have in mind. Also, if you start to walk regularly you will produce fewer stress hormones in response to perceived stress. And your immune system will work better.

Another way to help cope with stress is expressive writing: to be honest I am not really a writer, it was never my strong point in school, but I really think I want to try and give this a shot. Writing things that seem to bother you can bring you calmness, relaxation, and increased enjoyment of life. It can also reduce anxiety. This is different than a daily journal or diary you may have. This is used to write about things in which have bothered you for years or that just happened yesterday. It is a simple coping technique but the effects of this can bring up all sorts of emotions. Here is how it is done....take a piece of paper and pen. Go to a quiet place and set your timer for 15 minutes. Think of something and this will be your writing subject. You are going to continually write for those 15 minutes, do not focus on grammar or spelling. If you run out of things to say on your subject, keep writing over and over what you have already written. **Do not read what you already wrote** When you are finished your tear up what you wrote and toss it out so no one can see. This is suppose to help get all your emotions out and then you let go for tearing the paper up.

Another way may also be a gratitude journal. Day in and day out we are always on the run with our busy lives that we always focus on the bad. Why don't we start focusing on the good in which is around us.  So, every morning or night before you go to bed. Focus on three good things in which you are thankful for or good things that happened to you today. Or write things down as they happen to you. This allows to you to be grateful for things around you and appreciate things more. Then you can pull this journal out when you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed out.

Guided imagery is another technique that is often used. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Think of a word that makes you smile when you need it most. Once you do so, you take deep breaths in and out. When you exhale you say this word quiet in your head. This helps relax your mind and focus your attention on the word rather than all the thoughts running through your head on a daily basis. This can also calm your nervous system down.

Try some of these new techniques we just learned about. See which works and which doesn't. Which one do you find most helpful? We also talked about S.M.A.R.T goals. Set a goal in which you want to achieve this week. it may be trying to walk 3times a week for 10minutes a piece. Or trying expressive writing two times a week. Whatever it is write it down and hold yourself accountable. Start small and see what works.

As always I hope you have a wonderful week. :)