Weird dreams
We all know about the more common symptoms of stress. Feeling frazzled and overwhelmed can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
Obviously none of these are good. But stress can also cause some not so common symptoms. Watch for these unusual signs that you may be under too much stress.
Reduce Your Stress
Whether going for a routine health checkup or a visit to the dentist, going to the doctor is near the bottom of many people’s list of desired activities. Nurses pass along these tips for feeling less on edge:
Good News for Grandpa
Now your kids have one up on you. You know how you say their brains will turn to mush from so many computer games? That’s not necessarily true anymore.
According to the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, elderly adults who play brain fitness games that exercise memory show improvements in their memory over people who do not play games.
Solitude is Healthy
If you already have a good amount of alone time, or if you’ve changed and simplified your life enough to reduce the chaos and pressure in your life, you may be getting all the alone time you need.
But if your days are filled with coworkers, family, friends, traffic, noise, demands, requests, pressure, schedules, and deadlines, you may want to consider spending a day or two each month by yourself. And this means completely away from your routine everyday distractions that complicate your life.
Eat Your Way to a Happier You
Can your diet affect depression? That’s the question that researchers have been studying for years. We’ve always known that eating healthy is good for us, but now research reports that people who regularly eat fruit, vegetables, and fish reduce their chances of suffering from depression.
A study in the British Journal of Psychiatry conducted by London’s University College studied the diets of almost 3500 people, then assessed them for signs of depression five years later. It’s not surprising to what they found…those who ate whole-foods had less signs of depression than those who ate food loaded with fat, processed meats, sugar, and refined cereals.
Stop Worrying
I will start this post with a question, the same question my Mother would always asks me, “Will your worrying help anything?”
I believe that the answer to that question is no! It boils down to this–if we have the power to change anything, then we need to work towards a solution. Why complain and worry when we have the power?
But what if it is out of our control, then all the worry in the world won’t fix or resolve it!
Remember the first paragraph of the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr:
How to Cope with Loss
How to cope when it’s time to say goodbye
When a person you love dies, it’s natural to feel sorrow, express grief, and expect friends and family to provide understanding and comfort.
Unfortunately, the same doesn’t always hold true if the one who died was your companion animal. Many consider grieving inappropriate for someone who has lost “just a pet.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
