Balance Your Health

4 Tips for Coping with Holiday Stress

The strain of shopping, attending social gatherings, and preparing holiday decorations and gifts is enough to throw anyone off kilter.

Do not abandon your healthy habits.

Manage Your Trigger Points to Manage Holiday Stress

On the Food Channel one of the chefs spoke about how stressful it was to get all the pies ready for Thanksgiving and he had a system to make the pie maker's life easier.

I admit to never thinking about the stress of baking. That should be something enjoyed for the end results and for feeling so satisfied when family and friends bite into the meringue tips or the cinnamon pumpkin custard with whipped cream.

Tips to Reduce Your Anxiety

I had no idea that so many Americans have problems with short-term anxiety. In any given year about 18 percent of us have an anxiety disorder which is a medical condition that results in people always being afraid or worried over a period of time. This figure is from the National Institute of Mental Health.

I'm not sure whether this is good news or bad news but you don't need an anxiety disorder to feel anxious.

Most people are anxious at least occasionally, especially when they're facing an important event such as a job interview, presenting to a prospective client, betting on a golf game, or meeting the parents of your son's girlfriend. The problem is that anxiety is linked closely with stress and can cause problems for the way you think.

The good news is that research has identified strategies that can reduce normal anxiety especially those that don't last very long. The problems arise when the anxiety is persistent and intense and interferes with your lifestyle. That's when you need to look for professional help.

In the meantime try facing your worries. When you face your concerns and decide what action to take, you have a feeling of control over your anxiety. Set aside certain times each day when you permit yourself to problem solve. There will be times when you find out you are not in control of your problem and there's nothing you can do about it. Just realizing that will help reduce your stress.

Opposite  to that , and keeping in mind that one size doesn't fit all, try to block out your problems when you're not actively involved in solving them. Switch mental focus or go for a ride on your bike. If your anxiety keeps rising, concentrate on your breathing and count out 10 deep, slow breaths.

Sharing your worries with good friends and family who are supportive is another good way to reduce anxiety. It's also a good way to boost your confidence

These tips should help you reduce your anxiety and lower your stress. If you still have trouble finding relief contact your primary doctor. It may be that you're reacting poorly to a medication or you're not getting enough sleep. Anxiety that persists more than a couple of weeks, interferes with your life, and you now have physical symptoms from the anxiety, it is probably a very good idea for you to have an assessment and treatment by a mental health professional.

It is difficult to even think about balancing your heath when your mind is anxius and unable to move.  Learn what you need to do to reduce anxiety so that you can enjoy living and have a full life.

To your success at a well balance life.

Ruthan Brodsky

Types of Meditation

A person learns to focus attention in meditation. Some forms of meditation teach to be keenly aware of thoughts and feelings without making judgments. The purpose is to bring calmness and relaxation and change how a person responds to their own emotions.

Most types of mediation have 4 criteria in common:

• A quiet location with few distractions.
• A specific but comfortable posture.
• A focus of attention whether it's a spot on the wall, repeating a mantra, or focusing on breathing.
• An open attitude which means letting distractions go and not making judgments about them.

These are some of the types of meditations:

Guided meditation or visualization. The concept here is to form mental images of places or events that you find relaxing.

Mantra mediation in which you silently repeat a calming word or thought. TM or transcendental meditation practices this approach.

Mindful meditation in which your goal is to have an increased awareness of the present such as focusing on your breath. You observe your thoughts and emotions but let them pass without judgment.

Qi gong. Part of traditional Chinese medicine, this approach combines meditation, relaxation and breathing exercise to maintain balance.

Tai chi. In this form of gentle Chinese martial arts you perform a self-paced series of postures in a slow manner while practicing deep breathing.

Yoga. One of the more popular forms of meditation, the different postures and approaches require concentration and balance.

All you need to start meditating is a few moments without interruption. You can attend special meditation centers or you can easily practice on your own. You can make the time as informal or formal as you want depending on your lifestyle. For instance, some people have a fixed time to meditate in their daily routine while others end each day with meditation. Still others find a few minutes somewhere in their day to meditate and that may be all you really need.

Do you practice any of these meditations? How well did they work for you?  Please share your thoughts with our readers.

To your successful balanced life

Ruthan Brodsky

Meditation for Good Health

Meditation actually refers to a group of techniques such as mantra meditation, relaxation response, mindfulness meditation and Zen Buddhist meditation. Most of these techniques started in the religious and spiritual traditions of the East.

Many people practice meditation for health issues including anxiety, pain, depression, stress, insomnia, and physical symptoms associated with chronic illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.

What's interesting is that medicine doesn't know exactly how meditation works on the body and the mind. The research shows that it does cause physical changes in the body and there are some theories about why this happens, but nothing conclusive.

One of the theories is that meditation may work by affecting the automatic or involuntary nervous system. This system regulates many organs and muscles regulating your heartbeat, breathing, and digestion.

In another area of research, scientists are testing whether meditation is associated with changes in brain function. Still another theory is that by practicing meditation you may improve your mind's ability to pay attention. Paying attention, of course, could lead to other benefits, because we need to pay attention to do everyday tasks and to help regulate our moods.

Please keep in mind that meditation is not a replacement for your conventional medical care or an excuse not to see your physician or postpone an appointment.

And one more piece of advice: if you're looking for an instructor to help you meditate ask about the training and experience of that instructor before you register for any classes.

If you practice meditation, let us know what type you do and the benefits you found.  I would like to share that with our subscribers.  Scroll down to Comments and tell us what you do to relax. Much appreciation.

To your success for balance in your life,

Ruthan Brodsky

Meditation 101

Meditation 101

Meditation has been around for thousands of years. Historically, meditation was supposed to help the holy men, the sages, the medicine men acquire a deeper understanding of the mystical and sacred powers of the world in which they lived. Today, meditation is commonly used as a tool, a strategy, a process to reduce stress.

Meditation is an accepted mind-body practice in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or integrated medicine. However, I doubt whether your insurance company would pay for any instruction you receive about how to medicate.

Anyone can practice meditation. It is simple and you don't need extra equipment. The beauty of meditation is you can practice it anywhere. You can meditate on a commuter train, in your doctor's waiting room, or in a closet.

A person uses certain techniques when they meditate such as a specific posture, focused attention, or repeating a mantra. Its purpose is to eliminate the stream of thoughts that causes chaos and stress for you as they crowd your mind. The result is improved physical and emotional well being.

I've given a series of 30-minute teleseminars on stress and strategies for controlling your stress that you can download or listen to them on your computer. They are free and are very informative. You may also give these links to your friends and family: Coping with Different Types of Stress .

Meditation is one of the best ways to manage stress because it gives you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits your overall health. The beauty of it is that these benefits can last from your meditation session to your entire day. It clears away your information overload that builds up every day and creates chaos and more stress.

Meditation is most meaningful for me because it helps me reduce my negative outlook and emotions. It also helps me focus on the present.

More on meditation in my next post.

This is a good time to ask your questions so I can share the answers with others.

To your well balanced success in health and in life.

Ruthan Brodsky

Why Men and Women Handle Stress Differently

We all have stories about how men and women experience stress differently.

My friend, Barbara, is stressed out these days – like so many of us. She works as a second-grade teacher in a school district that was supported by an auto industry tax base. The school-age population in her district is getting smaller and she's not sure how long she'll have her job.

When Barbara's stress builds up she ends up crying hidden in the bathroom when get gets home. Then she talks frequently about how she feels with her friends and family. It's her way to get it all out.

Barbara's husband, Frank, works for a large accounting firm who lists some of their large accounts as auto suppliers and pharmaceuticals. Their clients are global but they're still losing some and the firm's staff has been reduced.

Frank doesn't say much when he's stressed. And he doesn't cry. Depending upon how stressed he is, Frank can become irritable.

A primary reason why men and women react differently to stress is hormones. Cortisol, epinephrine and oxytocin are the important ones. When you are stressed your levels of cortisol and epinephrine raise your blood pressure and your circulating blood sugar level. The problem is raised cortisol can lower the effectiveness of your immune system. Not good for your health.

At one time it was thought that men and women produce different levels of cortisol when they get stressed but now we know that's not the case. It's the hormone called oxytocin which makes the difference. When women are stressed and the cortisol and epinephrine rush through the bloodstream, oxytocin is released from the brain which counters the production of cortisol and epinephrine and promotes more nurturing emotions. Men also secrete oxytocin when they're stressed but in much smaller amounts.

The old fight or flight theory about stress works for men but women are more likely to deal with stress by tending and befriending or nurturing those around them and reaching out to others.

What do you do to handle your stress - chew gum? go for a walk? write in your journal? Tell us about your stress management tools so we can share them with others.  Scroll down to 'Comments" and type your tips in the window.  Much appreciation.

To your success at a balance life.

Ruthan Brodsky

Living with Stress

This has been a very stressful morning. All I’m doing is putting out small fires instead of getting anything done. I am stressed.

I don’t think there’s anyway to completely eliminate stress from our lives – and I don’t think that’s such a good idea anyway. I believe managing stress and maintaining a healthy balance with life is a more realistic goal.

Stress: A Major Cause for Imbalance

I am stressed this week. I also admit to being frequently stressed.

My major culprit is ‘lack of time.’ It’s absurd to say I don’t have enough time because we all have the same 24 hours in a day. However, I always feel I’m behind and playing ‘catch up.’ Some days are better than others. I can live with where I am that day and don’t feel much stress. I accept what I haven’t completed. Other days I’m very anxious about not being where I want to be.

That’s what bothers me. The chronic state (or somewhat chronic) of being anxious and not relaxing because with my 25 years of experience in health writing I know that an overload of stress leads to nothing good.