Stress is a part of life. And our ability to manage stress is part of the resilience needed to live a well-balanced life. Our ability to cope with stress determines the quality of our life. How we handle stress defines who we are. Here are nine very practical coping skills strategies to help us cope with our stressors…
The holiday season is a time of joy, but for many, it’s a challenging time as well. When the body holds too much tension and emotional energy, it can affect the immune system, making a person more prone to illness, as well as depression. And while we all want to enjoy this time, if we’re not proactive in taking care of ourselves, we may not feel like celebrating.
Even the most solid sibling dynamic can erupt into arguments when it comes to the health and welfare of beloved parents who are beginning to show signs of frailty.
Our daily lives are filled with so many distractions that it’s easy to feel scattered and stressed. When you are chronically stressed it becomes harder to function properly, increasing your stress even more and often inviting disease. To help manage their stress, many people have turned to yoga and mind-body training because its healthy effects on body and mind are now widely recognized.
What I’ve learned is about just that: What I’ve learned these past 16+ years since I entered this field called “aging.” I was 42 years old and didn’t know a whole lot about retirement planning, Social Security or health issues, let alone caregiving and Alzheimer’s. Most people in that age range don’t think about this stuff; however, it is important to think ahead to when we get older and/or about our parents own aging and health issues.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified mental wellness issues — stress, depression and anxiety — as the leading causes of a “global health burden.” Could it be that, for the past century, we’ve had the mistaken notion that these problems are all in our head, when in reality they are largely in our gut?
