Listen to CD #4 Stress Solutions Welcome to our discussion on stress. Let’s talk about stress eating. As you already know, stress can affect virtually any part of the body and can produce physical, mental and emotional symptoms including functional cardiac symptoms, headache, muscle tension, heart palpitations, back pain, depression, impaired immunity and weight gain. There are basically two main groups of us human creatures in respect to stress and our eating behaviors. [We can discuss the eating behavior of animals when under stress later if there is an interest ;-) just let me know.] Ok, back to the two groups… A. Those that eat less when feeling stressed. B. Those that eat more when feeling stressed. Which category are you in?
If you are in group A, and eat less when stressed, you may be one of
those people who, when faced with challenging times:
"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." -- Marcus Aurelius If you are in group B, then when you eat in an attempt to reduce stress, does it work? Do you feel better? Are you more relaxed? Fulfilled? Do you think it helps your body cope with the physiological demands of perceived or actual stress? Do you want to choose another way to deal with stress? Ok. Great. Read on… There are many reasons why you eat when you feel stressed. Here are a few possibilities: · It is a habit - it’s just what you automatically & robotically do without thinking - a reaction. · You were given food when you were a child as a way to soothe and provide comfort, and your inner child is quite satisfied by your behavior. · It feels good and tastes good, and you live in the moment. · You don’t really care if you gain weight and you prefer to just enjoy eating. (why are you reading this?) · You are letting your body chemistry control your behavior. Who is in charge? Is your inner child in charge of you? Can you override your physiology and train your biochemistry? Well what do you think? I bet you can guess what I think. You can do whatever you want! Eat if you want - It’s truly your choice. If you like to eat when you are stressed, well then keep doing it. If you want to eat only when you are truly hungry and Not in response to stress, then choose another method to counter the stress response! Scroll down if you want to get to the techniques NOW… Weight gain is often associated with emotional eating and/or the hurried and harried lifestyles of busy people who do not make the time for regular exercise and/or meditation. Researchers are finding that changes in the body triggered by stress, such as elevated cortisol levels, can cause insulin resistance and weight gain. Under stress, the hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing factor, (CRF) which instructs the anterior pituitary to release ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone) which causes the release of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex and simultaneously activates the sympathetic nervous system which causes a release of adrenalin. (remember fight/flight/freeze). Additional sugar stores (glycogen) are released from the liver into the bloodstream, and during periods of chronic stress, creates an excessive need for insulin. Insulin, part of the endocrine system, is a fat-storage hormone that overrides the stress signal from adrenalin to burn fat. The excess release of insulin gives the body the message to store fat in the abdomen. In SUM: · Chronic stress causes an increase in circulating cortisol released from adrenals, and that in turn causes. · Glucose stores to be released from the liver. · Insulin is then released to handle the additional sugar load and the perpetual cycle continues - stress - cortisol - increased glucose-increased insulin - appetite increase - sugar cravings to give the insulin “something to do”… oops weight gain. How on earth did that happen? If you want to interrupt the cycle, are you ready to learn some stress management techniques? Great! Then I will share some of my favorite techniques below: stress management techniques just for you!!!!! · My all time favorite and an easy one to remember is mindful, deep breathing. I recommend yogic breathing which is simply, exhaling twice as long as you inhale. I also suggest putting the thumb and forefinger or thumb and middle finger together as this can serve as an anchor (classical conditioning… thank you Pavlov) for the experience of relaxation. After practicing regularly, if you want to experience enhanced comfort as you go about your activities, then simply placing the thumb and forefinger together can facilitate the experience. · This can also be achieved by counting. You may want to breathe in 2 counts, hold for one, then breathe out for 4 counts. I use this method in biofeedback training and the shift to a relaxed response is dramatic and rapid. Dr. Andrew Weil recommends breathing in for 4 counts, holding for 7, then breathing out for 8... and doing that for 5 cycles, then resuming yogic breathing. This technique facilitates a powerful and pleasant shift to restorative breathing. ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ · The QR, or quieting response, was developed by Charles Stroebel, M.D., Ph.D., a leader in the field of self-regulation and biofeedback. He was a type A personality and found it difficult to sit for 20 minutes to meditate. This technique is perfect for more active, high strung individuals who are not attracted to meditation, yet want to reduce stress in their life. It is a 6 second technique, that when practiced can become a quieting reflex. Each step counters the natural progression of the stress response. The 5 steps are as follows: 1. As you experience and are aware of a stressor (usually by a change in your breathing), then SMILE INWARDLY WITH YOUR EYES AND MOUTH. 2. Think this thought which becomes a self-suggestion: “ALERT AMUSED MIND, CALM BODY “ 3. Inhale 4 counts through imaginary pores in the bottom of your feet, up to your head, and as you exhale: 4. RELAX THE TONGUE, THE JAWS AND THE SHOULDERS. 5. FEEL A WARMTH AND HEAVINESS FLOWING THROUGH THE BODY. · The last technique I will describe is called mindfulness meditation, or Vippasana. It involves adopting an attitude of attentiveness to every thought, sensation, feeling, event, in each moment, and also an allowingness of every thought, sensation, feeling, and event. So there is an increase in awareness combined with an attitude of non-judgment and letting go. There is an attitude of detached observation that allows for an expansiveness of experience. Just notice your breathing, attentiveness, allowingness, and be aware of your thoughts. No judgment... just allow them to pass like clouds in the sky. Without attempting to control the clouds, (because you can’t!!) just let them be... clouds. Present moment, beautiful moment. Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it towards others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace will be in our world. -- Etty Hillesum I wish you the best of everything. May you and your loved ones be blessed with peace, joy, health, and mostly love.
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