How Stress Effects the Body

School is stressful. Work is stressful. When you are younger you always feel like when you are older things will suddenly fall in place and you will have it figured out. What seems to actually happen is: although you are becoming more solid in who you are and what you want, the stress does not lessen as you gain more and more responsibilities. For a lot of us that is realizing how much harder Grad School is versus Undergrad. And subsequently feeling the impending doom of Comps and job applications. For some it is getting engaged/married/having children (personally after watching one of my best friends plan her wedding I'd rather be dealing with the job hunt).

I thought it would be beneficial to talk about the effects of stress on the body/mind  and the importance of making time for self-care! Whether that is going to the gym for an hour before beginning your reading, having a bottle of wine (or two) with your roommates and commiserating about your workloads, or giving yourself permission to nap all Saturday afternoon (and maybe Sunday too), it is imperative to make time to be nice to yourself and take care of your body.

This information I found from the American Psychological Association website.

Stress on the Body

Muskuloskeletal: When the body is stressed, muscles tense up.
With sudden onset stress, the muscles tense up all at once, and then release their tension when the stress passes. When muscles are taut and tense for long periods of time, this may trigger other reactions of the body and even promote stress-related disorders.
This tension can lead to chronic pain conditions: headaches, back pain, etc

Respiratory:
Stress can trigger asthma attacks and panic attacks.

Cardiovascular:
Elevated levels of stress hormones and of blood pressure, can take a toll on the body. This long-term ongoing stress can increase the risk for hypertension, heart attack or stroke.
Repeated acute stress and persistent chronic stress may also contribute to inflammation in the circulatory system, particularly in the coronary arteries, and this is one pathway that is thought to tie stress to heart attack. It also appears that how a person responds to stress can affect cholesterol levels.

Gastrointestinal: 
If you eat more or different foods, or increase your use of alcohol or tobacco, you can experience heartburn or acid reflux. Stress or exhaustion can also increase the severity of heartburn pain.You may vomit if the stress is severe enough. If the stress becomes chronic, you may develop ulcers or severe stomach pain even without ulcers. Stress can affect digestion, and what nutrients your intestines absorb. It can also affect how fast food moves through your body.

Stress can be a real killer. Please take time to be kind to yourself and do activities that make you happy!

Sources:
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-body.aspx
http://digitalbloggers.com/gregfionascott/files/2013/01/reducing-stress-2.jpg

Stress and Deep Breathing Exercises

Hello everyone! I hope as this semester kicks off everyone is doing a good job of taking care of themselves and managing stress.

Personally I am beginning to feel the stress of the impending workload upon us students. I thought I would list a deep breathing exercise that I personally have found helpful when you think about all of your assignments and just want to take a nap or marathon Netflix bc how on earth is all that work possible.

Mindful Breathing

Sit quietly in a chair with both feet on the ground and your hands in your lap. Allow
yourself to feel centred in the chair. Bring all of your attention to the physical act of
breathing. Start to notice the breath as it enters your body through your nose and travels
to your lungs. Notice with curiosity whether the inward and outward breaths are cool or
warm, and notice where the breath travels as it enters and departs.

Also notice the breath as your lungs relax and you inhale through your nose. Don’t try to do
anything with your breathing – simply notice it, pay attention to it and be aware of it. It
doesn’t matter if your breathing is slow or fast, deep or shallow; it just is what it is. Allow
your body to do what it does naturally.

You will start to notice that each time you breathe in, your diaphragm or stomach will
expand… and each time you breathe out your diaphragm or stomach will relax. Again,
don’t try to do anything – just be aware of the physical sensations of breathing in and
breathing out. If you find that thoughts intrude, this is okay. Don’t worry, just notice the
thoughts, allow them to be, and gently bring your awareness back to your breath.

Start this exercise initially for 5 minutes, building up daily. You can also do this exercise
lying down in bed if you have difficulty sleeping. It is simply a way of allowing you to have
more mindful and conscious awareness of your body and its surroundings, its breathing and
its capacity to relax. When our breathing relaxes our muscles relax.

http://www.livingwell.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/5-BreathingMindfulness.pdf

http://www.psychalive.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/mindfulness-quote-jon-kabat-zinn.jpg

Initial Thoughts

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting any sort of blog entry. The closest I have come to using anything like this is reading a friend's Live Journal back in the day. I am excited to learn how to incorporate technology into being the best Mental Health Professional I can be. I have a Facebook account and in middle school had a Myspace account, but other than that I have done my best to resist all of the new trends that have come about.

I have created a Tumblr and an Instagram at some point but do not use them at all. It has been a mini goal of mine to never ever Tweet as long as I live, although I realize I must succumb to the new times and embrace the new technology in order to stay current and relevant. Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and the ridiculous trend of hashtagging (it's a pound sign people) are here to stay, so I will do my best to incorporate these things into my professional life.

All of this will help me stay connected to my peers, friends, and to be accessible to people seeking Mental Health services. It will also help me learn from my colleagues and to share articles and new developments in the field. I am glad to finally enter into the 21st century and get up to date. I look forward to this semester and reading everyone's' posts!

-Sarah M.