Balanced Living

Are You Stressing Yourself Out?

Posted by Arja on November 22 in Holistic Health

Anger flares up.  Maybe it’s a blind rage that makes you feel out of control, or maybe you find yourself lashing out at people, whether you know them or not.  No matter who you are, it’s natural for anger to get the better of you once in awhile.  If, however, you find yourself reacting to everything that gets in your way, even the little things, your overall health and wellness may be suffering as a result.

Does everything seem to bother you, causing frustration, and maybe even rage?  Do you find yourself lashing out at people, even those that you love?  Your emotional health is an indicator of your overall wellness, and this kind of constant anger and tension is a stress on your system.  We already know that stress (especially chronic, low level stress) is the underlying cause of many health issues.  High blood pressure, insomnia and other sleep-related disorders, anxiety, and irritable bowel disorder are just some of the conditions caused and/or affected by it.  The trouble is, the stress isn’t always coming from an external force; sometimes we cause it ourselves just by how we react to the world around us.

In every situation there is more than one way to respond. Even if it’s something irritating, you can decide, in that moment, to take a breath and not let it get the better of you.  Chances are, whatever just happened is not going to ruin your day completely, so actively choose not to go to battle every time something happens or slows you down a bit.  We live in a world filled with all kinds of different people and personalities, so it’s just not possible for everything to happen the way we would like it to.  It’s better to look for a calmer outlook that you can turn to, rather that keep letting your emotions send you into orbit whenever something hits a nerve. 

There will always be situations that push us more towards negative reactions, and in some cases, anger might actually help get a point across.  But even then, once your point has been made, it’s time to let that emotion go, because anger is toxic.

So what can you do to retrain your brain?

• Take some deep, calming breaths
• Focus on at least one positive thing that is happening in that moment
• In the case that it is another person who is frustrating you, remember that something may have happened to them that is setting their mood off and that it really doesn’t always have to do with you directly
• Remember that getting mad or frustrated won’t necessarily help things go any smoother, in fact, it may complicate matters further

Some are days sent to try us and make it more challenging than others to put this into practice.  Just take a breath, refocus your mind, and try to relax.  You won’t change your emotional patterns overnight, but even the smallest shift will have a big impact on your stress levels.