Economy Got You Stressed?

"If the economy has got you stressed and you are making decisions based on that, I encourage you to read the following article."

Determining What's Really Important In Life

Let me begin by stating, "Nothing is more important than how you feel." How we feel is actually the impetus behind all the decisions we make.  And based upon how the current economic situation is making many of us feel, it is important to determine what is really important in life.  Having recently come back from a 2-week hiatus from work, I have returned to feel the crunch of the economy.  Gas is the highest it's ever been with no end in sight, which has translated to higher food costs, and other costs related to our energy bills.  This is causing many to have to make choices about what they feel they can afford and what they will have to do without.  This being the case, it creates some anxiety and stress within an individual; stress we are all starting to feel.  And it is because of how many are choosing to deal with their economic stress that causes one to "cut things out of their life for the time being." , that I write this article.  That being said, I wanted to help you appreciate what that will mean for each of you regarding your health.  And I want to offer advice on how to help yourself feel well now and how to build up some reserves before any health problems develop. 

Our Stress Response 

As stress levels increase, your physical body will begin to suffer.  And this is secondarily to your mental/emotional body.  Many of you may not fully appreciate that.  Understand that what you think and how you feel about what you are thinking, will directly influence how your physical body functions.  Since all health issues involving the physical body begin as an emotional imbalance, I wanted to help you appreciate the various things you can do to help offset the effects of financial stress, business stress, and the family stress that results due to the economic stress. 

Because of the way we are wired internally, we have come to understand the various relationships between our emotions and how our physical body functions.  In other words, you will experience a particular emotion and it will cause the corresponding organ associated with that emotion to either increase its function (hyper function) because of the increased emotion, or it will cause the organ to decrease its function (hypo function) because of the drain associated with the emotion. An example of that which many deal with every day relates to the emotion of feeling vulnerable (For example: not having enough money to pay bills which means one may lose their car or house).  This affects the small intestine causing indigestion or uncomfortable feelings within the body around the belly.  Now the feeling of vulnerability will lead one to question their self worth or what will translate to their self-esteem.  When one feels low self-esteem, this will stress the stomach out leading to indigestion, reflux, and stomach pangs.  In an effort to satiate these uncomfortable feelings, one will tend to reach for something to stimulate the stomach.  Ultimately this causes one to eat more food, specifically foods that taste sweet.  This is because the stomach controls the sense of taste within the body, and the most popular taste we experience is the taste of sweetness.  Sure, some people enjoy the salty tastes, or even a nice cup of bitter coffee, but a majority will prefer the taste of sweet.  Unfortunately, eating foods that are sweet regularly causes the Immune System to have to work extra hard causing it to burn out creating problems that lead to sickness.  And sickness causes body breakdown ending in suffering from health issues.  Therefore, as stress increases in our lives due to the various changes in our economy, one will expect to have an increase in health related symptoms due to how they feel about the economic changes.  That is why it is important to take care of your health as a first priority.  Why?  Because without your health, you have no ability to do your job or run your business efficiently nor effectively.  And with economic stress impacting many companies, you may get cught up in the lay-offs or buy-outs which will threaten your long-term security.  This is the reason for the initial vulnerability.  So what does one do in these tough economic times? 

Things you can do to help assist your body's ability to handle stress better:
1) Begin by drinking more water on a regular basis.  The body requires 1 quart of water for every 50 lbs. you weigh, every day.  And in the process of drinking that much water, you'll want to consider drinking at least 1 quart of mineral water a couple times a week.  The reason being that mineral water, like a Pellegrino, has a high concentration of Calcium Bicarbonate, the specific ingredient needed to build a strong Immune System.  So by consuming a couple of bottles of mineral water a week will help to keep your Immune System fed properly, thus allowing it to be strong.  This will minimize body breakdown.

2) The next thing you can do to help your body deal with the stress is to have an outlet for the stress. This includes exercise, meaning anything that is a focused physical activity, such as walking, running, cycling, weightlifting, aerobics, yoga, Thai Chi, basketball, swimming, going to the batting cages, etc. As long as you are being active physically, this will help you to release the stress that accumulates within the body.  Any of the exercises that cause you to breath deeply (aerobic type) for sustained periods greater then 20 minutes, will assist your body in releasing the emotions that lead to body dysfunction.  This is because the diaphragm is the processor of all emotions through the body.  Deep breathing helps with that process.  People who sigh a lot are people who are processing lots of emotion.

3) Another way to help you release your stress is to do some journaling or writing about what you are thinking and more importantly, how you feel about what you are thinking.  This will go a long way in helping you to express the stress out of your body.  Doing this vs. watching T.V. will be better for you emotionally if you are thinking and expressing your emotions rather then watching television where the likelihood of creating more mental/emotional stress will occur.  Certainly do not watch the NEWS where they will tell you how bad the economy is doing with the price of gas and the price of food.  Stay away from the NEWS.  Spend time planning how to approach your job or business in a new way to generate more sales, more production or more clientele. 

4) Also important is to get the proper amount of sleep.  The average body needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.  Not 7 to 8 hours of lying in bed tossing and turning while worrying about your job, business or finances.  But actual sleep.  Winding down at the end of your day to allow your body to be prepared for sleep time is important.  Again, this is a great reason to avoid watching the NEWS with all the doom and gloom and violent stories with pictures just before bed.  

5) My next to last tip to help you deal with the stress of the economy is to consider the food you are eating.  Foods that are high in refined sugar and foods that are essentially dead of nutrition are not a good way to help your body deal with stress.  But this requires you to be conscious before you make your food choices.  When going to the market to get your food, always go with a specific list of items to buy.  And never go while you are hungry.  This will cause you to buy foods that satisfy your need for sweets.  Again, these are essentially dead and are void of nutrition.  Shop around the outside of the store where you will find fresh foods and live foods, while avoiding the aisles where there is nothing but processed, dead food.  Also, taking the time to prepare your food ahead of time is important.  Knowing it was prepared healthfully allows you to look forward to eating it and gives you piece of mind by knowing that it is healthy.  And if you are going to eat out, between clients or even with clients, take the time to eat healthy.  Lots of fresh food with more uncooked food then cooked.  Ask for the dressing on the side.  Avoid the sweeteners that cause you to eat more food.  Chew your food and take your time.  Rushing causes poor digestion and leads to eating more then you should.  Again, be conscious of what you are doing.

6) Lastly, take the time to get looked at regularly.  Either by myself, or another health professional who understands how to monitor your overall health.  One who can help you take better ownership of your body.  Simply getting treated is O.K., but finding a practitioner who can help you understand what you can do to actively minimize the effects of your stress is vital.  Here at Advanced Alternative Medicine Center we have all the necessary tools to help balance your mental/emotional while also treating your physical.  Our care is specifically designed to address your special circumstances related to how you deal with ALL your stress.  I'm sure you understand that STRESS is cumulative, and builds up over time.  Knowing this to be true, let's be honest…you are not going to do all 6 of these recommendations, and they probably won't get done perfectly every day.  That being said, you need to find a practitioner who can help you.  One who can assess the effects of your daily stress and offer specialized treatment designed to rid you of that stress.  And then offer information to help you to deal with it on your own.  Find someone and go regularly to keep your physical from feeling the effects of the Mental/Emotional.  By taking the time to take care of yourself, you will be much closer to 100 % able to take care of yourself, your family, your job, your clients and/or your business.  Then the economy will cease to stress you out as your attitude toward business will be better.  Realize that your business is a reflection of where you are at, emotionally.  If business is good, it's because you are good, emotionally.  And if business is down, it is because you are down, emotionally.  By taking the time to regularly get your head right, and your body functioning correctly, the struggling economy will not be a factor.

I hope this information has been helpful.  If you know of a friend or loved one who is suffering the effects of the economy, forward them this newsletter and ask them to go to www.spineboy.com and sign up for our FREE Newsletter where they can receive helpful information about managing their health.  Then ask them to click on FREE Health Care Classes Schedule and Topics under the Main Menu and find a class that interests them.  They begin at 6:30 every Tuesday evening and are always FREE!  Encourage them to help themselves by reaching for the phone and calling Jean at (845)561-BACK (2225) and asking her to reserve their spot in our next FREE health care class.  Since class size is limited, reservations are needed.

Dr. Huntoon has a single mission:

To support as many people as possible in their quest for health and enable them to improve and maintain their health to the highest level possible, while educating them about the benefits of Chiropractic, Natural Healthcare and Holistic Living, so they in turn can teach others to support us having a healthy community.

Your Choice

• Continue doing the same thing and nothing changes or it may get worse

OR

• Try something different and get a different result that makes you happier and healthier.