Stress Management Ideas

Being stressed out can happen any time of the year for those with celiac and those without celiac.

Stress is a living creature’s negative physiological and psychological reaction to internal or external Stimuli either perceived or unperceived. 

Stress can cause a wide variety of issues including but not limited to a change in blood pressure, affect a person’s mood, affect appetite, result in a sleep or habit change, affect endorphin levels, lower immune response, and make changes to mental well being.  All of these and more are issues of stress.  There are many ways that you can get rid of stress, some of them healthy and some of them unhealthy.  With Celiac in the picture already it is better if you choose healthy option in order to lower your stress levels.  This will help you heal and to lead a healthy life.    

Start working out to burn off stress this action allows endorphins to release as well as it helps boost the immune system and utilize more energy resources.  All of which can help you deal with stress when you cannot work out.

Reduce Caffeine and Sugar; there give you a temporary high so that you feel good for a little while.  However, then you crash and you are worse than when you started.  Also by taking in these stimulants it interferes with your sleep pattern.

Sleep well and on a regular basis this will be easier if you have upped your exercise and lowered your caffeine and sugar intake.  By setting yourself on a schedule and not deviating from it you have set your body on a clock and you will be able to regulate your sleep.  By being tired you are only adding to the stress that is hurting your body.

Do at least one thing you enjoy every day.  By adding in this small thing then you are allowing yourself to distress just a little every day.  This also allows you to have fun which changes your endorphin levels.

Learn when it is appropriate to say no, often times stress is added to by someone taking on more than what they can really handle.  By learning to say no when you cannot take on any more then you will be able to slowly reduce the stress in your life.  However, the biggest thing about saying no is not feeling guilty about it afterwards.  If you have too much going on at work and cannot handle a new project then by saying no you are doing what is best not only for you but also for the project

Use a to-do list and keep it down to only a few items a day.  This will allow you to quickly get through your pile of projects or things to do without over stressing yourself.  If you see only three or four major things to do each day then you will not feel overwhelmed.  If you see forty things you need to get done in a month then you might go into panic mode

Each of these suggestions are only a start on ways to make yourself healthy.  Since these are only starting points one cannot expect all stress to go away quickly.  It will take time and energy in order to properly manage stress levels.