Are you stressed now?  I am.  When I first saw this many, many, many years ago while in college, we were shown a 15 minute segment of it.  Our professor suggested that if it was too much for us that we could put our heads down or leave and stay by the building if you were still having problems.  I ended up with some others outside.  The music is by Philip Glass.

The Hopi word Koyaanisqatsi (English pronunciation:  KOY-ah-nis-KAHT-see) means “crazy life, life in turmoil, life out of balance, life disintegrating, a state of life that calls for another way of living.”  This film entilted Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance.

The films director Godfrey Reggio stated that the Qatsi films are intended to simply create an experience and that “it is up [to] the viewer to take for himself/herself what it is that [the film] means.” He also said that “these films have never been about the effect of technology, of industry on people. It’s been that everyone: politics, education, things of the financial structure, the nation state structure, language, the culture, religion, all of that exists within the host of technology. So it’s not the effect of, it’s that everything exists within [technology]. It’s not that we use technology, we live technology. Technology has become as ubiquitous as the air we breathe…”

I decided to use this piece to introduce you to National Stress Management Day which is traditionally on April 16,  the day after taxes are due in the US.  Other  countries have this day and in the US it is actually the whole month.

Stress is the normal emotional, physical and cognitive reaction to events that make you feel threatened or sets you life out of the normal balance . There are two types of stress, eustress and distress.  Eustress is the “good type of stress” like weddings, birthday celebrations vacations etc.  distress is the “bad type of stress,” such as, divorce, death, work, etc.  However, both evoke the same type of bodily reactions (fight or flight)  which is mostly based in our perception of the stressor. 

Everyone experiences stress which in not inherently a “bad” thing.  It spurs the flight or fight resonse, so you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, and stress can save your life. I am generally able to handle emergency situation with ease and am able to direct and take control to direct people. It is afterward that I can really feel the stress.   Stress is what helps you cope with a during a presentation or contentious meeting at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you’d rather be watching TV.

After a certain point, stress becomes detrimental to you health, mood, productivity, relationship and quality of life. The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you’d rather be watching TV. 

But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, your thinking and your quality of life.  Stress can have significant damaging effects. 

From ChangingMinds.org.

Symptoms of emotional and cognitive stress include: 

• Feeling irritable
• Feeling frustrated at having to wait for something
• Feeling restless
• Unable to concentrate
• Becoming easily confused
• Having memory problems
• Thinking about negative things all the time
• Negative self-talk
• Having marked mood swings
• Eating too much
• Eating when you are not hungry
• Finding it difficult to concentrate
• Not having enough energy to get things done
• Feeling you can’t cope
• Finding it hard to make decisions
• Having emotional outbursts
• Generally feeling upset
• Lack of sense of humor

Physical symptoms of stress include:

• Muscle tension
• Low back pain
• Pains in shoulders or neck
• Pains in chest
• Stomach/abdominal pain
• Muscle spasms or nervous tics
• Unexplained rashes or skin irritations
• ‘Pounding’ or ‘racing’ heart
• Sweaty palms
• Sweating when not physically active
• ‘Butterflies’ in stomach
• Indigestion and ‘the gurgles’
• Diarrhea
• Unable to sleep or excessive sleep
• Shortness of breath
• Holding breath

Below is a short video of way of coping with stress.  I would also add meditation, prayer, minfulness, breathing exercises, doing something for yourself (a warm bath, deep breathing exercises and taking time out from the stressors of daily life…go enjoy the moment or just simply relax and have fun…NOT something you feel like you have to do)

Do Tell…What do you do to help you cope with stress.  Any and all comments and questions welcomed.

Hello Flower People!!! CC here from Southern California and stressed out. There has been a lot of events in my life since the end of last year.  I know many of you know it, but for those who don’t quick summary :

October 2008 ~ mass removed, possible cancer, benign.

Thanksgiving/Christmas ~ family stress/with just the holidays as usual, but with triggers this time and begin to decompensate.

Jan/Feb 2009 ~ 24 day psychiatric hospitalization

March 2009 ~ not unpacked from hospitalization yet and  I am hospitalized 7 days for very serious pneumonia.  I almost died.

March 2009 ~ day after I’m discharged from the hospital my father-in-law is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, hospice in place, given one week to six months.

April 2009 ~ father-in-law not doing well has hospice nurse in home. He passes away on 4/26/09; Funeral Service ~ May 1st; Burial Service ~ May 9th

I am still recovering from pneumonia. This means I take medication that has caused me to gain 30 pounds as it increased my appetite, and caused retention of  water and salt. I am unable to fit in most of my clothing. Embarrassing moments ~ need to wear husband’s underwear as none of mine fit!!!  :-(   I have tremors, mood swings, and skin growths just to name a few. But, it was either that or die.  I still lack stamina and have some difficulty breathing. Also, I am unable to drive due to side effects of dizziness and lightheadedness.

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With the world seemly falling to pieces, bad news everywhere we turn, even BBC 1 has taken a more pessimistic tone of late.  The Economic Downturn, the stock market bubble bursting, wars, terrorist attacks, bombings, crime, mass sackings, business closing, Billion dollar bailouts for big business.

What we need is somewhere we feel in control, a place we can go and be happy and forget the outside world for a while.

A place that is our own, our own little corner where nothing can take over, private, safe, comforting and most of all STRESS FREE.
Whether it is a place found in the depths of meditation, a workout at the gym, sitting in the garden, reading a good book,  it really doesn’t matter, just a place we can recharge our batteries, remove the stresses which are becoming everyday and a place we can be ourselves.

Sometimes we just to see things slightly differently in order to find a way through the maze of life.

How do you de-stress?

Do you have a Happy place?

And sometimes you just have to Scream!

What’s your survival strategy? No not the one where you fill 20 black bin liners with soil from the garden, pile them around the kitchen able and climb inside and sit with a tin of baked beans for a month, until help arrives (in the event of a nuclear attack). No, I’m talking about survival of everyday life.

The problem is everybody always thinks their problems are more severe than anyone else’s, so much more un-surmountable, so much more on the brink of meltdown.

Take us at the moment. Mandy’s very busy with her business here in the UK- Fabulous Photo Gifts – as we head into a frantic 3 weeks of Christmas shopping before last orders are called. In my day job – the ‘ecomonic climate’ means we’re exploring ever more creative ways to get business which means working much more than the 9 to 5…..

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Hello flower people,

Several weeks ago I commented here about blood types and how that might affect one’s health or diet. So, I looked and I looked and I looked and couldn’t really find anything on the subject. There does not appear to be a lot of research into the area of blood types and whether it can affect the way your body reacts to food, the environment or even medical treatments. Everyone knows you don’t mix blood types in transfusions, but do they know if your blood type can affect the treatment you receive?

I did find that book called, ‘Eat Right 4 Your Type’ by Dr. Peter D’Adamo. Although I haven’t read it to know just what’s in the book. From what I’ve seen online, this is a pretty controversial idea, many individuals claim that these diets do work to improve their health and their weight, while many experts are pointing out that there isn’t a lot of real research that’s been done on the subject of blood types and food.

I did come across one golden nugget of research conducted by Drs Joseph K. Neumann and collegues in a paper titled ‘Effects of Stress and Blood Type on Cortisol and VLDL Toxicity Preventing Activity’. They found a connection between your blood type and stress reaction. Apparently people with certain blood types react more quickly to stressful situations and recover more quickly.

Basically, there isn’t really a lot of research out there that looks at blood type on something more than a transfusion scale. It does seem to effect the body’s reaction sometimes, but we won’t really know how or in relation to what until more research is completed.

My learning from this: Take blood type treatments, diets and ideas with a grain of salt until you find the truth.

Here in the UK (and USA too I believe) we have a little show called The X-Factor. 100′s of 1,000′s turn up for open auditions to be the next big pop music find. They perform without instruments before a celeb panel of Simon Cowell, Danni Minogue, Louis Walsh and Cheryl ? from Girls Aloud? (She’s new this year – Sorry Cheryl if you’re reading this – we love you really)

After getting a yes, they go onto boot camp where they perform in rows of 5, some get thru to day 2, others do not and go home.

Second day, the same process pretty much.

Yesterdays boot camp day 1 was extra stressful…..

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I thought I’d mention a little bit about how closely tied anxiety and fatigue are in terms of the body this time around.  The body is very much affected by the mind and vice versa.  When we get into long term stressful situations it actually begins to wear down the body, and that in turn helps wear down the mind and spirit leading to a deadly downward spiral. 

We should all recognize how closely intertwined our minds, bodies and spirits are, so we can take the proper measures to stop that spiral and improve overall health immedietely. 

The next time you find yourself feeling ill, rundown and just kind of chronically achy try a few of these tips to improve over the next week:

• Drink water!  Right now to start clearing your system, hydrate the body and flushing toxins.
• Don’t think about your worries.  Set aside a specific time each day when you will worry at your problems.  When that time ends you have to set those problems aside and do something constructive.
• Physical Activity improves mood.  I recommend a twenty minute walk in particular.  It really helps.
• Eat protein and complex carbs.  The protein will give the body amino acids that help produce dopamine and norepinephrine.  The carbs give the energy needed to get through tough days.

There are lots of ways to improve the health and outlook but the main thing is to let go of the anxiety and stress.

Following GSTF Founder Taylor Blue’s lively, timely and excellent post on 9/11 we have learnt that a new study by the World Trade Center Health Registry claims that the 9/11 terrorist attack led to some 70,000 people developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The public health registry was created right after September 11, 2001 to track the health effects of the disastrous attack. In addition, between 4,000 and 12,600 have developed asthma due to the traumatic event.

Women, minorities, and low-income participants had higher rates of physical and mental problems, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said. Katherine L. Muller, director of psychology training and director of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, told journalists that more and more people were reaching natural recovery from the traumatic experiences of 9/11.

What can society do to help post traumatic stress victims years on after the event? Do tell – Is it possible to ever get over being so close to such a mammoth event that shook the world?