A Four-Step Guide to Stress Management

No one can ever be immune to stress, but what differentiates us in these moments is the way we deal with the stress. The basic idea behind dealing with stress stems is your ability to know when you are stressed and what is stressing you (often called the stressor). Being under stress frequently can hamper your health and wellness.

What is Stress?

Simply put, stress is the reaction from our body when demands are made on it. Stress is not only caused by bad experiences in life, but good experiences as well. From a biological point of view, when stressed, the body releases certain chemicals into the blood stream and they provide more energy and strength to the body. This energy can be put to good use if the stress is originating from a physical danger, however they can be harmful if the stressor is of an emotional nature and can cause health problems such as heart disease when the stress is prolonged or occurs often.

Identifying Stress

The initial step in stress management is identifying the cause. More often than not, it is not as easy as it sounds because stressors are not always obvious. There are three types of people in terms of how they relate to their stress.

  1.  Temporary – This individual often assumes that the stress is temporary and is a result of the particular distinct circumstance they are currently in, e.g. having many things to do at the same time.
  2. Stress as a part of life – This individual associates stress with a certain aspect of their life. For example, they may assume they are only stressed when they are at work.
  3.  Blaming stress on others – This particular individual always finds a way to blame others for the stress they maybe going through at that particular point in time.

Here, you should be able to identify into which category you fall. Until you are able to identify your stress and accept what you are doing, you will never be able to control it.

Step 1 – Avoiding Unnecessary Stress  

Although avoiding stress is not something you can do all the time, we can avoid many stressors in our everyday lives. First and foremost, you need to master your ability to say no. This means you should know your limits in terms of how much responsibility you can take on. Avoid people and conversations that you know will stress you.

Step 2 – Turning the Tables

Although stress can’t always be avoided. If you can’t avoid the situation, try and alter it for the greater good. Analyze the problem and see what you can do so that you are not faced with the same problem yet again. Sometimes you may want someone to change their behavior, but you have to be prepared to make changes to your own behavior in order to make it work. Have confidence when faced with problems, take them by the horn and you will feel more in control – and less stressed. In addition, learn to manage your time better; not being late all the time is an easy way to reduce stress.

Step 3 – Becoming Adaptive

Steps 1 and 2 may not be applicable to all situations so sometimes you need to adapt. If you are not able to change the situation, then be ready to change yourself to fit it. Take a positive mindset about the situation. Accept that you can do nothing to change it and work with it. Also, trying to be perfect is a huge stressor for many people. No one can be perfect all the time. In some situations, it is okay to adjust your standards and make them more realistic in order to reduce stress and complete the task at hand.

Step 4 – Getting Help

If your attempts at controlling your stress have not been as successful as you would like, there are other ways and alternative treatments available. Alternative medicine can provide ways to calm your stress and offer better wellness. Alternative therapy and holistic medicine such as the use of acupuncture, diet, and herbal remedies can be part of an integrative medicine plan created in conjunction with your general internal medicine doctor or general practitioner.

With these steps, stress can be limited to a less frequent event. When dealing with any complementary medicine plan it is important to provide all of your medical information to those who will be treating you. Always check with your regular physician before starting any new medical regimen, natural or otherwise.

Published by Axiom Health Care Marketing

 

Integrative Medicine as an Alternative

bio_therapyThe health care system in America is becoming more and more focused on money as opposed to care for the patient, leaving little or no option for the patients. Integrative medicine is one solution that is growing to fill in that gap, combining acupuncture, Bio-field Therapies and Guided Imagery. This article focuses on these elements and the benefits of this type of medical care.

Acupuncture and You: 5 Treatable Health Conditions

acupuntureIf you’re looking for a new way to treat your health conditions, depending on what they are, acupuncture may be the way to go.  Check out this article for more information about health conditions that have been proven to be treatable by using acupuncture.

Integrative Medicine: Offering Unique Healing Options

appleThe healthcare system in America is continually growing to a system that is not concerned with quality patient care, leaving many patients looking for alternatives to this conventional model of healthcare. This type of medicine focuses on caring for an entire person, body, spirit and minds, not only the organs, bones and flesh, and is increasingly becoming a logical and desirable option for a number of people.

Integrative Medicine: Explained

Integrative medicine is a type of medicine that focuses on the whole person and then uses the appropriate approaches of therapeutic treatment in order to help a patient reach optimal healing ability and health. This type of approach to medicine combines both conventional treatments, as well as other types of therapies that have been selected and deemed safe and effective. The ultimate goal of this approach is to use the best parts of conventional medicine in addition with other types of therapies and healing systems that have been derived from both new and old cultures.

The model of integrative medicine recognizes the important role of the patient-practitioner relationship and the role that it plays in taking care of a patient. It also works to take care of the entire person by considering the interrelated nonphysical and physical factors that will affect a person’s wellness, health and disease, which include the spiritual and psychosocial dimensions of a person’s life.

What Falls Under Integrative Medicine?

There are hundreds of integrative treatment types that can be used with conventional treatments, with the key being to make the most of treatments to help a patient achieve superior health. Some of the most common types of integrative medicine techniques are highlighted here.

Acupuncture

This is when stainless steel, thin needles are inserted into your skin at specific locations in order to manipulate the energy flow into your body. Acupuncture is a proven method of treatment for nausea, pain, vomiting and a number of other conditions such as osteoarthritis, menstrual cramps and asthma.

Biofield Therapies

This is a type of technique that is used to tap into a person’s healing energy and manipulate it in a manner to encourage and increase healing. The most common type of Biofield therapies that are used includes healing touch, polarity therapy, qigong and reiki.

Guided Imagery

This is a type of visualization technique that teaches patients to focus on various mental pictures that are positive in nature. Guided imagery is a technique that is based on the belief that a person’s mind is able to affect the functions of the body. This technique can be used to help increase relaxation, reduce the stress that a patient feels and help to effect positive body changes.

Why You Should Consider Integrative Medicine

There are a number of reasons that people make the decision to seek integrative medicine. There are many studies that show that it is more in line with people’s beliefs, philosophies and values about life and health than the conventional approach. Others prefer the personalized care that is offered with integrative medicine practices. The fact is that most people that try the techniques integrative medicine become proponents for the methods and seek the services for other issues in their lives.

Save the Date: This Weekend Is Your Chance to Change Your Health

Healthy LivingIf you’re suffering from stress or are looking to improve you overall health and wellness, you need to be attending the Miami Internation Integrative Health Symposium and Well-Being Expo this weekend. The Symposium addresses the needs of health care workers such as medical doctors, nurses, researchers, social workers, acupuncturists, health educators, parents, students and those who has interest of quality life.  The general public will benefit from the Exposition portion of the workshops. Preventative healing arts and lifestyle demonstrations will occur on an open stage. I’ll be there.  Will I see you?

Combat Anxiety and Depression with Acupuncture

Acupuncture is yet another way to treat various health conditions – without a prescription.  Learn more by reading this ARTICLE

Posted by: Axiom Health Care Marketing

Tired? Suffering? Try Acupuncture

If you’ve tried conventional treatments for pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, or headache without success, consider acupuncture. Read about how this ancient practice can help improve your health and well-being:

http://www.miamiintegrativemedicine.com/blog/5-health-conditions-treated-with-acupuncture/