Stressing the importance of relieving stress in your life.
Do you find yourself waking up at night worrying about finances, relationships, your family’s safety and health or politics? Are you often upset at work or as you’re driving? Feeling conflict with relatives and co-workers? You’re not alone. A new poll from the American Psychological Association reveals that Americans’ anxiety levels are increasing every year — with millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) being the most worried group, especially about money; and baby boomers (born 1948 to 1964) experiencing a seven-point jump in their anxiety level this year. Overall, when asked to compare their current anxiety with that of the previous year, 57 percent of women 18 to 49 said that they were more anxious, as were 38 percent of men the same age.
So … Breathe. Slowly. Exhale. Slowly. We’re going to talk about your stress responses, and we don’t want the discussion to irk you. It’s important to admit to the tension. To identify when it derails you. To find ways to ease it. Breathe.
Unrelieved stress increases unhappiness and ages your arteries, destroys connections in your brain and damages your immune system. Jobrelated stress costs U.S. industries $300 billion annually, according to the American Stress Institute.
Where to start: Change your physical and emotional responses so that you don’t get caught up in a feedback loop of ever-increasing discomfort. This calls for becoming aware of how you respond physically to stress (“My breathing gets shorter.” “I clench my teeth.” “I raise my voice.”) then working to change that. For example, when exhaling, become aware of your anxious thoughts and let them float away. Focus on relaxing your jaw muscles, and you’ll stop clenching your teeth. That, in turn, will defuse your internal hormonal stress response and cool your level of distress.
What works: Mindful meditation — just 10 minutes a day in the morning or at night — can reset your internal tension regulation so that potentially upsetting thoughts or events roll off your back. We also advocate cognitive behavioral therapy to learn new ways of responding to stressors and medical care to determine if temporary use of anti-anxiety medication is needed.
Act to reclaim your sense that you can influence your environment. That can come from volunteering in a community project that helps others with financial challenges; spending time at your child’s school; working in a community garden; or just reaching out to a neighbor who you know needs help with handling daily tasks.
In the APA poll, 56 percent of folks felt somewhat or extremely anxious about the impact of politics on daily life. And 87 percent strongly or somewhat agree that gun violence is a public health threat. You can write letters, join protests, run for office. “Do, don’t stew,” can become your motto.
Make a plan: Write down three organizations doing activities that you would like to participate in. Give them a call or research online to find out what volunteer opportunities they offer. Visit their offices or join in an activity to see if that’s for you. Write out action steps.
Use physical activity to increase your body’s resilience so that you feel more capable of handling whatever comes your way. When your body functions from strength, the feeling of confidence it gives you is a huge benefit. As a bonus, aerobic and strength-building exercises dispel stress hormones and muscle tension, promote restful sleep and protect you from stress-related health problems such as diabetes and weight-related joint damage.
Get stronger: Fitness trainer Todd Durkin’s tips include choose the right weights; know how many reps to do; if it hurts, don’t do it; if you’re tired, fight through it; work your muscles in the right order; and determine how often you should train. Print out the Beginner’s Guide to Getting Strong one-sheet at Doctoroz.com.
Kids and diabetes
“It goes without saying,” wrote columnist Erma Bombeck, “that you should never have more children than you have car windows.” While she was thinking about keeping the tykes entertained (in a predigital world) and preventing squabbling in the back seat, she could have been talking about the windows of opportunity that parents have to make sure their kids grow into healthy adults who do not develop Type 2 diabetes.
Writing in the journal Population Health Management, the Institute for Alternative Futures estimates that the prevalence of diabetes will increase by 54 percent, to more than 54.9 million Americans between 2015 and 2030; and total annual medical and societal costs related to diabetes will increase 53 percent to more than $622 billion by 2030.
But, according to research published in Diabetes Care, you can help redefine that future. If your kids are able to avoid becoming obese (currently about 17 percent of kids 2 to 19 are obese; that’s 12.7 million) or can reverse their obesity by age 25, they slash their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes when they hit middle age by an astounding 64 percent.
The tools to achieve this are in everyone’s grasp: regular physical activity (at least 30 effort-filled minutes a day); seven to nine servings of fruits and veggies daily and only 100 percent whole grains; and dodging red and processed meats. That can transform today and tomorrow for individuals — and help ease the tremendous financial burden of diabetes and its complications that harm families and society.