I cannot believe how much I learned about stress management this week. I
am not sure where to begin as there was an overwhelming amount of extremely
interesting information and all of it applies to me. There are several aspects
of my life that I am trying to fix that this week's information directly
pertains to.
Depression
I have trouble feeling pleasure or having energy. It is not as if I do not
try really hard to have fun. When food does not taste as good, I eat more of it
to compensate. When I feel like I am not having enough fun, I will shirk some of
my responsibilities in an effort to have more fun. None of this works, by the
way, because just trying harder to be happy will not work if long periods of
stress affect how your body transmits dopamine. The world did not change and
become less fun, nor did I become accustomed to sensations and grow bored.
Instead, I changed, probably as a result of stress.
Weight and Cardiac Care
While we were watching National Geographic's Stress: Portrait of a Killer,
they displayed stressed-out wildlife creatures such as African baboons who
suffered from central obesity. While I do carry a lot of my weight in my face
and limbs, the majority of my weight is on my belly. Before this class, I
already knew that stress hormones such as cortisol affected this type of fat in
a dangerous way, but I didn't know how the stress hormones damage DNA, blood
vessels, and shrank cells in the hippocampus. I also did not even know where the
adrenal gland was located. I find it interesting that it is near where I am the
fattest.
Healing with Stress Management
I never had a lot of faith in stress management, mostly because I felt the
effects weren't lasting. After my relaxation tapes or talking with friends, I'd
feel better but only for a short time. Medication has not helped. Exercise
helps, but it is my most difficult habit to keep. However, I have tried
cognitive behavioral therapy, which has helped me learn not to overreact. Since
I did not keep faith in other remedies, I have not tried them in years. I plan
to put the following measures in place:
- Treating people with kindness and respect
- Be generous
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation Tapes (Twice a day)
- Yoga
- Speak up when others are mistreating me, especially those who are higher ranking.
- Walk 30 minutes a day.
These are a lot of changes, but fortunately I already started walking 30
minutes a day this week, so next week I will try relaxation tapes/videos. The
week after I will see if I can add Power Yoga twice a week. Everything else I
will just have to work on when I can.
