Archive for the ‘Stress Management’ Category

Improved Sleep for Osteoarthritis Sufferers

Friday, August 21st, 2009

A recent study has show Cognitive behavioral therapy to be effective in the treatment for insomnia in older people who suffer pain from osteoarthritis. 60 percent of people with the disease report pain during the night. As a sufferer of chronic pain syndrome, brought about by sleep deprivation during a time of chronic pain, I have sympathy with such persons so found the study interesting. I am also aware of Sleep Anxiety – where one becomes so desperate to get to sleep, that it makes falling asleep even more difficult

Pain perception may decrease when people sleep better. In turn, improved sleep leads to improvement in coexisting medical or psychiatric illnesses. Once an individual learns how to improve their sleep, the improvement persists for a year or more according to the researchers.

The study included 23 older patients with osteoarthritis who were assigned a stress management and wellness program. Those receiving the cognitive behavioral therapy reported improvements in sleep quality and pain relief measures before and after treatment, and a year later. Those that didn’t receive cognitive therapy showed no significant improvements in sleep quality or pain.

One aspect the study didn’t uncover was whether sleep disturbance preceded or follows pain onset, but researchers believe reciprocal effects are likely.

The study is published in the Aug. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

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Posted in Aging Conditions, Mind Power, Stress Management | 2 Comments »

Urge Doctors to Treat Problem, Not Symptoms

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

How often do you find your Doctor treating your symptoms and not the problem? I regard myself as an intelligent person who can be assertive when appropriate, yet I still fall into the trap of coming out from my Doctors surgery without getting what I really need.

I have quite a troublesome arrythmia. When the heart rythmn is so irregular it causes the body to signal that something is seriously wrong, and it starts pumping cortisol around the show as a natural stress response. In turn, this causes a gastric response, with too much acid being produced. Combined, these symptoms can cause insomnia. During the previous two nights I had no sleep at all. I had hot tingling pain on various parts of my skin that seemed to move around my body throughout the night. It was like my nerve endings were fried. This was unusual, and I had to see my Doctor for another unrelated reason so I discussed this also. My doctor claimed the burning sensations and insomnia were due to stress. What did I come away with – more Losec! The stress was caused by the arrythmia, not the other way around.

I didn’t need Losec – I needed a way to stop the cortisone – a way to get the arrythmia under control. Obviously, the previous treatment is no longer effective. I was frustrated, not only with the Doctor, but also with myself for allowing the focus on the symptom, not the problem. What happens to us when we walk into a Doctors room? I seem to develop temporary amnesia. So next time I am going to write myself a note, just to remind me exactly what I want treated.

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Posted in Antiaging Treatments, Stress Management | 2 Comments »

Don’t Let Recession Hype Age You

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

With so much media attention on the recession, and possible depression – it is difficult for it not to have a rather demoralising impact. And with that comes all the normal downhill feelings and impacts such as stress, depression, over-eating, lack of exercise etc etc.

The current situation has been caused by nothing more that GREED! As consumers, we have been over indulging our consumerism in an unhealthy manner – and the financial institutions have been greedy by offering loans at low interest rates, to those whom they KNOW will most likely be unable to handle payments at the average or above interest rate of 7.5%.

So guess what – the empire struck back!  And it is forcing all greedy, over indulgent consumers and businesses into a forced diet program. Nothing more, nothing less.

So don’t look around for someone else to blame, and don’t blame the government. Anger is a very unhealthy emotion, and if you have lost on the stock market or your property investment – guess what, the only person to blame is yourself. So toughen up and determine the worse possible outcome, accept it and be grateful for anything more that you hold on to from that worst position.

Don’t buy into worrying about the future. YOu are more likely to rise from the ashes so to speak if you remain calm, concentration on one day at a time, and above anything else – LOOK AFTER YOUR HEALTH.

Exercise is a great stress breaker. Refuse to buy into a depression – Get a T-Shirt printed with those very words and wear it proudly. Start a support group to help each other out – you may just make some new deep friendships along the way.

Stress, poor diet, smoking, excessive alcohol and lack of exercise are the fastest way to age.

So don’t pay out twice – you may lose some money, some assets but you still have your most valuable asset – you and those you love.

Be strong and age slowly!

Nicola

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Posted in Anti-Aging Program, Stress Management | No Comments »

7 Ways To Have a Happy Holiday

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007

It’s no secret that the holiday season is one of mixed blessing! Even as one who does celebrate Christmas I find this time of year rather taxing. Not only does business effectively get disrupted for at least two months, the expectations of friends and family seem to concentrate into one time of year, instead of being spread throughout the year. Its a time over indulged with:

  • Sugar and stress
  • Family events that turn feudal
  • Overeating
  • Long travel and lack of regular exercise

And peace….well with the youth of today geared up with big pipes and boom boxes, theres not so much of that any more either.

So how do you break through the chaos and still enjoy your holidays. Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Break out of the over-crowded family home and take a walk with a relative you have not had a one on one chat with for a while – you will welcome a quieter moment, get to know them a little better and get some exercise.
  2. Offer to clean away the main course whilst others are having desert – you skip all the calories and earn lots of brownie points with the host
  3. Offer to take the younger children off to the park with a bat and ball – you give the gift of welcome relief from parents and get some exercise. And Christmas is so big with children, its wonderful to revisit it through their eyes
  4. Share some of your skills with your family – if you have some special trade or professional skill that can benefit someone in your family right now – this is a great time of sharing
  5. Use discussions with those who love you and know you best to gain more insight to yourself – identify a few personality goals for your New Years Resolution list
  6. Keep your anti-aging bank account in balance – enjoy yourself and indulge in the festive foods, but make a special effort to do some extra exercise, drink lots of water and smile! You help both your body and mind.
  7. Use this time of temptation to reward yourself for your efforts this past year, and if your efforts have not been that good, make a mental note to do more next year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Nicola

Posted in Stress Management, Wellness | No Comments »

Does Stress Control Your Heating Habits?

Tuesday, October 9th, 2007

How often do you eat in response to stress? And if you do, what type of food do you tend to eat?

For many of us, the honest answer is that we head straight for the ‘comfort food’ – the sweet and salty snack foods that add little nutrition and lots of calories.

Studies around eating habits of those who maintain weight loss following a diet and those who don’t have shown that in most cases, those who relapse do so due to poor stress management skills.

Healthy stress responses include, confronting the problems and immersing yourself in other healthy behaviours such as exercise, productive work, meditation, talking it out, seeking professional help etc. For those whose stress management skills are less developed, the only exercise is the few steps it takes to reach the cookie dough or chocolate bars.

The surprising thing is that most people who do use food as a comfort to stress are largely unaware of how much they are eating, even if they are aware that they are eating ‘bad’ foods. Their reaction is not dissimilar to other addictive behaviours. Many recovering alcoholics or drug abusers find that stressful events are dangerour triggers to returning to old behaviours.

So rather than focussing totally on what you are eating, take some time to learn more about how you respond to stress and emotions. If you know you have a weakness in this area – keep a list of positive responses handy, so you can get a quick reminder of better options – I find cleaning my house from top to bottom perfect. I not only work the stress or emotion out of my system – I feel great at having a sparkling home to relax in.

Nicola

Posted in Stress Management, Weight Management | 3 Comments »