Steer Off Stress

More and more medical studies are showing a link between stress and heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions. While you can’t completely eliminate stress from your life, there are things you can do to reduce the pressure.

Does this scene look familiar? Rushing on the job. For millions of Americans stress is a serious health problem.

Tracie Meyer is an expressive therapist, “As you drive you see people not only driving, but on the phone with their pagers going off at one time. The communication on one hand is wonderful, but on the other causes a lot of stress for people, but we have to remember our bodies have limits.”

Shelia Bonn says she knew she was under tremendous stress when she found herself crying at work.

Shelia Bonn, “I’d been through some stressful times. My mother died, I had tremendous pressures at work.”

At age 49, Shelia signed up for a stress management class. It’s a class that teaches people how to let go of stress and take care of themselves.

Tracie Meyer, “It’s your body. This is your life. You only get one shot at it so you can make a choice to be healthy and feel good or you can be stressed out and be unhappy.”

For Shelia, the relaxation tapes help her calm down and recognize when she’s getting stressed out. Others turn to aromatherapy to reduce stress.

Marie McClaflin, The Body Shop, “People are looking for an alternative to over-the-counter medications. They want to relax without using chemicals.”

Aromatherapy means using essential oils to bring about well-being of your mind, body and spirit. So people use rosemary oil, y-lang/y-lang and nero-oil to relax body and mind.

Some people have chronic backaches, chronic headaches and ulcers. Doctors say you may gain or lose weight, and some people even start to lose their hair. Often the symptoms mimic those of depression.