stress Archives - The Health Sessions

How Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Can Threaten One’s Job

This article is written by Roy Emmerson. Approximately 12.2% of people suffer from an anxiety disorder in any given year, making these problems much more common than mood disorders, schizophrenia and eating disorders. Anxiety disorders contribute to personal suffering, disability, economic loss and cost to health care systems. In fact, one of the most common anxiety … Read more >

Warning Signs: Are You Listening to What Your Body Is Telling You?

Do you ever find yourself feeling impatient and irritated, snapping at people for no particular reason? You wake up tired most mornings, with a racing mind, tense shoulders and aching back. There’s no time to really pay attention to those feelings, because you have to juggle work, family, your health and other obligations.

Your body sends you messages about its internal conditions all the time. Sometimes it offers subtle clues about what it needs in the form of a yawn, food cravings or a gut feeling. Other times, your body signals distress through skin rash, chest pain or unintentional weight loss.

But in today’s fast-paced world, it’s much easier to tune out than it is to tune in. With the non-stop activity going on around us, we tend to focus outwardly and ignore what’s happening inside of us. But when you don’t listen to what your body’s whispering, the distress slowly builds, until your body start screaming for your attention.

3 Breathing Exercises for Stress Management

This article is written by Gavin Wilson from Good Air Geeks.

Stress. The one word that everyone, everywhere, can relate to. Why is it so significant? Stress can have such a major impact on your life without you even realizing the depth of its effect. While some people thrive well in stressful situations and actually rely on that extra pressure, normally one would want to reduce levels of stress as much as possible.

What does stress affect? Well for starters, it can impact your sleep, which can lead to many other issues. It can affect the way you eat, your emotions, your weight and your ability to focus. So what can we do to help reduce stress? One important way to release tension is to mind your breathing. Let’s take a look at 3 breathing exercises for stress management.

The Magic of Forest Bathing: Why Being in the Woods Benefits Your Health

“There’s no WiFi in the forest, but I promise you’ll find a better connection.”

This past weekend, my family and I visited a theme park in the middle of the woods. Although spending quality time together in an enchanted forest was amazing on its own, being in beautiful green surroundings added an extra dimension. Strolling among the trees made me feel invigorated and blissfully at peace at the same time.

We all intuitively know that being in nature boosts our wellbeing, but research backs that feeling. There’s actually so much evidence on the health benefits of nature that doctors in Japan and Scotland are allowed to prescribe nature time as part of their treatment plan.

Why Chilling Isn't The Same as Real Rest (And What to Do Instead) | The Health Sessions

Why Chilling Isn’t The Same as Real Rest (And What You Should Do Instead)

Flicking through magazines, watching YouTube clips and browsing social media are welcome distractions when your body needs a time-out. Curling up on the couch with your latest Netflix addiction surely is entertaining, but there’s a big difference between chilling in front of the TV and real rest.

Real rest encompasses more than lying still and keeping activity to a minimum. It involves activating your body’s natural relaxation response, a state of deep rest that balances your nervous system and promotes healing.

When you feel under pressure, your body releases stress hormones, triggering your sympathetic nervous system to prepare for fight or flight. The adrenaline in your bloodstream makes your heart beat fast, quickens your breathing and tenses your muscles. That’s very helpful in dangerous situations, but unfortunately it’s also activated by everyday challenges like traffic jams and work deadlines.

Contrary to this all-too-common stress response, the relaxation response acts like a built-in tranquilizer. It stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system to slow down your heart rate and breathing, relax your muscles and boost your immunity. Research even shows that mind-body interventions that activate the relaxation response, such as yoga and meditation, can reverse harmful inflammation at DNA level.

And what’s best of all: you have the power to produce this relaxation response whenever and wherever you want.

So let’s have a look at how you can maximize your downtime with 7 powerful practices.