Most of my clients, friends and family have had a stressful start to the new year!  Even with major holidays over the stress factor seems to still be quite high!  Some of the common signs of chronic stress include:  Mental fogginess; memory decreases; irritability; body aches; sleep disturbances; fluctuation of weight and fatigue.  Chronic stress is one of the most dangerous things to happen to our health.  It is extremely important to manage our stress and, hopefully, remove stress altogether from our lives.  Wouldn’t that be fantastic!?!

Simple ways to reduce stress include:  daily exercise; removing self from a situation; meditation; taking a nap; getting a massage; engaging in a favorite activity (music, movies, reading, etc.); using aromatherapy; and, laughing.  Try a few of these daily and see how your stress level is reduced.  One of the worst things to do is to use substances to cope.  This always makes the situation worse even though it seems better “at the time”!  Please do not be fooled by that seeming truth.  Here is to making healthy decisions each day to manage stress.

“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” – George Burns