Stress is everywhere in our lives and can be a factor in several serious health problems. Ever wish there was a button you could push to make it disappear? There is - inside your head. Our experts tell you how with these easy, natural remedies for stress... But who isn’t stressed these days? From rush-hour madness and mounting bills to blood-boiling bosses, stressors are everywhere. But annoying people and events don’t create stress and heart disease. We do.
“Stress isn’t what happens, but how we respond to what happens,” says psychotherapist Steven Alper, former director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in San Diego. That’s because when our brain senses threat, a primitive part of the nervous system triggers a physiological “fight-or-flight” response, Alper explains. The problem is, ...the nervous system still turns on the stress response when you’re arguing with your spouse, stuck in traffic or the boss says “boo.”
That’s where harm is done: The stress response triggers changes such as high blood pressure, palpitations and elevated blood sugars – “all of which put strain on our heart and body and increase cardiovascular risk in the immediate and long term,” ... Still, you don’t have to stay trapped in a world of tension. To change your response, try these fun natural remedies for stress.
Cultivate a gratitude attitude: Keep a journal of good things and events in your life, advises dermatologist Amy Weschler, ...
