H E A L T H
A D V E R T IS E M E N T
SKILL #
1
:
FIGURE OUT WHAT’S
MAKING YOU CRAZY
On the surface, it seem s w e have no trouble
identifying our stress triggers. W omen who
took part in the APA survey cited m oney
as their top stressor, followed by work, the
econom y, and fam ily responsibilities. But these
aren’t triggers as much as broad categories. So it
pays to dig deeper, even if it makes you uneasy.
“People tend to treat stress like the Big Bad
W olf—they think if they open the door it will
consum e them ,” says Edward Creagan, M.D.,
a stress specialist and oncologist at the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, M innesota. “But in reality,
confronting the m onster is half the battle.”
To pinpoint w hat’s pushing your buttons,
try asking yourself,
W
h a t a s p e c t s o
f m
y d a i l y
l i f e f e e l o v e r w
h e l m
i n g ?
Tension arises from the
circum stances that make us feel helpless, says
Thea Singer, author o f
S t r e s s L e s s
(H udson
Street Press,
2 0 1 0
). For instance, maybe you’re
anxious about m oney— even though you earn
a good salary. The real problem could be a
haphazard bill-paying system that leaves your
m onthly budget in disarray.
That said, your body som etim es knows
better than your mind which circum stances
are setting you on edge, says Shelley Carson,
Ph.D., a psychologist and researcher at Harvard
U niversity in Cambridge, M assachusetts. So if
you’re still stum ped, be on the lookout for stress
sym ptom s such as headaches, fatigue, impa-
tience, and GI distress. Jot down in a journal
when and where they occur, and you may start
to see a pattern—for instance, that you tense
up w henever you try to sort through bills.
Once you zero in on the source o f your
discontent, problem s tend to appear smaller,
allow ing solutions to bubble up around them ,
Singer says. For exam ple, maybe it’s tim e to
download a budgeting application or make an
appointm ent w ith a financial planner.
SKILL #
2
:
ROOT OUT AND REWRITE
SELF-DEFEATING THOUGHTS
Even when you take steps to intercept stressful
situations, a curve ball can catch you unaware—
for instance, you blow a tire on your way to
the school fund-raiser you’re overseeing. It’s
hard not to feel overwhelm ed in a situation
like that, Carson acknowledges. But allowing
frazzled nerves to get the better o f you cranks
the brain into fight-or-flight m ode, putting
stress horm ones into play when there’s no
physical em ergency at hand. “Your body’s stress
response is closely tied to your m ental appraisal
vv:
I
M
a r k
Y o u r
C a l e n d a r
January
5
is the m ost
stressfu l day of the
year, according to a
B ritish survey of
2 ,0 0 0
people. Chalk it up to
th e holidays ending,
w ork resum ing,
and gloomy w inter
w eather persisting.
Fully
2 6
percent of
respondents reported
feeling so ten se th a t
th e sound of th eir
cow orkers
b r e a t h i n g
w as enough to drive
them nuts. W hen
January
5
rolls around
th is year, keep tension
in check by exercising,
catching up w ith a
friend, or devoting a
few m inutes to your
favorite hobby. (And
consider holding your
b reath at th e office
w atercooler.)
M u lti G ra in
Cneerios
The
h o lid a ys are
over.
It’s tim e to
m ake a
re s o lu tio n
to g e t
healthier.
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BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS |
JANUARY
2011
|
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1 1 9
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&
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