Stress reduction resource

This is stress awareness month.  We all have stress and most of the time it's a good thing because it gives us physiological abilities we need at times when life happens.  But, it can get out of control with resulting increased cortisol hormone levels and other overactive responses.  It can be difficult to be calm in these times.  The Nursing Schools blog shared some information about small ways to reduce stress.  When the whole picture gets overwhelming, even a small step can help.  Check it out.

Stress Awareness Month

Today I'm sharing another site that's full of information.  About.com has guides for many different areas of interest.  

The goal of Stress Awareness Month is to increase peoples' awareness of the causes and ways of addressing stress.  About.com guide Matthew Tull, Ph.D writes about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and many women have experienced this - way beyond military personnel.  The principles for dealing with stress are similar so you may want to read more, especially if you have suffered trauma in any form.  He suggests:

Healthy ways of coping with stress may include:

• Using social support
• Expressive writing
• Deep breathing
• Mindfulness
• Staying active
• Progressive muscle relaxation

Self-hypnosis can relieve stress and interestingly enough, it is also used by laboring women.  Makes sense.  That's pretty stressful.   About shares how to do it here.

Optimistic people are also happier.  Read more about it here.  It's about attitude.

Trouble sleeping?

Everyone has times of stress when sleep eludes you.  Pregnancy brings the added sleep problems relating to position, aches and pains.  You may find yourself restless and unable to sleep in spite of being exhausted at the end of the day.  Here is a non-pharmaceutical relaxation technique which can result in better sleep.  Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation.   More sleep info in pregnancy can be found here.

You will find many other stress-relieving techniques as well such as Yoga, Meditation, Water Exercises, and deep breathing, as well as stress relief tips.

Sometimes other things in our lives cause stress without our being aware of them.  Clutter can do this to you.  This site addresses Clearing the Clutter. 

Clutter can be a chronic source of stress. The stress of being surrounded by clutter often isn't realized until the clutter is removed and we feel the relief of being clutter-free. Clutter bombards the brain with excessive visual stimuli, creating stress. Clutter makes it more difficult to relax or to focus on anything because clutter is an irritating distraction. Even those who seem oblivious to their surroundings are aware of everything in their environment on a subconscious level. Your brain is constantly filtering messages from all your senses.

 

Fetal Origins - Health of mom and baby

Mom's health (mental and physical) affects baby's health.