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Stress Reduction to Relax Your Pain Away!
Stress Reduction to Relax Your Pain Away
If you’re happy, if you’re feeling good, then nothing else matters.
I’m sure you have many avenues of reducing stress, but take this little quiz to see if any of these very stressful situations have cropped up in your life. In the questions that ask about three or four items, answer “true” for each item that applies to you.
True or False?
___ 1. Sometimes at night or during the day, I catch myself gritting my teeth.
___ 2. Lately, I’ve noticed I overreact to other people’s mistakes or bad choices, maybe even flying into a rage.
___ 3. After an argument or heated discussion with someone, it takes me a long time to get over it.
___ 4. At night, it’s difficult for me to fall asleep quickly.
___ 5. The old methods I’ve used for reducing stress don’t really work well anymore.
___ 6. While working on a project, I feel like the clock is ticking and I am rushed to finish it in time.
___ 7. I am feeling some social anxiety about a few upcoming events in my life.
___ 8. In the last year, I’ve had a jail term or minor violation of the law.
___ 9. In the last year, I’ve moved, experienced a marriage or divorce, lost a loved one, experienced a foreclosure, or had to take out a loan. (Give yourself a check for each stress mentioned.)
___ 10. In the last year, I’ve experienced a son or daughter leaving home, trouble with in-laws, retirement, or a pregnancy. (Give yourself a check for each stress.)
___ 11. In the past year, my income has not improved.
___ 12. In the past year, I was fired, changed to a different line of work, experienced trouble with the boss or coworkers, or had more responsibilities piled onto my regular workload. (Give yourself a check for each stress.)
___ 13. I recently started or ended school.
___ 14. I recently experienced a personal injury or illness, or have a family member who has been ill or needs caretaking. (Give yourself a checkmark for each stress.)
___ 15. I recently experienced an incident of prejudice, social injustice, or a crime committed on me. (Give yourself a check for each stress.)
___ 16. I have diabetes, cancer, blood-sugar issues, high blood pressure, or memory problems. (Give yourself a check for each stress.)
___ 17. I am overweight or seriously underweight.
Stress Quiz Score: _______ True ______ False
How did you do? The higher your number of “true” statements or “true” checkmarks, the higher your level of stress.
What Can You Change in Your Life to Decrease Stress?
The big question is how to arm yourself against the stress that occurs in life. I have my own story of stress and its health effect on my body. Recently I had been under some increased stress, which anyone who runs a business can relate. We were having problems with Medicare and other Insurance companies. Basically Medicare was making several new compliance rules that mandated health-care providers to implement in a certain period of time or incur penalties. This happened at the same time I had switched to a new electronic health-record system, was building a new clinic, skipping lunch to talk to contractors, not getting enough rest, working 60-plus hours a week for the past four years, and missing time with my family—we had not taken an official vacation in about five years. My family obviously and rightfully wanted me to cut back, but I always respond with, “Now is not the time.”
Now don’t get me wrong—I love what I do, but things in my life were out of balance. It finally came to a head when one day the right side of my tongue and face began to get numb. It was subtle at first but, within about two days, I could not move the right side of my face or close my eyelid. I had to tape my eye shut to sleep at night—many of you might remember this, when you asked me what was wrong with my eye. The first thought in my head was, Did I have a stroke? But as I examine myself, I soon realized I had Bell’s Palsy. This condition causes paralysis of the facial nerve and is brought on by—you guessed it—stress and a compromised immune system. This was a real eye-opener for me, pun not intended. This health scare forced me to change some things. I had to slow down, take an occasional weekend off for fishing and hunting (what I enjoy), play baseball with my boys, limit the number of patients I see—and not feel guilty for letting any patients down. The best thing I can do for my patients and my family is to take care of myself first. I had to let go of some responsibilities I thought, in my mind, only I could do. To this day, I have to make a conscious effort to know my limits and balance my life in order to maintain my health…because without my health I can’t do anything.
The reason doctors like myself are so concerned about your stress levels and the skills you have to decrease your stress is because stress makes the body kick out hormones, such as cortisol, that destroys your body’s ability to rejuvenate. High levels of stress hormones make it easy for you to put on weight around your waist, decrease your lifespan, and accelerate the progression of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and dementia.
So now, let’s look at ways you can relax. Check off the methods below you use to relax. At the end of the list, there are blank lines for you to write in any other relaxation methods you use.
___ Fishing ___ Scheduling and taking a long vacation
___ Listening to music ___ Playing a musical instrument
___ Reading ___ Watching sports games or attending sporting events
___ Singing ___ Watching entertaining movies
___ Driving ___ Attending concerts, plays, or going to art museums
___ Praying ___ Spending time outside in the fresh air
___ Socializing ___ Laughing, cheering up friends, comedy shows
___ Hiking ___ Spending time with pets
___ Exercising ___ ___________________________________
I’ll bet you already have ways to relax, but I will ask you this: When was the last time you took the time to do some of these things that de-stress you? Don’t declare that you have no time!
Commit to it, and stick to your word. You will feel better—I guarantee it!
Abilene,TX 79606