STRESS – MANAGEMENT OR TRANSFORMATION?
Is stress inevitable?
Has stress management become a cliché, or is it a glaring reality that has to be dealt with?
It seems as if the faster our pace of life with fast media coverage, internet, gadgets etc the more stressed we get.
Would you define stress as “forces from the outside world impinging on an individual”?
Scientists tell us that stress releases powerful brain chemicals and hormones that help us take action. So then, it must be excess stress, or overload, that is a bad thing.
Is managing our lives a direct effect on managing stress?
Common and useful coping and managing techniques inclusive of CBT (Cognitive Behavior Techniques) include:
Exercise to unwind
Long Walks – in nature preferably
Laughter – comedies, Laughter Yoga
Listening to Music
Creative Arts – painting, drawing, singing
Writing – journals or diaries
Bodywork – relaxation massage, aromatherapy
Sex – great tension release
Talk it out with listening friends
Etc.
At what point does stress cause “living” to become “chaos”?
Is it when stress begins to affect our health?
Our relationships?
Our ability to perform?
Our ability even to sleep?
………..that we know we must seek solutions or risk going down the deep hole?
At what point in our lives are “coping” and “managing” techniques not suffice? Why not?
Are there repressed messages in our body symptoms, sleep disturbances, anxiety, depression and chronic illness that we are not conscious of or not able to hear? What if these are calls for personal growth and transformation?
What happens if we decide not to heed them?
Many of my peers believe that cancer is the last call that the body makes to awaken us to love. What does love have to do with health and wellbeing?
My forthcoming book “What our bodies ache for – uncovering repressed longings hidden in body symptoms, anxiety, depression and chronic illness” reveals some insights into the journeys of patients over my 30 year career as a wholistic, integrative and transformational medical doctor. You will discover the innate intelligence of our bodies and a probable universal correlation of body parts/symptoms and the messages held within. We can all learn from them and apply their wisdom for a truer preventative medicine.
The Transformational Medicine practitioner goes over and beyond treating the symptoms (which is just the messenger) helps the journeyer process and get the message and assisting in his/her transformation.