Evaporate your stress

Most of us experience stress on a regular basis and believe it's something we just have to accept. We get irritable, have stomach aches, head aches, feel angry or depressed...and that's just the tip of the iceburg. Ignoring stress can actually lead to heart attacks and strokes.

In researching stress management I've found that those with high demands but little control tend to suffer from stress the most. It's that feeling of being out of control that seems to come up in most of the examples I came across. Stress is like being in danger and your brain will respond accordingly by sending chemicals into your body which build up and cause health problems.

Many of us resort to smoking, drinking, zoning out in front of the TV or computer, filling up every minute of the day to avoid feelings, using food to pacify our needs, or sleeping too much which are not healthy ways to deal with feeling out of control. It's time we find ways to manage our stress and not get lost in these self destructive behaviors.

First of all, we must come to believe that we can manage the stress. We begin by CHANGING OUR ATTITUDES and accepting life with gratitude. Life will not always go the way we "want" it to, however if we look for the good in what happens (even if we don't understand it) we'll find our stress diminishing. By looking at what it is that causes us stress and putting it on a scale of 1 - 10 we'll find that most things don't deserve the amount of energy we often expend on it. So BREATH deeply and often when things seem to go awry IMAGINE a serene scene or REPEAT A MANTRA.

Of course my favorite thing to do is use an essential oil of which there are many to choose from. And this is where it becomes an individual choice. I have a list of several I like so feel free to sniff them for yourself and find which one you like as that's probably the one you need. Remember, your nose knows.

Here's a fun way to carry an oil with you and not worry about spilling it. Take a small vial of sea salt, add a few drops of your favorite oil and when stressed just open the vial and inhale deeply. You can imagine your serene scene or repeat your mantra at the same time and feel the stress evaporate.

So try these oils for yourself and see which one your nose goes for.
~Cedarwood
~Clary Sage
~Eucalyptus Citriodora
~Frankincense
~Geranium
~Lavendar
~Orange
~Roman Chamomile
~Ylang Ylang


Be well~
Libby