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November 2012 – Be Prepared

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November is here and with the last 2 months of the year comes the holidays, Don't be a turkey, go to a chiropractor to stay healthywinter, the ending of another year and the beginning of a new year.  As joyous and wonder as these things can be, they also seem to bring a great deal of STRESS to many, so this month we will discuss how you can BEAT THE STRESS by BEING PREPARED!

Do you dread the the cold winters?  Do you shutter when you think about the holiday season, the family and work get-togethers, the shopping, the crowds …?  Do you fear the ending of another year and the beginning of a new one?  Do any or all of these things cause you STRESS?  If so, read on to find out how you can change the NEGATIVE STRESS in to POSITIVE STRESS (Eustress) and BLAST into 2013 on a full sprint toward greater levels of Love, Joy, Health and Happiness!

Don’t be a “Turkey,” “Gobble” up this information and Be Prepared to finish out 2012 on top and to make 2013 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER!

 

 

Be PreparedThinking is the 1st step toward being prepared

The 1st step in being prepared for all those things mentioned above is to recognize what is causing you stress.  How do you do this?

Block out time in your schedule to THINK!  Set aside a time where you will have no interruptions and choose a place that is quiet and comfortable.  Think about the winter, the holidays and anything else that you may have coming up.  Make notes about the things that cause you to have a “gut reaction” of stress and the things that put a smile on your face.

Be as detailed as you can when making the notes.

Review your notes and see if you can add any more detail.  See if there are any other things causing you positive or negative stress and write them down.

Now that you have a list of your stressors, it is time to address them before they even start.

Minimizing the Affects of Your Stressors

If you have a medium to long list of stressors written down from the exercise above, you De-Stress with a Smileare probably excited about finding out easy was to reduce the stress you believe is coming but you probably are also worried that this may be a very daunting task.

The first thing to understand is: Don’t worry, you can do it.

Next, take a couple of deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth and relax.

Now, let’s get started!

Trying to address the whole list at once is much to challenging a task so the first thing we will do is chunk it down into small pieces because making several small changes can produce HUGE and long lasting positive results.

Let’s start by sorting your stressors into 3 groups (the 3 types of stress): Chemical, Physical & Mental/Emotional Stressors.  Examples of this include:

1. Chemical Stressors – around the holiday season, the predominant chemical stressors tend to be over-eating (especially junk food, sweets, refined/processed carbohydrates, white sugar, white flour …), excessive caffeine and/or nicotine intake, alcohol …

2. Physical Stressors – cold weather, lack of sleep, falls on the ice … but usually the biggest physical stressor we all have is lack of activity, poor posture, too much time sitting on the couch and at the computer.

3. Mental/Emotional Stressors – this time of year can bring with it Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), increased work stress, increased stress over money, emotional stress related to the family …

 

Take some time to do this and when you have divided up your stressors into these 3 groups, setting a plan to reduce their impact will be much easier.

Clearly you will need to evaluate your own stressors and come up with the best solutions for yourself but the following are some things to think about:

Preparing for your Chemical Stressors

  • Start to clean-up your diet now – the less toxic you are going in, the better off you will be over eating on the holidayswhen you encounter these chemical stressors.
  • Add in some high quality nutritional supplements to support your nutrition and health (Stern Chiropractic offers a FREE nutritional supplement consultation
  • – Call TODAY for your FREE consultation!)
  • Stay well hydrated – drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water each day
  • Make a Plan – if you know that you always over eat at Thanksgiving and you never feel good about it, make a plan to limit your potions … Have some fresh turkey and the fixins’ before Thanksgiving so you don’t feel like over-doing-it then.

 

 

Preparing for your Physical Stressors

There are things you can control and things you cannot control, focus on those things youWhite Collar Syndrome - Spinal Deconditioningcan control.

You cannot control an unexpected fall, an accident or injury

but

You can control your physical condition, you posture and how much leisure time you spend on the couch.

  • Start an exercise regimen – do something you enjoy so that you won’t quit when you get board.  Incorporate exercises to strengthen your postural muscles (Stern Chiropractic offers a series of postural muscle exercises – Call TODAY to find out more!)
  • Use a postural support in your work chair – Stern Chiropractic offers a wide variety of postural supports to meet all your different needs.
  • Take mini breaks to get a glass of water and stretch each hour when working at the computer or your desk

 

Preparing for your Mental/Emotional Stressors

This is always the toughest one.  So many of these stressors are either unexpected or Stressed Outunavoidable.  What can you do?

  • By reducing your other stressors, your body will have more resources to manage the less controllable stressors
  • Add more of the things that bring a smile to your face into day.  Make sure you make time for the things that bring you GREAT JOY!
  • Respond don’t React – When a stressful situation arises, take a step back, take a few deep breaths, even count to 10 before you allow yourself to do anything.  This will help you to be more present and produce an outcome you will be happier with.
  • Create a Space – knowing you will be having more stressful times ahead, create a space (at home, work, in your car) where you can eliminate many of the external stressors making it easier to relax.  Your space should be absent of disturbances from the outside (i.e. turn your phone off), it should have lighting that can be dimmed, possibly soft music and pleasant relaxing aromas (maybe incense or essential oils).  This will allow you to de-stress much easier.  As it says on the front door of our office “You are about to enter a place of HEALING.  Take a deep breath, clearing your mind and spirit.  Leave your stress and worries outside this door.”  Create this type of space for yourself.

Finally, your nerve system controls how your body handles stress.

Make sure your nerve system is up to the challenge this holiday season.

Call Stern Chiropractic TODAY to schedule your Nerve System Health Check-up!

 

 

Helping Those In Need This Holiday Season

From November 1st – December 21st Stern Chiropractic will be collecting non-perishable food for the Help those in need this holiday seasonVernon Township Food Pantry.  You can drop your food donations off at our office.

Be thankful for what you have, help those in need.

 

Click HERE to see a list of food items needed.

 

 

Our expertise will improve your family’s Quality of Life!

Call Stern Chiropractic to schedule your family’s health evaluation TODAY!

 

I hope you have enjoyed our newsletter.  If you know someone this may help, please share it.  This small act of sharing can have profound effects for generations to come.

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