Blessed Well 100th Anniversary
The 100th Anniversary of the Blessed Well is coming up shortly. With this in view a get-together will take place at the well on this Wednesday evening after 7.30pm Mass. It would be lovely to commemorate this occasion and anybody interested in helping with suggestions or ideas would be very welcome to come along and air their views.
C. E. Scheme Vacancy
A vacancy for a secretarial position on the current C.E. Scheme will be coming available shortly. Anybody wishing to apply for this position must be receiving a Social Welfare payment for a minimum of 12 months in order to qualify through the Dept. Of Social Protection. The job will require a good knowledge of computers including Word and Excel. Training on other aspects of the job will be available. Please contact 068-42301 mornings only.
Enlighten your Day
Fight the harmful effects of stress
Stress is no laughing matter.
While we all have stress now and then, the problem really arises when it becomes constant and chronic.
Because in addition to the obvious mental pressure and emotional effects it causes, stress also affects your body physically in MANY different ways, some of which you might not be aware of.
But it’s crucial to know ALL of the ways that stress may be affecting you so you can recognize it and most importantly, do something about it.
Stress and your hormones
When your body gears up to deal with outside stressors, the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released to jump-start fats and carbohydrates in your body for quick energy.
This reflects the way our bodies functioned back in the day of our caveman ancestors, whose lives depended on how quick their “fight or flight” reactions were.
Although we’re no longer running from ferocious animals or battling rival tribes (our modern stresses are usually mental in nature), that biological programming is still in us. And regardless of whether a stress is mental or physical, your body reacts the same way.
So when your body senses stress, adrenaline kicks in and increases your heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output and carbohydrate metabolism.
Plus cortisol directs the necessary energy to meet the increased needs of your brain and muscles to respond to the stress.
Now, once the stressful event is over, your adrenaline level drops pretty quickly, but cortisol remains high for a while to refuel your body and bring it back to balance.
One way it does this is it gives you a RAVENOUS appetite, hoping that you’ll replace whatever fat and carbs you used up during the “crisis.”
This reaction is fine if the stress you’ve just dealt with is sudden or temporary and short-lived, like maybe getting in a fender-bender, giving a presentation at work or taking an important exam at school.
But the problem arises when people have chronic stress, day in and day out. With chronic stress, cortisol levels get high and stay high.
This causes you to “stress eat” a lot because the cortisol in your body is repeatedly telling you to refuel.
And you know what THAT means…your backside gets wider and wider.
Chronically elevated cortisol can also lead to depressed immune function, low thyroid function, problems with blood sugar control and eventually adrenal burnout and chronic illness (like type II diabetes, repeated infections, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure and hypothyroidism).
Stress and your stomach
Chronic stress can also lead to an inflammation of the stomach called gastritis.
Its symptoms are like acid reflux or an ulcer and can include:
Burning or ache in your stomach
Loss of appetite
Bloating
Belching
Hiccups
Nausea and vomiting
Vomiting of blood
Dark stools
Inadequate digestion and absorption of nutrients
Feeling of extreme fullness after just a small amount of food
Antacids are usually prescribed for gastritis, but since they inhibit your stomach acid production, and acids are needed for proper protein digestion, they make the underlying problem WORSE–not better.
Plus gastritis also leads to Vitamin B12 deficiency.
Stress and your intestines
Your brain and your intestinal tract are definitely connected, and this brain-gut connection is very evident when it comes to stress.
The “brain-gut axis” is a network of chemical and electrical signals that continuously pass between the central nervous system (the brain) and the digestive system.
It’s such a close relationship that some experts have even called the gut your second brain!
Since there’s such a profound, close relationship between the brain and the gut, chronic psychological stress can make you very physically sick.
For example, stress is a major factor in the emergence of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) symptoms and in the worsening of the symptoms of colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Stress also causes your gut to become hypersensitive, which can contribute to food allergies and intolerances.
And there’s another way that stress affects your gut–the inner lining of your intestines.
Stress causes this protective mucosal barrier to become less effective at defending your body against unfriendly bacteria and dangerous pathogens.
That means that you are more susceptible to catching viruses and infections when under chronic stress–your body literally cannot fight them off as well.
How to fight back
First and foremost, it’s important to try and eliminate as much stress from your life as you can…but as we all know, many stresses are unavoidable.
So it’s essential to give your body the help it needs to counteract the effects of stress.
Balance your gut flora
Although a healthy diet can help encourage a good gut flora balance, since SO many other factors (like environmental toxins, medications, lack of sleep and STRESS) can affect your gut microbes, for many people, diet is not enough.
That’s why supplementation with a good multi-strain probiotic formula can help SO many people.
Be sure your B12 levels are strong
It is estimated that as many as 3 out of 4 people have Vitamin B12 levels that are either close to being low or are already dangerously low.
And if you’ve had stress-related stomach problems, that means you may not be absorbing nutrients (including B12) like you should, and/or your stomach may be having trouble producing the intrinsic factor needed for B12 absorption.
So that 3 out of 4 statistic just might include YOU.
The good news is that, just as a Vitamin B12 deficiency may be “easy to get,” it’s just as easy to help reverse it!
You just need to make sure that you get a potent form of B12 and that you help encourage easy absorption by your body.
Massage Therapy for Stress Relief and Much More
Studies of the benefits of massage demonstrate that it is an effective treatment for reducing stress, pain and muscle tension.
Cancel Out Stress with Advanced Reflexology
Reflexology possesses the capacity to cancel out the effects of stress while it helps the body to reach a place of deep relaxation where it can balance the body systems.
PPPS: Always be sure to let your doctor or healthcare provider know what supplements you are taking and before you make any changes to your diet.
Contact me Kay McDonnell, Listowel
068 23574
W: kaymcdonnell.com
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