Stress is a part of everyday life, and seemingly unavoidable. It goes without saying that stress compromises our health so finding healthy ways to deal with it is important. Let’s celebrate the success of one woman who made a life change that significantly reduced her stress and her breast cancer risk.
How Stress Works
Stress is the mind’s psychological response to mental, physical, and emotional pressures. The sources of stress are many, spanning from daily lifestyles to traumatic life events. Chronic stress can draw on and drain the immune system, leaving us vulnerable. It can affect our hormones, sleep, organ function, immunity, and more. These factors can increase our risk of breast cancer.
Managing Stress at the Source
While we all manage stress differently, how we handle chronic stress impacts our long-term health – for better or worse. Finding healthy ways to reduce it is key. Some of my clients depend on alcohol to manage stress, but this is not a healthy way to manage stress. I recommend addressing the sources of stress as well as managing the feeling of stress.
For example, we can reduce sources of chronic stress by not taking on more than we can handle – by being honest with ourselves about our capacities, establishing healthy boundaries, and then respecting those boundaries. Some of my clients report employing time management techniques that balance the demands and pleasures of their lives.
Some of my clients healthily manage the feeling of stress with exercise, meditation, counseling, breathing exercises, relaxing in their “peaceful place,” the Serenity Prayer and more. While managing the feeling of stress may seem relatively easy, reducing its sources can present challenges. Some lifestyle choices require sacrifice and drastic lifestyle changes. Ever feel like your [fill in the blank] is killing you?
Celebrate Success
Maybe you feel your job is killing you? One of my clients was experiencing chronic stress at her job. While she knew she had to make a change, it wasn’t easy. She ultimately left it when it became practical and started her own health-related service – she became her own boss, following her passion and serving according to her own ideals. She felt much less stress. While this was just one of the things she addressed, her thermal imaging reveals much less breast inflammation and cancer risk too! Let’s celebrate her success:
Top Row: 6/24/14
The vascularization throughout the top images is consistent with systemic lymphatic inflammation.
Bottom Row: 3/18/15
There is a significant reduction in inflammation, increased symmetry between breasts, and a reduction of heat/thermal features therein.
Thermogram Center, Inc. Images: Reduced: Stress/Inflammation/Cancer Risk… Success!
What Will You Do to Reduce Your Sources of Stress?
Learn More with When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection.