Learning to nurture and love yourself By Dawn Krueger-Sherin Special to AFN | Posted: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 2:00 pm

One of the biggest keys to success with a balanced health and wellbeing is learning to nurture and love oneself. Our lives are full of stress. Light amounts of stress is normal. Moderate to high amounts of stress can tear apart quickly ones health and well being. Stress and lifestyle factors are a huge contributor to disease. There are a few things to consider when talking about stress. First, is how a person handles it in their life and secondly, is what they do about it when it increases?

How do you handle stress?

The very definition of stress is simply an underlying sense of fear and anger. Some people have a tendency to internalize these emotions and others give into the drama of their lives. When high amounts of stress hits it is important to have a plan. First, reassess your obligations. Reprioritize your schedule. Do only what is most important and not what is necessarily most urgent. Release your schedule and be OK with that. Secondly, change your perspective. When emotions hit it is better to just go with the flow of them instead of resisting what it is you are feeling. Resistance in accepting stress in your life will only cause more frustration. This, in turn, will only increase your stress level. We don't have the power to control every aspect in our lives. Although, many of us think we do. We can only go with the flow of things and have faith that it will all turn out OK in the end. The good news is it usually does!

What to do during high periods of stress?

When high amounts of stress hits have a plan to better take care of yourself. Despite how tired you are implement some form of exercise every day. Even if it is for just 10 minutes, just get out and do it. Make sure if you are under high amounts of stress you don't do any amount of strenuous exercise. When you are in a "fight or flight" sympathetic mode, don't exhaust your adrenals by over exercising your body. We get into our habits and have our favorite types of exercise. Just know that it is so much better for your health to slow things down during high amounts of stress.

By doing more relaxing exercises like Tai Chi, Qi Gong, walking or hiking can do an extreme amount of good for your body during heighten stressful periods. If you continue intense workouts you may hurt your health even more during those stressful times.

Start changing your diet immediately. Know that your energy is very important. Start taking away foods that may steal your energy. Foods such as dairy, sugar, wheat, along with processed foods have a tendency to stress the body and cause inflammation. Limiting the foods that cause more stress on your body will decrease the overall stress you are feeling. Add easily digestible foods. When you're under a great deal of stress the body loses the ability to digest a big meal. So for example, a big steak dinner would not be a great idea.

Instead, you can try an organic beef broth soup with veggies and rice noodles. Each person has been given an intuitive sense to know which foods will help their energies and which ones steal them. Look inside for those signals and go towards those foods that will give you more energy.

Meanwhile, stay away from high amounts of caffeine and those energy drinks. In the long run they will overtax the body. Instead, add more antioxidant drinks and B-12 into your body. B vitamins from a whole food sources are amazing for our bodies during times of high stress.

Make sure your taking breaks each day for both meals and meditation or relaxation. Just being able to eat your meal without distractions is a huge way to reduce your stress throughout the day. Don't think about work when eating. Also try and find at least five minutes a day where you can close your eyes and deep breathe. Visualize yourself in a relaxing safe place. It will do wonders for your spirit.

Find time at least once a week for an hour or two to do anything you want. I can't even stress how important this is to do for ones health. It can be something you do alone or with a friend. Do whatever you wish for an hour or two. This can be going to a café for a cup of tea, checking out an art exhibit, or just laying in bed watching a relaxing movie. Whatever will renew your spirit is the activity that is best for you. Those few hours will do wonders to help get you through those times of stress. Make it a priority and see what happens.

Always have hope

We somehow are given messages that imbalances and sickness is weak when this is such a normal part of our life. Accepting those things we can't change will help us move forward. Happiness is something we have to work and fight for in our lives. Know that the high amounts of stress that you may be experiencing will end. It is human to have negative thoughts with so much suffering in our world.

Although, we can change our perspective to a more positive, joyous and peaceful way of living. Choosing to nurture and love yourself will help you step forward into that peaceful place in your heart.

Dawn Krueger-Sherin is an oriental medical practitioner in Ahwatukee Foothills. For questions, reach her at www.acupointehealing.com.

Grocery Store Tour and class on February 10th at 12pm. Learn more about healthy and nutritious organic whole food eating on a budget. You will learn how to shop safely for your family. Ever wonder what those numbers mean on your fruit and veggies? Find out the best alternatives for food allergies. Learn what is food therapy and how to buy food to treat symptoms. Along with much, much more. We will then go to Pomegranate Cafe for lunch. Class costs $10 which will can be used towards credit for a Nutrition Response Testing at our office. RSVP by 2/8/12

_
In the new year many of us start to think about changes we can do to help make it a better year. We may have been taught that it is healthy to write down resolutions that include goals and timelines. It is the American way to push towards a goal and work hard at achieving them. We hear messages like, "Be all you can be" or "Work hard and play hard." Is this actually good for our health and well being? Could these messages we are hearing about push, drive, goals, timelines, and strive, be actually bad for our health?

In my practice I see a lot of sick people. When looking at their symptoms and getting to know them, I realize that they may have run themselves into the ground from overwork. They lose touch with nurturing and taking care of themselves. They take on expectations for themselves to be a "super" mom or a "successful" husband. We hear constant messages that make us believe that we are not enough or don't do enough. We are afraid of being accused of being lazy or ungrateful. So we become busy for busy sake.

It is common in life to have mountains and valleys. Some parts of the year will be busy and other parts will be slow. During those slow times it is important to rest up for the busier times in our lives and not take on new projects. In ancient Chinese medical texts there is an explanation that answers the question of why a person may not live a long life. According to the Huang Di Nei Jing it is because, "They exhaust there energies in many directions." Burnout is all too often the case that leads to a health crisis in one's life. People can get sick fast when under a lot of stress. So how do you find balance in a world of chaos?

Instead of goals, write down what is most important to you in your life. Place these goals into order of priority, and then put your energy towards those things.

You may first want to make family No. 1, or you may find that your spiritual walk is most important to you. You may realize that instead of going on a diet your priority is actually health and well being. Then you may want to add more healthy organic foods to your diet and just start moving each day. Instead of trying to work more hours to pay off your car, cut back on some of your daily expenses.

Don't make prompt and quick decisions. Think about them for awhile and get trusted counseling and support. It is important to know that some of these goals and decisions you are making can change your life. It can be a positive experience or a horrible experience for you spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

Statistics show that almost half of Americans make resolutions. Over half of them give up by the end of January. This is because they are pushing toward a goal that is unrealistic for them in their present state. Push causes a resistance and stress in our bodies. Unrealistic expectations can destroy one's self esteem. It is like jumping across a huge body of water and expecting to not get wet. Instead, start slowly on stepping stones. Then you can see yourself cross to the other side with more ease. If you mess up then pick up the pieces and start all over again. You will not only be successful in your achievements, but healthier for doing so.