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Stress Relief Techniques

What about stress, depression and food - are there any common links between them? Yes there are some common links between them all. By identifying what they are we can take steps to overcome them all. We all face times of stress, and many face times of depression. You also have

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to remember that because you are stressed doesn’t make you necessarily depressed. It might be that you are also depressed, but don’t think about adding extra pressure to your life, when stress is causing you a lot of problems on its own.

Do we have to live with stress and depression? We do to a certain extent and obviously there is medical help available especially for those who are depressed. But a lot of people who have a problem with their weight add to their stress by feeling guilty because of the food choices they made. They enjoyed the food they ate while they were eating it but once the reality of what they had eaten has set in, then the guilt starts to overpower any feelings of satisfaction.

The first step is to see what the problem is and then learn how to overcome it step by step. You need to know whether what you are feeling is due to stress, a bad day, feeling sad or real depression.

Too often people’s advice will be for you to pick yourself up. Get on with life, but that is easier said than done. It isn’t easy to get out of the house when the whole world seems to be against you. It isn’t easy to go shopping and buy the food you need to keep going day after day. People who have never been depressed are not really able to give good advice, but you might need to consider some of the things they are telling you.

You might long for the day when you wake up and the sun is shining and you no longer feel depressed. You might long for the instant cure, where you go from one stage to another without any help. It might happen, but more likely you will need to take small steps each day.

Take small baby steps each day and see what you can accomplish. You might not accomplish anything, and then think you are a failure. You might even become more depressed because you can see no light at the end of the tunnel. But it is time to remember what a baby does when they fall. They pick themselves up and carry on. Have you ever seen a baby trying to walk, and seen them saying when they fall down, “that’s it, it hurt when I feel to the ground; I am never going to try again. Boy did my pride take a bashing, I am going to sit here and forget about it.”

You might have had a smile on your face, and that is good. Babies tend not to be able to speak that clearly when they take that first step, but after the tears have been wiped away, they step up and try again. They don’t normally quit.

You will find many days when there are tears and also time when you fall, but keep trying and taking that small step. One foot in front of the other and see what happens. You know that you have a mountain to climb but you can do it if you start at the bottom and slowly work your way up to the top.

What do you do when you are under stress? There are times when you have an impossible deadline, as we all do, and the question is what do you do? Imagine you are in a situation where you can get no help, what is your plan? You end up in the situation where you can’t sleep, and can’t concentrate on anything you need to do.

You become so nervous that all the wrong thoughts come into your mind especially in term of food. Instead of carrots, you eat cookies, instead of water, you drink wine. You end up eating all night when you are on your own. Now you have two problems, the deadline and also the weight gain. You need to be able to deal with the stress and the overeating as well.

As with people, you can’t change a stressful situation, but you can change the way you handle it! Say to yourself, “I can’t ease the pain with food - at least not in the long term.”

If you eat under stress, you’ll end up with two problems. The situation that causes the stress to begin with and the stress you feel by going off track and then end up with bad blood sugar levels.

If you are at work or you have only minutes to spare, try this to quickly relax. Sit up in your chair. Turn off the phone. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath, then another one. That’s good now take another deep breath. Take five deep breaths in all, counting deeply to ten on inhaling and ten on exhaling. Open your eyes. That’s it! I bet you feel better already.

When you are depressed or under stress then doing things for yourself can seem to be the hardest thing in life. But it is worth considering if any of these are possible and not only possible but if they would help.

Massage – see if you can find someone who will come to your home and give you an hour’s pampering. You might feel a lot better after it.
Curling up with a good book or movie.
Taking the dog for a walk
Taking a bath with lots of stress-reducing oil.
Talking to a supportive friend.
Exercise! Take a walk. Go to the gym. Ride a bike.
Put on some relaxing music and close your eyes.
Go to a museum or sit in a park in the sunlight.

Note: Some statements in this article may not be approved by the FDA. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional medical advice.

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