If I asked you to get me a bucket full of stress, could you?
Stress does not exist in the physical world. It is your thoughts that create stress. And let me tell you, stress make a huge impact on your health. When you are stressed you start to over work you adrenal glands and you go into what is called a ‘flight of fight’ way of living, which is not a good place to be. A whole list of symptoms can be the result of stress: high blood pressure, headaches, adrenal fatigue, weight issues, heart issues, skin rashes, allergies, digestive problems, over eating, under eating, anxiety and depression.
Stress in your life comes from you over thinking about a certain situation. It can be, job, relationship, food, paying bills, relatives, a difference in opinion with a best friend, words left unspoken between you and someone you care for, why your life is un fulfilling, taking care of a sick loved one, dealing with the death of a loved one, these are just some examples. All of these are valid things that we think about. But over thinking about them, even being obsessed about them is when the bad stress starts to affect our health.
Many times what happens is we have a situation in our lives that is challenging. We do not deal with it, all the while we keep over thinking about it, which creates stress. We make up scenarios in our minds of what is going to happen, the worse possible outcome, how others will react to the said situation, all the while we say or do nothing about the situation. Many times we think if just don’t say or do anything it will go away. All the while we are denying our true feelings about the situation and not doing anything, we are just building a big bucket of stress.
I do not have the magical answer to how you can deal with these stresses in your life, I can only make suggestions. Having a best friend, who you deeply trust that you can talk to about this stress is very helpful. Many people are blessed to have such a friend in their lives. When we talk about these suppressed feelings we are keeping inside us, these made up scenarios that we have created, it lets the energy out of our bodies. All this over thinking accumulates excessive energy in our bodies and it is usually not the good type of energy to have in your body. Releasing this energy in the form of talking about it sure feels good and can relieve some of the stress. Plus a trusted friend may have some suggestions to help you and hopefully a big hug, which always makes any situation better.
Another tool you can use to deal with stress is to write it down. If you do not already have a journal and write in it, I would suggest you start incorporating that in your daily or weekly practice. If you are not a fan of journaling, just take out a piece of paper and write down what you are over thinking about. And if is is a situation that is frustrating you, write all that down. Writing it down is another way to release the energy that is stored in your body about the stressful situation. And it does not have to be grammatically correct or even have the words spelled right, it is just for you. And to take it a step farther, you can rip up the paper or burn what you wrote which is another way to release the energy. Will this solve the problem, probably not, but you will feel better after you release some of the energy by getting it out of you by writing it down.
These are just some of the tools you can use to help with stress, there are others such as; meditation, music, frequency therapy, Yoga, exercise, and getting out in nature. All great topics for another time.
Let’s focus on food to help you deal with stress.
The whole grain millet is your anti stress food.
It is soft, creamy and slightly sweet when cooked properly. Known for nurturing the spleen, pancreas and stomach, millet is also high in protein. The spleen pancreas and stomach are the organs located in the middle of your body, and they get tightened or upset when you are stressed out. Eating the whole grain millet on a regular basis will help these organs function properly, they will not get over taxed when you are dealing with stress.
Other wonderful health benefits of the whole grain Millet:
high fiber, good for digestion
stabilizes blood sugar imbalances
heart healthy, can help lower high blood pressure
complex carbohydrate, gives the body energy
anti inflammatory properties
prosperous, magnesium, calcium, B vitamins
very high in iron, good if you are anemic
easiest whole grain to digest and gluten free
Watch my video from 2014 about Millet:
And I think most people already know, but I will state it here again for good measure. Refined, processed foods lead to stress in the organs of the body. They also effect the brain and how it creates thoughts which leads to over thinking or weird, un truthful thinking. Refined white sugar is just about the worse thing you can put in your body and makes the stress 1,000 times worse! Plus chemicals in our food are terrible for the brain and every other organ in your body. To help you deal with stress stick to whole foods from mother earth and choose organic whenever possible.
Please remember I am a self employed chef. I make my income from teaching cooking classes and doing Lifestyle counseling. To help support all that I do, please attend a cooking class to learn more about how healthy whole foods create great health in the body. Or schedule a consult with me, in person or virtual.
Wed. Oct. 19 - Pumpkin Peanut Butter Fudge and Pumpkin Pudding, virtual cooking class
Wed. Oct. 26 - Brown Rice Chick Pea Green Beans and Pumpkin Casserole, virtual cooking class
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I will end the article with the same question, if I asked you to give me a bucket of stress, could you? What do you think? Comment below.