This week we talked about Health Psychology, also sometimes referred to as Wellness. So here’s what I’d kind of been waiting for……….. the topic of stress. It turns out that stress management is an area of expertise for my professor. My anticipation of this topic was met with both intrigue, because I want to learn how to manage my stress better, and a little bit of nervousness, because I was resistant to hear about how stress affects the body and mind… for fear. But the reality is… I already know. You see, part of the entire reason I decided to take this Psychology was part of a plan to help me cope with stress! Not because I saw it as a way to get some free advice or to try and figure myself out. But because I needed to re-focus, re-prioritize… Let me explain.
As some of you may know, I went home over the summer, and stayed home for about a month. This wasn’t planned. I had PLANNED a one week trip. But for two months before that, I was feeling really, really awful – physically and mentally. I started losing my hair, I gained weight, I couldn’t sleep, I had abdominal pain, and started having tingling that went all through my body. And emotionally, I was a mess. I considered a day to be a success if I managed not to break down hysterically crying. It was awful. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. But I knew I needed to get out of LA. So I went home, and after every test under the sun was run on me, I was diagnosed with severe anxiety. Part of me felt foolish, because I’d brought this upon myself. I’ve never been good at handling stress, for a multitude of reasons. But what I learned last night is that we’re all born with a certain temperament – we’re disposed to be certain ways. I have always been hyper-sensitive and a worrier from the time I was little. So anyway, the doctor said I could go on meds. To me, that is only putting a band-aid over the problem; the problem being that I suck at coping with stress! :-) I decided that when I came back to LA, I would try everything possible to lower my stress. Taking the Psychology class was part of that plan because I had become COMPLETELY consumed with music, my career, the pressure to be successful, and I just was getting really frustrated. I also realized that my identity had become intwined in what I do, and that is NEVER good, whether you’re an accountant or an artist. The Psych class has been great for me. Other than just enjoying the subject matter, it’s shown me that I am GOOD at something besides just music.
SO, on to yesterday’s class discussion…
Did you know… there was an experiment run a few years ago involving couples, and how quickly they physically heal? The testers took different sets of couples – ones that had healthy, loving relationships, and others that fought a lot (ones that had problems handling stress). They used these suction cups on the couples to create little bruises all over their bodies (I guess you can debate the humanity of that, ha). Well… they found that it took the couples who were in high-stress relationships TWICE AS LONG to heal. How telling is that?! Our immune systems, our ability to fight off and resist diseases, our overall health is impacted SO profoundly by stress. So what can you do to minimize stress? Exercise and yoga work great for me. Re-focusing your attention is good. TALKING to someone. Reaching out to other people or resources that might be able to help you deal with a problem. And think about whether or not the stressful thing you’re dealing with is REALLY that stressful – are you seeing the situation clearly? Here’s another thing my professor said… so profound, yet so simple. Remember: thoughts are just thoughts! They appear and disappear faster than you can follow. Just even thinking about something pleasant, or being present in tasks you need to complete, can help a lot.
It is virtually impossible in today’s world to avoid stress, so all you can do is develop ways to deal with it. And I’m no doctor, but if possible, I’d really suggest going the natural route for combatting stress before going the meds route.
