Tuesday 30 April 2013

How to deal with stress...grrrrrr


This is part one of a three part series looking at stress in our lives.
Thank you to Dr Katherine Preedy our clinical psychologist for taking the time to give use this incite.
Stress 1: identifying patterns

We’ve all felt stress at some point in our lives. I’m sure you’ll recognise at least some of the possible symptoms such as racing heart, preoccupying thoughts, churning stomach, sweating, appetite changes, headaches and muscle tension. At a lower level sometimes that tension is a helpful physical stimulus acting as a motivator to make some kind of change. For example, if I feel stressed about a work deadline it pushes me to work harder and achieve my aim. Without any stress at all I would have no internal drive to push myself. However, when a person is under too many accumulative small stressors, or a single extreme stressor, they may find that the symptoms actually prevent them from being able to resolve the situation. This is when stress can become problematic. There are lots of different strategies for attempting to manage stress but the first key to all of them is recognising that you are stressed and trying to identify what that looks like for you.  Knowing what your own personal warning signs are is crucial. Try to think about some of the ways that stress affects you personally? What are your physical symptoms? Do you over- or under-eat? Do you find you can’t sleep or wake ruminating on an issue? Do you get irritable or withdraw into yourself? What kind of thinking patterns do you notice? How do you act differently? What do you do more or less of? Once you’ve recognised your own personal stress signature you can start to intervene at an earlier stage and address each of these areas in isolation.

One Should Run..........


Running is one of the best ways to keep healthy and fit. It is great exercise for your heart, waist line, diary, stress, mental health, immune system, bone density, skin and finally sleep. Perhaps it should be on subscription from your GP! 

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever receive relating to running was from the most unlikely of sources, namely my sedentary father, “One should run rather than jog“. This is actually very true as running at a pace that feels fast for you will led to a reduce chance of picking up injuries, burn more energy and get you fitter faster. Watching a three year old charging around bears no resemblance to the heavy footed stride of a jogger in a park. The three year old has more in common with Mo Farah GB’s double gold Olympic hero than you may first imagine. Light on his feet, brilliant posture and ease of movement are traits they both share. We all have the ability to run well like this, perhaps just not quite as fast as Mo!

How do I achieve this? Simple! Your technique is partially driven by the speed you run at and therefore interval training is the key. Run for short fast intervals with longer intervals of recovery time. Always warm up and cool down by walking before and after your run. This type of training may not to suitable for everyone and it can be wise to consult your GP before starting any new exercise regime.