By: Sally Evans
The demands of life today leave people everywhere plagued by stress. From hectic work schedules, a lack of sleep, reduced nutrients in diets, not drinking enough water, and the pressures of juggling family, life, and work, stress and stress related disorders are widespread.
Research proves just how serious stress is to the human body and how it’s the cause of numerous diseases. Stress is one of the main causes of heart ailments and those who have suffered heart attacks, the recommendation is to remove stress from their lives and embrace a “relaxed and more peaceful” existence.
Although this advice sounds simple, for the majority of people, this guidance is often harder to obtain than it seems. Removing stress sometimes requires hard work, which often induces stress in itself. Life doesn’t always offer us the advantages of removing all stress factors. If for example, it’s your boss or co-worker that is causing stress, one solution would be to change jobs, but not everyone has the option to change jobs at whim.
It could be a hard knock such as divorce that triggers the deep-rooted stress. This can’t be removed easily and requires going through the process of grief, and emotional and spiritual healing. The good news is we don’t have to put up with these causes of stress and its effects, there is a way out. There are lots of steps open to you that can decrease the effects of stress in your life and help regain your sense of control and strength while bringing calm and tranquility.
A well balanced diet and reducing the amount of heavily processed and highly sweetened foods is one of the basic ways to reduce stress. These “Comfort Foods” such as chocolate, candy, and fried greasy meals may bring temporary relief, but fill the body with waste which stresses your body internally. Now your stress is both inside your body and from the outside world. Now is the time to cleanse your body, and be nourished with plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, along with drinking plenty of water. By enhancing your immune system you’ll have the health and vitality needed to deal with the stress and its root case, and avoid illness, which is often the result of an overly stressed system.
Dealing with stress is helped by bringing peace to your mind, body and spirit with the use of meditation and prayer. Using aromatherapy candles during peaceful times, whether meditating, praying, or simply reading a favorite book can do wonders for your sense of well-being. Some herbal scents that are known for reducing stress and anxiety include Lavender, Lemon, Rose, Chamomile, Black Cohosh, Hops, Passionflower, and Valerian. Set aside 15 minutes a day, light your aromatherapy candles and enjoy the moment.
These same herbal scents are available as essential oils and you can appreciate the aromatherapy benefits by adding a few drops of the oil to a hot bath, then lay back, relax and soak the moment.
Take the first step today towards dealing with your stress and get yourself some aromatherpay candles and oils, but most importantly, take the time to use and benefit from them.
