Lively Women

Feeling a Bit Stressed Out? Me Too.

by Heather on July 24th, 2006

How’s your stress level these days? Perhaps you’ve joked about feeling a little burned out. The truth is — stress is something that should be taken seriously. All of us have good and bad days — but if you’ve had a string of bad days that have turned into weeks, and maybe even months, then you need to tell someone about it. It’s nothing to be ashamed of — we live in a stressful world!

I didn’t realize how stress had wreaked havoc on my own body until I discovered Carrie Carter’s wonderful book, A Woman’s Guide to Good Health, which I reviewed here. I knew that I hadn’t been my old self for a couple of years — but I was shocked to read about the Holmes-Rahe Stress Test in Dr. Carter’s book. Here’s an online version.

This test gives a point value to over 40 life events that can cause stress, whether good or bad. I took the test, and my stress totalled nearly 400 points for this year! Dr. Carter says anyone who scores over 300 points has an 80% chance of encountering a major illness within the next two years.

Even more shocking, I also ranked my points for the year 2004, which was one of the most stressful years of my life — and I earned a whopping 600 points! No wonder I was feeling a bit out of sorts that year. But I know that God works all things for good — and that’s the year I began to pour myself into writing, and I attended my first national writer’s conference. Two years later, here I am telling you about it.

I’m working on reducing my stress level — obviously. It’s not an option, unless I want to develop serious health problems. Exercising and eating low glycemic index foods keep my insulin levels stabilized and help me deal with stress naturally. A major side effect is weight loss! I have a million more things to tell you, but I’ll save it for later. (Don’t forget to check out that online stress test!)

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POSTED IN: Anxiety, Depression, Exercise, Stress, Wellness