Running away from stress triggers...literally

A healthy life is not merely about hitting the gym or going for a run, it's about having a full balance in your life with healthy eating, healthy exercise and a healthy mental state.
An annoying part of life is stress.  It can come from anywhere: work, home, family, finances, even from strangers. Yet, what can make or break us is how we deal with stress and stressful situations. How often have you met someone who just seems genuinely stressed out? It can be easy to recognize the signs:

• tired eyes
• frumpled appearance
• a bad habit (nail biting, excessive drinking/eating, smoking, narcotics)
• fidgety
• negative mood (short-tempered or depressed)
• frequently ill
• often nauseous or dizzy
• aches and pains
• insomnia
• simply telling you they're stressed

Stress has been linked to physical illness even as serious as heart attacks and strokes. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to help someone who is stressed; but, there are ways to help someone help themselves. I try not to have any stress in my life. I live through a lot of stressful situations, but I choose not to let them affect me long term. I make a plan and solve the problem. Sometimes the plan needs a bit of tweaking but I try to move forward.

The past few months, we have had a few stressful situations. First, we ordered and received our beautiful nursery furniture to discover an horrific smell of varnish/paint. The smell permeated the whole house and was especially bad in the nursery.  After talking to our supplier, we put the furniture in the garage until we could make an exchange. I was devastated that this happened but was happy to have it resolved, no stress needed! If only it had been. We were told 3 weeks later (after emailing the guy and phoning incessantly without reply until he finally came to see for himself) that he wouldn't exchange any of the furniture and we would have to live with it or sell it on our own, but he would very generously sell us another set. I happy to admit that I am morally and ethically unable to sell a product to someone else that I know is defective.  The unfortunate aspect of this is that it was a fellow teacher who had recommended the supplier. Little hint to business people, teachers can be your best free publicity... or your worst, you can probably imagine how happy I am to spread my story to save others from this problem. We've definitely learned to buy from a retail store and will forever avoid independent suppliers even if recommended.
Second, I have been waiting months for a reply from an Ethics committee regarding my MA thesis work. Because I have yet to get a reply, I've been stuck in limbo on how to proceed with my research, it's like I'm paying the university just to send me email updates of fun campus activities.
Third, on New Year's, my grandmother passed away. I flew back East to see my father and help settle her belongings. I'm not a great flier and the flight was beyond turbulent (this happened to also be the day after I passed out at a friend's wedding). Not only was it stressful, it was flatout fearful! I then had to sit in the airport the following day for 8 hours as my flight home continued to be delayed and I had to be at work by 6am the following morning.

In general, I have a bad habit of packing my schedule, I really like to keep busy. But it can happen that my perfect sequence of events can be thrown off by a minor set back: traffic, change of plan, change of price.

With major stresses and the day to day stresses, it can be easy to let into all the negative energy pile up and it has reminded me how quickly stress can affect your body: muscles are achy, nausea, short-tempered.  The problem with stresses when pregnant is that your hormones are already completely out of control and even the smallest trigger can set off a volcano. Your heart rate will increase, your body temperature increases, your joints begin to ache, insomnia hits often, your balance is thrown off, and your breathing becomes more shallow.

Because I hate the way those symptoms feel, I continue to decide to stick to my "stress-free" life. We researched ways to remove the furniture smell (if it doesn't work, we're throwing it away) and I decided I would alter my thesis so I would not need anyone's approval. I also stick to my exercise regime. Whenever I'm feeling the symptoms of stress begin to take over, I have a few tricks that help me:

• Breath very deeply
• If possible, walk away from the situation for 24 hours--this time will allow you to calm any initial emotions and you'll be able to address the issue with a clear mind.
• Drink a big glass of water--this helps beat the headache that comes along with stress
• Go for a walk or for a run outside--fresh air and exercise will give you some mental relief, the increase of bloodflow will make your muscles and joints feel better
• A hard workout--the mental break and a good sweat can help you dispel the physical responses to stress
• "Me" time--I like to read a book or watch my favourite show, other people might like a warm bath or do some retail therapy :)

Stressful situations will always happen in life but it's important to deal with them quickly so they don't blow out of control. Because pregnancy is already stressful, any other triggers can be that much harder on your body and can affect your baby. Don't let stress run your life, you need to run to get rid of it! Find ways to remove stress from your life and when stress comes at you: take breath, find a solution, and move on!

See you at the gym!!