Are you accident prone?
Do you find it difficult to relax?
Do you rush through your meals?
Are you compulsive about punctuality?
Do others tell you to take things slower?
Do you try to do more than one thing at a time?
Do you interrupt others frequently while they are talking?
Do you get impatient or upset if something or someone delays you (traffic jams, appointments etc.)?
How about... tense muscles, anger outbursts, irritability, crying, loss of self confidence, forgetfulness, nail-biting, racing/irregular heart beat, back or neck-aches, heartburn, twitching, excessive sighing, lack of concentration, loss of self confidence ...
THESE ARE SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS OF "STRESS"
"Stress" has become one of the most commonly used words these days and is, unfortunately, one of the greatest liabilities of the way we live.
It has been defined as pressure, tension or excess strain and its profound effects on our mental and physical health support the fact that we live in a high stress world!
The market for any sort of stress reliever is a tremendous one, making stress reduction a multi-million dollar industry. Last year for example, in North America 'Prozac', an anti-depressant drug, topped the sales for all the drugs prescribed by doctors - and 'Valium' was not far behind!
Obviously, modern day living has its advantages but does not come without its costs.
Before the turn of the century, before the introduction of mechanisation and industrialisation, life moved at a slower pace. Today, we must cope with the 'hurry up and wait' mentality that causes our stomachs to churn and our heads to ache.
So while we have eliminated many of the physically challenging chores our grandmothers had to tackle, we've filled our days with mental and emotional stressors, which are, in many ways, much more harmful.
Stress is here to stay and can be successfully channelled and managed. It even has its advantages in that it can provide us with challenges, thereby motivating us to stretch and grow, which provides us with satisfaction when we see a project through. Sadly, much of our stress is caused by factors that are frequently out of our control.
Financial pressures, marital and family problems, workplace adversity etc, along with the chemicals that our modern living invades our body with, can all 'stress us out'.
'Stress' as a condition, is increasing at such a rapid rate, that the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) has predicted that, by 2010, it will be the No.1 cause of death, world-wide!
The management and control of depression, anxiety and stress is not all about 'keeping your emotions in check' - although, it will help.
The effects of stress are NOT just emotional! 'Talk therapy' does very little to address the biological nature of the real condition!
Stress, more often than not, causes chemical imbalances.
Although pharmaceutical drugs are designed to rectify the imbalances, they have their own destructive side-effects that are often worse than the original condition!
Doctors in the more liberal countries such as Sweden, Austria and Germany are getting incredible improvements in patients with conditions ranging from Mild Depression to Sleep Disorders, with the use of some of the most ancient of herbal remedies - and with few or no side-effects.
We ALL suffer from stress! That is a fact of life. But, mostly, it can be easily managed without the expense of the constant trips to the doctor and without the uncomfortable side-effects of the drugs they often prescribe. All it takes is the knowledge and understanding!
"YLANG YLANG" - ('The Flower of Flowers'), "NONI" and a host of other folk herbs - are some of the many natural remedies that we humans were using for centuries - before drugs!!
"DHEA" - 'The Hormone From Heaven' - this human hormone controls the Immune System, energy output, metabolism, the Endocrine System etc. - Stress depletes it! Herbs can replace it!
"ST JOHN'S WORT" - 'Nature's Improvement on Prozac' - an ancient weed has been used for centuries to successfully address the PROBLEMS associated with stress (NOT just the symptoms!) 60% of the adult population suffer from stress or mild depression Most of them will benefit from taking a weed - with no side effect!
"MING DYNASTY HERBS" - 6000 years of experimentation allows these ancient Chinese HERBAL formulations to calm the body and to repair the glandular (Endocrine) system. The chemicals of this millennium are "Endocrine Disrupters" - they contribute to stress related diseases.
"EMPTY FOODS" - our fruit and vegetables are NO LONGER supplying us with the nutrients that our bodies need! If you still believe that you can get a 'well-balanced' diet - you're living in the past!
"ANTI-OXIDANTS" - if you want to avoid or even reverse the 'degenerative diseases', you can go and live in Tibet - or, you can develop a high profile of Anti-oxidants in your blood stream.
"ORAL CHELATION THERAPY" - one out of three Australians who will die this year, will die as the result of a stroke or heart attack. There is something can do to avoid this happening to you.