Causes of Stress
Although the exact causes of panic attacks and panic disorder are unclear, the tendency to have panic attacks runs in families. There also appears to be a connection with major life transitions, Our Surroundings, our Environment, our intake, what we learn, our experiences, what we see, hear, feel, ingest, inject, breathe, and smell. Everything in life is tied in with everything else in life. Severe stress, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or job loss can also trigger a panic attack.
If you don’t feel calm, alert, productive, and focused most of the time in your daily life, then too much stress may be a problem for you. Try to get in the habit of paying attention to your body's clues. Observe your muscles and insides. Are your muscles tight or sore? Is your stomach tight or sore? Are your hands clenched? Observe your breath. Is your breath shallow? Place one hand on your belly, the other on your chest. Watch your hands rise and fall with each breath. Notice when you breathe fully or when you "forget" to breathe.
Identify your body's stress response. Internally, we all respond to the “fight-or-flight” stress response much the same way. The heart pumps faster, blood pressure rises, and muscles constrict.
When stressed, our bodies work hard draining our immune system. Externally, however, people tend to respond to stress in different ways: some become angry and agitated, others space out or withdraw. The best way to quickly relieve stress is to relate to your specific stress response.
How do you act when stressed? Be familiar with your specific fight-or-flight stress response.
Overexcited stress response – If you tend to become angry, agitated, or keyed up under stress, you will respond best to stress relief activities that quiet you down.
Under excited stress response – If you tend to become depressed, withdrawn, or spaced out, you will respond best to stress relief activities that are stimulating and that energize your nervous system
The immobilization or “frozen” stress response -
Immobilization is associated with people who have experienced trauma. They may find themselves “stuck” in a reflexively enraged, panic-stricken or otherwise dysfunctional state and unable to do anything to move on.
Your challenge is to find safety and stimulation to help you “reboot” your system and rouse you from a “frozen” to “fight-or-flight” stress response so you can employ additional stress management techniques. To do this, choose a form of exercise or movement that engages both your arms and legs, such as walking, swimming, running, dancing, climbing, or tai chi. As you move, focus on your body and the sensations you feel in your limbs. Adding this mindfulness element can help your nervous system become “unstuck” so you can move on.
A rapid stress reducer can be talking to someone who listens attentively. Social engagement is our most evolved strategy for regulating the nervous system and putting the brakes on the fight-or-flight stress response. Since the inner ear, face, heart, and stomach are wired together in the brain, talking face-to-face with a relaxed and balanced listener can help quickly calm your nervous system and relieve stress. Although it’s not always realistic to have a friend close by to lean on, building and maintaining a network of close friends is important for your mental health. Between quick stress relief techniques and good listeners, your bases are covered.
the ELF Worksheet
We use this worksheet with our Stuck point Worksheet. We need to take the Empirical thoughts and see if they are worth worrying about and if that thought does us any good in our life.
The Storm is Stilled: Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41
22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples and He said to them,
“Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”
And they launched out.
23 But as they sailed He fell asleep.
And a windstorm came down on the lake,
and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying,
“Master, Master, we are perishing!”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.
And they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another,
“Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water,
and they obey Him!”
Matt 6:19-34
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
The ABC Worksheet
On this worksheet, we need to write down the things that Activate what stresses us. Then we write down what it is we Believe about the activation. Then we write down the Consequences of how the thoughts make us feel.
The Stuck point worksheet
With this worksheet we write down the in full detail of our Beliefs from the Activations. We do this as if we are reporting a story.
Remember to always start off your mornings with your Relaxation exercise to help center and align your thoughts and activities for the day ahead.
Let's FIRE the bad away!
Let's take the useless junk, the negative thoughts, and all that stuff that disrupts our life, and throw it away.
The video below is set for a self-esteem issue but truly it can be used on any issue.
Aside from your Day Log worksheet,
this is the start of your evening Home Work!
We will work on one issue at a time!
