On Stress & Anxiety - Part 2

Eliminate both from your life!

This newsletter is made possible with the support of the American Diversity Group (ADG), based in Maryland. ADG is organized to bring together a diverse group of people to build and sustain a healthy community and enrich lives. Contact the ADG by visiting their website.

Get this: Those like me who deal with chronic anxiety problems must see an average of five doctors before a successful diagnosis will start to help resolve the issues.

You've probably heard that stress can raise your blood pressure, increasing the likelihood of a stroke in the distant future. Did you know that stress can contribute to heart attacks, diabetes, ulcers, neck or low back pain, and other disorders?

According to WebMD, 75 to 90 percent of visits to a primary care physician were due to stress-related conditions. Numerous published studies report that chronic stress can interfere with the normal function of the body's immune system. And studies have proven that stressed individuals are more susceptible to allergic, autoimmune, or cardiovascular diseases.

Doctors agree that the functions of the body that are nonessential to survival, such as the digestive and immune systems, get affected negatively due to chronic stress. Furthermore, stress often prompts people to respond in unhealthy ways by smoking, drinking alcohol, eating poorly, or becoming physically inactive. These negative habits damage the body even more.

Let's face it. Stress is a part of daily life. How we react to it makes all the difference in maintaining our health and well-being. You must realize that you will never eliminate stress. Still, you can learn coping techniques to turn that stress from distress to eustress. I have suffered from anxiety disorders caused by stress for years. I have learned somewhat how to cope, although I'm always learning new things and dealing mechanisms.

So what I've done in this series is take some of my own experiences and combine them with advice from experts to give you tools to help you in stressful situations. While researching this series of articles, I've found some great information and can't wait to share it with you. I've also outlined different ways to face the debilitating anxiety and panic attacks many suffer. I've learned so much myself, so let's look at how to eliminate stress and anxiety from your life, starting with the following newsletter!