What is Stress?
It's perfectly natural to feel stressed now and then. It's entirely appropriate to be stressed in certain circumstances. Your "stress response" can actually be a life-saving resource. However, chronic stress -- being stressed all the time -- can be physically and mentally harmful.
Stress can be sub-categorized as:
- Routine stress, which is usually related to work, family and other daily pressures.
- Stress brought about by a sudden negative change. Included in this might be stress you would feel from losing a job, a divorce, or serious illness.
- Traumatic stress, which you would feel in a life-threatening circumstance like a car accident, war, a bodily crime or natural disaster. Traumatic stress is often identified as a cause of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Different people may feel stress in different ways. Some may have trouble with digestion, sleep, depression, anger or headaches, as well as greater frequency and severity of viral infections, like flu or colds. Vaccines seem to have a minimal effect on them.
How people cope with stress varies. That's why it's important to know your limits when you're stressed out. This may help you from contracting serious health effects.
You can take some practical steps to prevent, combat and cope with stress, as well as maintain physical and mental health. Here are some tips:
- When you feel overwhelmed, unable to cope, think about suicide or are turning to substance abuse to cope, seek out a licensed mental health practitioner.
- Have any current health problems addressed.
- Stay close to your support base, like friends, family, work or church associates.
- Know when your body is responding to stress, like insomnia, substance use, anger, depression or low energy.
- Prioritize your life; know what needs to get done and what can wait. Learn to say no to new tasks, especially if you feel overwhelmed.
- Be fair to yourself; remember what you've accomplished, not what you failed to do.
- Don't dwell on problems. If you feel a problem is insurmountable, get assistance from a mental health professional who will advise you.
- Exercise. Even 30 minutes a day of gentle walking can elevate your mood and reduce stress.
- Ensure you have regular times when you can engage in healthy, relaxing activities.
- Investigate various stress coping regimens like meditation, yoga, tai chi, or prayer.
EMPowerplus, combined with other healthy lifestyle changes, can also help. Learn more about how EMPowerplus can help by clicking here.
How EMPowerplus Helped Earthquake Survivors Cope With Stress
On February 22, 2011 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand. It took 185 lives, making it the second-largest natural disaster in that country. Just four months later, an aftershock with a 6.3 magnitude hit New Zealand again, injuring 46 and killing one.
Many affected residents of New Zealand sought mental health counseling, even medication for the fallout and stress associated with living through not only the first quake, but the aftershock which caused many significant fires, widespread flooding, gas leaks and soil liquefaction.
To fully understand the impact of natural disasters on mental stability, a 2011 research study was done by the University of Christchurch in New Zealand, studying a group of adults with ADHD affected by the 6.3 quake.
Half the participating survivors took a high-quality micronutrient supplement designed to negate the effects of stress and PTSD. The other half did not.
"Disaster survivors improve psychologically over time regardless of receiving intervention; however, those taking micronutrients during the acute phase following a disaster show better outcomes,” reported Dr. Julia Ruckledge, University of Canturbury researcher.
The micronutrient the participants took was none other than Truehope’s EMPowerplus.
A university follow up study a year later showed that not only were those taking EMPowerplus more stable, but those who participated in the study and later started taking psychotropic meds in place of EMPowerplus actually fared worse than those who stayed away from medications.
How EMPowerplus Helps
The original formula that evolved into today's Truehope EMPowerplus Ultimate was first formulated in 1996 as a natural medicine to help people experiencing stress caused by depression or other mood disorders.
The success was so great that over 2,000,000 bottles have now been sold for use in treating non clinical symptoms like stress. The EMPowerplus formulation is groundbreaking: the 36 clinically proven vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants give the brain and body the nutrients they need to function at their very best.
The physical manifestations of stress like sleeplessness, pain, headaches, weight gain and others can also be accompanied anxiety, racing thoughts, worry, and frustration. When the brain is able to draw from the 36 clinically proven ingredients found in EMPowerplus, the body is able to relax so you can focus on life instead of worry.
