ignore them altogether. It may be one of the reasons Type A individuals have more heart attacks and develop hypertension and other diseases.
The bottom line in recognizing signs and symptoms is to pay attention to even small, seemingly insignificant signals that indicate any change from normal. Homeostatic systems are very sensitive. When our body gets away from normal, it tells us something is wrong; and that’s exactly why learning to listen to our body is so important in preventing diseases from getting out of hand. The first step in treating stress is to notice the signs and signals. Sometimes just knowing that our body is telling us we’re stressed is enough to help us overcome it.
Stress Intervention as Preventive Medicine
When left unchecked, stress is a principal contributing factor in virtually every human disease. Managing stress can be relatively simple. Pinpointing the source of that stress in order to prevent disease may not be as easy. So how do we determine what’s causing our stress? One surefire way is by knowing our body and linking signs and symptoms to stress sources through the use of a stress diary.
For years I’ve been teaching people how to identify hidden sources of stress. The reason my method has been successful is because it’s simple, easy to use, and effective. Within three weeks, individuals keeping a stress diary uncover sources of stress that are often difficult to identify because they’ve been incorporated into daily life and are no longer obvious or unique. Hidden sources of stress are the most dangerous because they are left alone to trigger stress reactions and cause continued wear and tear on the body’s immune system.
Here’s an example of a stress diary from one of my stress management seminars. It’s not necessary to have one exactly like this, but since this type has worked so well in the past, I suggest starting out by using this one as your model.
Because even the most negative stressors can become incorporated as routine events, or habits, into our lives, the only way to eliminate them is to keep an accurate record of activities, emotions, and thoughts that invariably lead to the symptoms they produce. As soon as you notice a symptom, write it down, along with the time of day or night it occurred, the type of activity you were doing at the time, as well as any thoughts or activities prior to that one. It’s important to include thoughts as well as physical activities, since thoughts can be even more potent triggers of stress reactions than actual events.
Just as important as immediate events are any prior/proximate thoughts and activities because stress reactions don’t always occur at the same time we encounter stressors that cause those reactions. In many cases, symptoms may not be evident right away. They can manifest themselves hours later. Therefore, to get a true indication of what may really be causing symptoms, look back and remember what you were experiencing during the past few hours.
Regardless of how insignificant you might think your thoughts and actions seem, write them down. What might appear insignificant at the time could turn out to be the major cause for triggering the symptoms you’re experiencing. After a week of keeping a stress diary, you can begin to look for patterns. When I’m working with individuals, I have them ask themselves three sets of questions.
1. Are symptoms more noticeable during certain times? Do the symptoms disappear when I alter the time that I do specific activities? Is nighttime better? Does reorganizing my schedule make what I’m doing produce less symptoms?
2. Is what I’m doing causing the symptoms? Am I too intense in doing what I’m doing? Do I worry the entire time? Do I use so much energy that I feel worn out as a result? Is it really necessary to do the activity in the first place? Can I do without it? When I stop, do the symptoms go away?
3. Is how I’m acting when doing the activity causing symptoms? Is the amount of time spent doing the activity causing symptoms? Do I spend too much time or too little? Is the amount of time spent on the activity keeping me from doing other more important things?
The answers to these questions give you a pretty good idea of what’s causing your symptoms and why the things you do or the feelings you have make you sick. Keeping a diary is a great way to catch small things early on and prevent them from becoming the big things that disrupt homeostatic mechanisms, depress the immune system, and trigger disease.
Keeping a diary, however, means you have to follow through and do something about your stress symptoms. So at the end of the diary period, write down three important facts: (1) the cause of your symptoms, (2) the reason for your symptoms, and (3) the solution to your problem. Here’s an example using headaches as the stress symptom:
Cause of symptom: rushing to make lunches for the kids each morning; feeling as if everyone is going in opposite directions.
Reason(s) for symptom: feeling as if not enough time to do everything that’s needed—to sit, talk, and have breakfast together.
Solution:
1. Set the alarm for thirty minutes earlier.
2. Prepare lunches and clothing the night before.
3. Get better organized in the mornings; don’t leave things to be done till the last minute.
The better we get at recognizing the things that are causing symptoms, the easier it will be to intervene and come up with solutions to eliminate the source of the problem. Sometimes just recognizing that our symptoms are being caused by simple, day-to-day activities brings considerable relief and we immediately begin to feel better and healthier. In many cases, the simple act of discovering why we are having symptoms makes us more aware of ways we can solve the problem.
Another good use for a symptom diary is to track how well supplements and medications are working. If you want to try an herbal product instead of Prozac to combat depression, for example, keep a record of exactly when and where you get depressed and whether taking the herbs alleviates some of those symptoms. The diary will also tell you what, if anything, is likely triggering your depression in the first place. In later chapters, I’ll discuss proven methods and solutions for eliminating non-clinical depression and anxiety and the stress that often leads to symptoms and eventually to diseases related to it.
How Sleep Affects the Mind-Body Connection
We’ve all experienced what it’s like to go without enough sleep. We become irritable, moody, and mentally fatigued. Our sex lives suffer. And we become more susceptible to colds, infections, and more serious illnesses and disease. Sleep is critical for the proper function of the neuro-endocrine-immune system, which works to maintain both physical and mental well-being.
Researchers are finding that even something as simple as a power nap enhances information processing and learning. Experiments by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health and Harvard University show that a midday snooze reverses information overload and can improve learning a motor skill by 20 percent.11 Their studies suggest that during sleep, the brain consolidates the memories of habits, actions, and skills learned during the day. So rather than feeling guilty about catching a few extra winks, we should use them to rejuvenate.
During the past few decades, sleep researchers have shown sleep to be a powerful mechanism that boosts immune function and restores the body’s homeostatic mechanisms. Some of our hormones are elevated, others decreased; tissues are repaired more rapidly; and we gradually bring ourselves back to a state of normal equilibrium.
