Health strategies for managing stress

Stress….

We all experience this every day. Yet, they don’t teach us in school how to best get rid of stress. It is one of the enemy’s favourite vials to use to steal, kill and destroy and yet, it is something that we can’t tangibly put our finger on. In today’s blog post, we are going to see how the spirit of stress comes in, how it takes form within our spirit, soul and body and what are the most effective ways in which we can conquer it.

The dictionary explanation of what stress is, gives us the picture of pressure being placed upon an object. When you do any stress testing on any material objects, the goal is to understand what is the level of pressure it can handle, with the breaking point being the absolute strength thereof. In people it works the same, but we all have different breaking points. We have different endurance levels and strengths. This makes it very hard to determine what your breaking point is. In saying that, you don’t want to get to the breaking point to find out either.

Although small pockets of stress are actually very good for our human body and brain, continuous, chronic stress is deadly. We can also experience different types of stress at the same time:

Physical Stress

We have been created in such a way that we can absorb and digest stress very well. The physical kind allows for our bodies to thrive. However, continuing physical stress is harmful. If we look at what physical stress is, we look at strenuous exercise as one example. Another example is the fact that we sit behind a computer all day. Even just sitting in the car (where your legs are at a 90-degree angle) is extremely stressful on the spine, muscular and nervous system, which then negatively influences other body systems too. Physical stress also includes when you do not get enough sleep at night. One night of not getting your quota of deep sleep can cause aging as well as multiple cognitive degenerations. Another form of physical stress is our continuous exposure to toxins and metals in our environment through the food, water and air we breathe. Eating healthy is not a nice to have or, only for people that are into “health” or, athletes. Eating as per God’s design is LIFE. God says he places before us the choice of Life and Death (Deut 30:19) and we get to choose. To fulfill our purposeful calling on earth will require you to have a fabulously strong and healthy temple. God loaned you one to steward and guard and I do believe God is going to ask us, “how did you take care of My temple I gave you?” one day.

Mental Stress

More than 80% of our daily stress is mental and psychological stress. We are bombarded with negative news, media, world events along with situations that easily distract our eyes off Christ. The systems of this world are also not helping. From the financial system, to living in a city, everything contributes to our stress levels. Eskom, water outages, crime, endless traffic to mention a few. As parents we are concerned daily for our kids. The biggest contributor to our mental stress is our devices and let me explain….

Our subconscious mind cannot distinguish between what is my stress and what is stress that doesn’t belong to me. I want to showcase this to you with a practical little experiment. So kindly join me for the following exercise…

Take 3 deep breaths: deep breath in, and deep breath out…Now imagine, you are on a beautiful island, where you are staying just off the beach in a beautiful open plan sea facing condo. The day has been hot, and you have been outside in the very hot, very humid weather. After a long day out in the sun, you get back home. Walk into the coolness of the open plan kitchen. On the kitchen counter is a new wooden cutting board and a fruit bowl with lots of juicy healthy fruit in it. You pick up the biggest, juiciest yellow lemon. You get out a sharp knife and cut the lemon on the wooden cutting board, as you cut some of the lemon juice runs onto the cutting board. You pick up one half of the lemon and squeeze it into your mouth and start to suck on the lemon juice…

As I’m explaining this story, your imagination has been painting the picture for you with all of your senses involved. Your imagination sits in your subconscious mind. Also the place where you dream and where you see visions from. When I spoke to you about the taste of the lemon, your mouth started to excrete saliva. Right? (It did with me and I knew it was coming, which also shows us how imagination is not linked to our conscious mind) The interesting thing is, there was no real lemon anywhere close to you, but your body responded in a very real way. THIS is how susceptible our bodies are to the power of the mind (subconscious mind).

Let's look at it now from our daily lives' perspective. When I’m scrolling through my Instagram feeds and reading about all the unrest in Israel or I read up about what is happening in America, in Russia. I see videos of celebrity couples getting divorced, I see how homes are burning down. Everything that comes through our eyes and ears directly gets recorded in our subconscious mind. This means that in your subconscious mind, where it can’t determine what is your trouble or another’s trouble, it sees everything as your trouble. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to “above all else, Guard your Heart”. When you understand that your heart is not your physical heart muscle or your emotions, it actually refers to your subconscious mind, you will understand why we need to be so diligent in what we allow our ears and eyes to take in. 

Spiritual Stress

The enemy uses what we “let past the guard” to plant seeds in our hearts. This could be worry, doubts, hurt, regrets, condemnation and such. Proverbs 23:7 explains, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. God created us in His image, which means we are the only other being on this planet that can create (not even the enemy can create, he simply perverts God’s truth). This means when we let things past the guard of our hearts, we position ourselves to then meditate on it and let that seed grow. As creative beings, we naturally then grow those seeds into the toxic thoughts and patterns in our lives. We buy into the lie, similar to what Eve did and therefore, unconsciously choose to switch our hearts from believing in the Kingdom of Heaven to the kingdom of darkness and we get separated from God. Being separated from God, creates immense stress on us as we are not designed to be separated. Similar to fish that are created to be in water, when taken out, it places stress on them and they eventually die. Being separated from God in any kind of way creates pressure, stress and then eventually dying through sickness.

Now that we understand what stress is and where it comes from, we can have more discernment and even put proper Guards in place to minimize our daily stress. Here are some ways in which you can do this, which will have a de-stressing and stress releasing effect on body, mind and spirit:

SMILE: First thing when you wake up, smile on purpose. This releases serotonin to start your day. The Joy of the Lord is your strength! (Nehemiah 8:10)

GIVE THANKS: Gratitude is not only a great mindset to have, but it is a multiplier of greatness in your life. When Jesus got the 2 fish and 5 loafs, He gave thanks, and it got multiplied to feed over 5000.

BREATHE: Take diaphragmatic breaths as often as you can. When you wake up, in the shower, before you pray, before you eat, when under pressure, when tired, before you go to sleep. It has magnificent physical, emotional, mental and spiritual benefits. I have taught my kids the visualisation of putting it in a bubble and blowing it away. Even as adults, this is a powerful tool to use in the moment of anguish.

GROUNDING: A practice that is not spoken about enough. To be walking on raw ground/grass with your bare feet. The magnetic charge immediately changes from a (+) overloaded charge to being the same as the earth's magnetic charge. We are made from soil and keeping our own electrical and magnetic charge the same again has major health benefits. 

SUN GAZING: First thing you wake up is to get the early morning UV rays into your eyes. It assists with your Vagus Nerve which resets your circadian rhythms (our God designed natural physical rhythms). Your eyes also control signals to your skin, which assist with producing the vital Vit D we need for optimal health. In our society today, we wear sunglasses, which in itself stops the communication between brain-hormone-skin relationships from happening. 

EXERCISE: Scientific studies have shown how drastically stress and depression reduce with a vigorous daily practice of physical training. Again, this is not just for “those health freaks”. This is the way God designed us. Get into the habit of doing exercise daily!

JOURNALING: Mental stress that manifests (not getting out) can cause much harm to the body. To journal daily is a very practical way to allow things to be released. Many people feel they “don’t want to be negative” and then keep it in. This is the worst thing to do. You want to let the darkness out and let the light in. Bring things to the surface and let the redemptive light of Christ transform you. For this healing process to happen successfully, it is important to journal by hand writing and not by typing. 

PRAISE AND WORSHIP: We have so many examples from David in Scripture that shows how powerful it is to be dancing and singing before our King. Even in the midst of despair. This is the most powerful stress releasing opportunity (it is called sacrificial praise which can only happen on earth) as it not only sends a message to the enemy that you are unmoved, but it also signals to your subconscious mind (Your Heart) that you are positioned in Victory. And when your mind believes, powerful things happen.

FORGIVE QUICKLY: Unforgiveness is known as the unforgivable sin, as God cannot forgive you if you don’t forgive. Not that He doesn’t want to, He actually CAN’T. This is separation from God and as we know this causes major stress in our lives. To forgive quickly (and bless those who have trespassed against you - Matthew 6:12) is an INSTANT stress releaser. You might not feel it (thank God we are not our emotions or our feelings), you simply just make the choice and speak it.

COMMUNITY: Connection is the heart of who we are. A healthy family is the essence to our wellbeing. God created us for the US, not the I. To be connected to a community, a family, helps us to be in alignment to our purpose. God said “Let US create man…” which showcases the utter importance of connection and contribution to the collective. It is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). This is not just for marriage, but also in society. So be involved with your church, with your community and very importantly with your family as it will help you to feel connected, purposeful and de-stressed.

Use this month to assess all areas of your life and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to areas that need to be released from stress. May God Bless You and Keep you during this exploration and healing time.

Shalom