Tag Archives: tension

Combat Migraines With Feverfew

Today I woke up with a migraine. Years ago this wouldn’t have surprised me since I’ve suffered with severe migraines for decades. They started when I was about 14 and peaked during my 20s. Over the years they’ve steadily dissipated, but when they do strike they can put life on hold. Thankfully, I always keep a bottle of the herb feverfew on hand. When I’m awake, it’s easy to tell if one of these headaches is about to strike, since there are some common warning signs. Most sufferers experience one or more of the following pre-migraine symptoms: *Flashing lights that … Continue reading →

Kids Can Pick up on the Tension, Even if you don’t Say Anything

Many of us single parents try really hard NOT to say anything negative or hateful about the ex or our ex-in-laws. Perhaps we are not perfect, but I do know that many single parents do try to keep their anger and anxiety to themselves. As long as there is tension, stress and negativity, however, whether it is unspoken or not—our kids do pick up on it. Does this mean we have to repress our feelings even further or can there be healthy ways of working thing out? I am of the opinion that it is the buried and repressed things … Continue reading →

Try to Just “Do” Today

Fussing over the past, worrying about the future—is it any wonder that we single parents can start feeling pretty stressed out! What are we going to do about that out of town business trip next month? What if that person we had the horrible date with last week calls again? Spending so much time worrying about all those things that have either already happened or have not even happened yet can really take it out of a person. Instead, working on staying in the present, and just focusing on what needs to happen today can eliminate a great deal of … Continue reading →

Stressed and Tense? Try Breathing

If I pay attention, I can feel my body tightening and contracting when I’m getting stressed at my desk. I also stop breathing. Alright, so I don’t stop breathing all together, but when I get stressed, I do take shallower and shallower breaths and constrict my chest, clench my jaw, etc. I know there is not anything terribly original about the way my body reacts to this work-related stress, but I have to remind myself to breath and stretch when I start to feel under the gun. All this tightening and constriction actually cuts off some of the flow of … Continue reading →

Is noise driving you mad?

Have you ever noticed that when a person gets momentarily lost while driving in the car, the first thing they do is to turn off the radio or CD player? Suddenly even music that is perfectly acceptable becomes a source of overload and the need to concentrate on the problem at hand is best served by shutting off the music. In fact, in this case, the music becomes “noise” and we want to get rid of it. Never underestimate the power of noise to overstimulate the nervous system and increase arousal and anxiety levels. The human body is very attuned … Continue reading →

Stress and Television

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Want to feel more relaxed and in control of your life? Want to lower your overall stress levels and feel free from worry and niggling anxieties? Want to build up your coping reserves so that when stressful events occur you are better able to cope? Then turn off the TV at least one night a week. We all have stressors in our lives: difficult bosses, a sick child, an impossible in-law, a pending divorce, money worries. The list goes on. We have little control over many of the stressful events that occur in our lives. But we do have control … Continue reading →

Stress Relief with Aromatherapy

Smell is one of our five basic senses and is strongly associated with mood. Often a brief whiff of a particular fragrance can carry us away to other times and other places. The smell of canvas may remind us of camping holidays in our childhood, the smell of moth balls can bring back memories of Grandma and Grandpa and long-ago visits to their home when we were small. The smell of a young baby can remind us of our own children when they were little. Because smell is governed by the limbic system of the brain, it bypasses the “thinking” … Continue reading →