Stress/Relaxation/Tips

In dealing with Spasmodic Torticollis, most patients and doctors think the symptoms to be pain, pulling, pressure and tremors, but they leave out a very important component:

STRESS

And STRESS is and can be very insidious. It can come on very fast and be very, very difficult to deal with or it can be a lingering enemy always with us. When you stop and think of it the neck is the weakest link of the body. TV ads portray people rubbing their necks and complaining of all kinds of things contributing to STRESS, and, once again, when you think of it, where does our problem start? Yep, in our neck. And, in many of us it just doesn’t stop there. It sometimes can rule our inside self – that psychological part of us – that part that makes us want to run home and escape from the world. It makes it hard for us to tell our spouses, our siblings, our parents, our families, our friends…what do we tell them and how do we explain what STRESS does to us that it doesn’t do to them?
(We do have Ready Recommendation Letters that we’d be glad to send you – or call or e-mail us for them.)

These are difficult questions to answer and we would like to refer you to another of our treatment pages – INSPIRATIONS. But to get back to stress, nobody can really explain why…or what will really set us off? There are so many things that can happen – both good and bad – and all of us have to train ourselves to be aware of the different types of stress…and…then how to deal with it. It can be difficult, but…

IT CAN BE DONE…
STRESS CAN BE OVERCOME THROUGH CONSTANT PRACTICE.

A big step forward is to identify what types of stress you have…and then deal with it. Is it good or bad…and good can sometimes be bad. You may not think so but a few examples may be:

                                    Your son or daughter getting married…
                                    Thanksgiving and you’ve always cooked that turkey…
                                    Family reunion…or high school reunion…
                                    Little League games…
How about walking into a gymnasium for a game of some sort…
Or, going to a restaurant…with no booths?

Those aren’t the only ones. Here are a few more:

Going to a doctor                            
Going to a dentist
PTA meetings                                  
Teacher conferences
Dinner parties                                 
Housecleaning
Eating                                                
Shopping
Driving                                          
 Waiting in post office lines
Walking                                             
Talking to people
Going to a movie                             
Going to church
Walking or being in crowds          
Public speaking                                                      
Carrying heavy objects                       Divorce                                                                     
Separation
           
Can you identify?

We’re not here to deflate you; rather we’re here with this very important section to try and explain what some sources of stress are and then to work on defeating  it.

Stress can be overcome if you truly want to do it

When you go to the “Inspirations” section there is an article by Howard Thiel advising of many things that have helped him. Four things that stand out are:

Put yourself number one (when that traditional Thanksgiving meal comes up, if you don’t want to cook that turkey, don’t… but explain why and give them our brochure).

Relax – Learn how to do deep breathing – so important…really…and do it constantly.

Practice positive thinking and humor.

And, learn, going back to Point #1, to remember

YOU ARE NUMBER ONE AND YOU ARE A GREAT PERSON.