Controlling Cortisol Levels page 2

[noodletoy]

without learning to handle your stress more effectively, you can't fix your cortisol, nor can you "trick" your mind.

my job involves long hours and is both physically and mentally demanding. sometimes i feel stabby. recently went through a very difficult week, with lots of anxiety. long hot baths and a glass of wine while i soaked kept the anxiety attack at bay.

immerse yourself in something new outside of work, so you're not just stewing about it during off-time. pick a new physical activity, even just long walks, that can take your mind off things.

plenty of gyms will allow you to work p/t and take free classes.

can you start looking for a new job?

[Bosnic]

The biggest cause of my stress is not moving enough. Sitting in front of a computer, I slowly feel a build up of stress, to the point where I can't take it and must go outside and walk/run/sprint.

[Credodisi]

My old job was killing me. Lots of responsibility over things I did not have control of. I basically could not sleep through the night for 2 years.. I would wake up in the middle of the night and worry about this and that for hours. I tried all kinds of things to control it... yoga, baths, different time management methods, eating right... but it became clear over time the only way for me to deal with this was to get a new job.

It took a while, but I finally secured a new job and was able to quit my old one. I took one with less responsibility and for a bit less pay, but I do not regret it for a second. I finally sleep and feel great.

Find the source of your stress and try to do something about it. Sometimes you cannot do anything but learn to live with it (caring for sick loved ones, death in the family etc) but sometimes you can.

[doublehelix]

It's not about tricking the mind. It's about learning a skill. And most studios offer work study (so free classes), and most big cities have by-donation and/or free classes as well. Learning from a teacher helps, too.

The reality is that you just don't know how to handle the stress that you have. If you learn a skill that helps you learn to manage it -- which is what I described above (the postures are just a tool, and heck, you feel better physically too) -- then you have less stress because you know how to manage it.

Breathing is actually more specific than people realize -- i have no doubt that you struggle to expand your rib cage and likewise that you don't feel the wave motion between pelvis and head along the spine when you breathe -- which also means that whatever breathing you are doing isn't creating the affect in the autonomic system that would work if you were taught to breathe properly (and/or learned it through the process of postures, which is one of many methods of how to learn to breathe in yoga methods).

NO tricks here, just learning a skill.

I will see if I can find a class I can afford...I can't justify spending much with being unemployed. I understand the concept of breathing and I don't think I am struggling to expand my rib cage. I do a lot of breathing, exhaling on exertions....when I exercise.

But you raise a good thing about handling the stress. Maybe I handled it for a long time, but my body can't take the punches so well anymore. I am trying to breathe when I am stressed or feel panicky.

[doublehelix]

without learning to handle your stress more effectively, you can't fix your cortisol, nor can you "trick" your mind.

my job involves long hours and is both physically and mentally demanding. sometimes i feel stabby. recently went through a very difficult week, with lots of anxiety. long hot baths and a glass of wine while i soaked kept the anxiety attack at bay.

immerse yourself in something new outside of work, so you're not just stewing about it during off-time. pick a new physical activity, even just long walks, that can take your mind off things.

plenty of gyms will allow you to work p/t and take free classes.

can you start looking for a new job?

I lost my job, but every job I've had has been so stressful. It's the kind of work I do. I would have never gone into this if I had known this.
It isn't about the money, its being employed now. It is hard to get anyone to look at me outside of my profession, but I have been applying to other jobs all along. The less jobs in my profession, the more stress from employers and coworkers, a very "dog eat dog" world.

[doublehelix]

The biggest cause of my stress is not moving enough. Sitting in front of a computer, I slowly feel a build up of stress, to the point where I can't take it and must go outside and walk/run/sprint.

I used to be able to move better. I realized I have so much abdominal fat now, it is hard for me to really run. I realized I have to get my weight down to move. I see what happens to really big people, they get so big, they can't move anymore. This terrifies me, I don't want to end up like that.

I am doing what I can. I do walk...my neighborhood has streets that have hills, so it's not all flat. I do situps, I do what I can...it's more about releasing the stress than trying for tight abs for me.

But you have said it all in a nutshell here.

[zoebird]

Don't let money be the barrier. As I said, many studios offer work-study. Usually, the first class is a discounted rate, and then you can ask about work-study positions if you like that studio.

From the time I was 19 (a student with no money), I did work-study for classes. In the two studios where I did this, I worked one class (greeting, taking money, cleaning up) and got two classes for free. In another studio, I did light cleaning 2x week and got unlimited classes. In both places, I also did work-study for teacher training (value of over $6,000) -- never handing over $1.

So, just ask. Most studios have work that needs to be done.

[doublehelix]

My old job was killing me. Lots of responsibility over things I did not have control of. I basically could not sleep through the night for 2 years.. I would wake up in the middle of the night and worry about this and that for hours. I tried all kinds of things to control it... yoga, baths, different time management methods, eating right... but it became clear over time the only way for me to deal with this was to get a new job.

It took a while, but I finally secured a new job and was able to quit my old one. I took one with less responsibility and for a bit less pay, but I do not regret it for a second. I finally sleep and feel great.

Find the source of your stress and try to do something about it. Sometimes you cannot do anything but learn to live with it (caring for sick loved ones, death in the family etc) but sometimes you can.

Wow, you are like a validation here. I know my body has been saying this all along. I can feel myself "repelling" fwhen I am applying for jobs in my field. I am laid off right now....but I have been looking all along for something outside my field. In this economy, this is difficult, because one is competing with so many other unemployed people. But I feel I have to do this, because of the stress.

I am glad you found something else. I too will work a better job for less money. Heck, I have had so many jobs end or close up, so if I was employed in a less stressful, but more stable job, and less money, I'd fare better in the long run.

You are right. Quality of life is much more important. I have several sources of stress, but I am very solution-oriented, and nothing makes me feel better than a solution. Otherwise, I am just trying to juggle the stress.

Thanks for your post.

[noodletoy]

I used to be able to move better. I realized I have so much abdominal fat now, it is hard for me to really run. I realized I have to get my weight down to move. I see what happens to really big people, they get so big, they can't move anymore. This terrifies me, I don't want to end up like that.

I am doing what I can. I do walk...my neighborhood has streets that have hills, so it's not all flat. I do situps, I do what I can...it's more about releasing the stress than trying for tight abs for me.

But you have said it all in a nutshell here.

don't worry about running. just go for long, leisurely walks. it will help clear your head, get you some vitamin d and get you moving. running distance can be profound stress on joints.

[doublehelix]

I do think the Cortisol is a problem for me. Too much stress. I realized I don't have a lot of good in my life, and I have to deal with this. It's not all my fault. I made decisions I thought were for the best, and things don't always result in the best.

A job is not my whole life. It doesn't give me satisfaction, and I want more in life. I haven't been able to find it.

A lot of people will criticize and blame you if you don't have what they have. You might have worked as hard, or even harder, but they look at the end result-- how you played the game doesn't count, it's whether you win---mentality. I don't define success in terms of workplace success, although money is a tool that can give one freedom. I don't need the title or anything to feel good. What I need is freedom from the workplace politics and games. I just don't function in that. If I had a lot of money, I'd buy a farm or some remote land. My coworkers would be goats and chickens.

Living off the land was good enough for our ancestors, and it's good enough for us. I sometimes wonder if we are doing our children a disservice by telling them to go to college for jobs that will trap them in cubicles and corporate manipulation.

Perhaps knowing how to grow one's own food and survive are better skills. We traded in our freedoms to work for others, like slaves, for that currency, and now, we are beholden to it. It takes quite a bit to go "off grid". I know a few who have managed to do it. They had to save a lot of money and get established.

I think as people grow more and more disgusted with "modern life"...they will seek out ways to be on their own and trade among themselves. They will grow to understand how early man survived and how a new cell phone just isn't going to make life better. We are smarter than advertising, we are smarter than being pidgeon-holed into lives that aren't ours.

What does it mean to be human? We are animals, but the corporate and business mentality don't really allow for this. I've had jobs where no lunch was allowed. People can bleat all they want about how that is illegal but companies will "schedule" a half hour, but overload workers so they just don't have time to take a lunch. So they back themselves up. Lord help you if you ever get sick, you're not allowed to take off, and illnesses are passed on among coworkers. You wait to get the dreaded flu others have at work.

I don't have TV, I haven't had it for about 4 years. I don't care about it. So I don't couch potato. The most I've done is watch some videos online about working out and living right. I did get hung up on one about early man and also plate tectonics.

I found that Cortisol is the reaction to stress, the "fight or flight" and if you are at work, you can't go run outside of the building. Our animal bodies were not made to deal with this. Studies have shown all forms of stress are interpreted the same by the body. So if it's an unreasonable boss or a car accident or a jaguar chasing you, it's interpreted as stress. The body goes into survival mode.

A lot of information on Cortisol says you can fight it and tame your reactions. But once Cortisol is released, you can't really control how it works. You can't really control if your body releases it. Exercise seems to be a huge key here. But I have read what some body builders say, and they say too long or hard exercise, with people like me, can cause more stress! They suggest short workouts with rest periods. Like quick sprints. Okay, I get that...makes sense...early man walking around in the forest, now has to run back to the cave because night is falling. Or going down to the river to get water. It wasn't always long endurance. Undoing this modern life, both physically and mentally. We can't fight our genes. Our genes are our programming, and they control us down to how we think, feel, and react. We are taught we can control everything, that we don't have to be this way. So far, that's not working. Obesity is growing in the US, and they are pushing refined flour products and "low-fat". That food pyramid. That food pyramid is designed with modern lifestyles. Pasta with very little meat.... Oh, they tell us how runners eat like that. Yeah, runners who do marathons, real marathons. But I am not a marathon runner.

I am on a quest to change myself, I won't give up until I die, and I am glad this forum, and the people on it, exist.