7/24/2009

"I think I am going to be sick...."

How many times have you said or thought that phrase in times of stress or anxiety? People do internalize stress and we do feel those emotions in our muscles. Keeping with the above statement. some people hold stress in and shows up physically in stomach aches, nausea, etc. Others when stressed voluntarily tighten their muscles. Some common ones are to hold your shoulders upward, or pull your shoulders in an interior position, or tightening up your abs so your torso curls in. Some people even tighten up their hip muscles (Freud knew a few things). This is a normal and common reaction to emotional stress. As a muscle specialist this makes me wince. As if we do not have enough ways to lock up our muscles, we have to worry about worrying? I am not doctor (I know my undergrad psych degree holds zero credit here) but if we could simply find another outlet, maybe our muscles won't be the whipping boy for our brains and hearts... Some things I do to relieve stress to avoid tightening up are: reading, blogging ;), working out, listening to my favorite music while doing absolutely nothing else, gardening, playing a board game with my husband and yes, even journal. I know you are thinking, gee when do I have time for that? I say even just 10-15 minutes of an activity like the above could help your body find another outlet for the stress so that it does not translate into your muscles.