Detox Your Emotions and Combat Stress

Yoga, deep breathing, and letting go can be a big help.
Is there anyone who doesn’t feel stressed out these days? With a too-close-to-call election and Hurricane Sandy’s massive devastation of the East Coast, to say it’s been a tough couple of weeks is an understatement.
A recent review of research into the effects of acute and chronic stress clearly—and consistently—identifies the damage it does to the immune system and cardiovascular health.
First, stress impacts endothelial (the inner lining of the blood vessels) function and the way the body responds to pathogens and toxins. One study at VA San Diego Healthcare System shows that psychological stress deactivates skin activity that normally offers resistance to bacterial infections—including super bugs like MRSA!
Next, stress damages natural killer cells and other immune defenses, leading to adverse health effects including the development of coronary artery disease. Finally, psychological stress increases production of substances that cause heart attack and stroke.
While most people recognize that 24/7 stress isn’t healthy, it’s often hard to find relief. There’s even a smartphone app to help map your mood—complete with a little cognitive therapy to help you cope.
Oh, my! There are so many better—and safer—ways to chill out and relax than using your cell phone, which may be exposing you to an even more insidious kind of stress from electropollution!
Research at the Institute for Behavioral Medicine at Ohio State University College of Medicine finds that yoga minimizes the body’s inflammatory response to stress, limiting dangerous stress-related physical changes. And a study in the Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine shows that yoga is as effective as other forms of exercise in improving overall health.
That’s one reason my latest book in the Fat Flush series, Fat Flush for Life includes Yoga Quickies that anyone can easily incorporate into regular routines, even if only for a few minutes each day. However, working out physically may not be enough.
Detoxify Your Emotions
Recognizing and honoring your feelings is an all-too-often overlooked but critical aspect of cleansing and detoxifying the body. This mind-body connection has been proven in hundreds of clinical studies.
I believe that the Bach Flower Remedies represent a form of psychotherapy in a bottle, a noninvasive modality to address negative emotional states like anxiety, depression, and impatience. Bach Rescue Remedy is, in fact, used in many emergency rooms around the country to help alleviate trauma.
A Welsh homeopath, Dr. Edward Bach recognized in the 1920s that, if herbs have healing powers, so must flowers. Over many years, he experimented with numerous flowers and trees to create a total of 38 plant-based Bach Flower Remedies.
In my own practice, I recommend a number of these remedies to clients. Centuary is useful for boundary issues, especially for people who give too much of themselves. I suggest Impatiens for irritability and short tempers. Oak is for those determined types who struggle on (despite setbacks) through adversity or illness. Rock water can ease tension for those who tend to be hard on themselves.
Let It Go
Another essential part of detoxifying your emotions is learning how to remain calm and let a greater force take over. By breathing slowly and deeply, you are able to let go, release tension throughout your body, and even lower your heart rate.
While deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can all help you let go of whatever negative feelings and stress you hold within you, I find the following words so helpful that I read them every day:
• To let go doesn’t mean to stop caring; it means I can’t do it for someone else.
• To let go is not to cut myself off; it’s realization that I can’t control another.
• To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
• To let go is not to deny but to accept.
• To let go is to fear less and love more.
In days of stress and anxiety, never forget to take time for yourself. Acknowledge what you do right and gift yourself with gentle and healing tools that empower your sense of well being and serenity.
-Edge On Health, Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman