Alan G. How do I lower my stress?

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Question

Hello!
I've healed myself of a dozen major tms symptoms in the past year by reading the books (back/foot/neck pain, photophobia, tinnitus, interstitial cystitis, toothache, carpal tunnel, cold urticaria etc).
Before that though I developed an allergy to spinach that left me with red hive welts around my eyes and I caught cold after cold after cold. I removed spinach and got better. I still have this allergy and now seem to have a new allergy I can't identify (more welts) that is depleting my immune system again and I've had a cold for a full month.
I am in a majorly stressful period of life so tms symptoms wouldn't surprise me however unlike when I get pain and say "no, you're tms", I don't know with this one. So I've been very sick for a month.
Any insight greatly appreciated.

 

[Alan Gordon LCSW]

Answer

Good question. In most cases, TMS symptoms serve the purpose of preoccupying you/bringing you to a fear state. Symptoms like welts/hives, etc. are a different story. These symptoms don't serve the purpose of distraction, rather they are simply the consequence of existing in a prolonged state of stress.

In order to address these symptoms, it is a matter of lowering your level of stress, taking yourself out of a state of fight or flight, and preventing these symptoms from coming on in the first place.

The best way to lower your level of stress is quite simple: slow your breathing down. Breathe in for three seconds, hold for a beat, breathe out for three seconds. That's it. You're physiologically communicating to your primitive brain that you're safe when you do this (because when you're in danger, you breathe fast, when you're calm, you breathe slow, hence slowing your breath down tells your brain and your body that you're safe.)

This isn't something to do five minutes per day, it's a real lifestyle change. If you can slow your breath down throughout the day, to the point where it becomes your default state, you'll lower your heart rate, your blood pressure, and slow the rate at which your adrenaline speeds throughout your body. This is hands down the best way to decrease your stress level on a minute-to-minute basis.

Alan

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