Help for Hyperdrive Stress Types

Do you feel like an ER doctor running from one code blue to another? Or a fire fighter living in a city with an arson on the loose?

Could be you're a hyperdrive stress type, according to So Stressed: A Plan for Managing Women's Stress to Restore Health, Joy and Peace of Mind.

Do you ever feel like you live on the set
of the old NBC medical drama ER,
minus George Clooney?

Gynecologists Stephanie McClellan and Beth Hamilton break down stress into four types, each of which has its own coping strategies.

Today we're going to look at hyperdrive stress, including its effects on health and body weight and how to deal with this stress type besides having a nervous breakdown or mainlining Merlot.

One of the key qualities of people with hyperdrive stress is the inability to distinguish between real emergencies and routine bummers. If you suffer from hyperdrive stress, every little mishap -- from losing your keys to running out of milk --  feels like a crisis, leaving you perpetually anxious and short tempered.

Chances are you also have trouble sleeping and get frequent headaches and sinus infections. And as a result of the recurring release of the stress hormone cortisol, you're more likely to have serious chronic health conditions than other stress types, including heart disease, type-2 diabetes, yeast infections, alcoholism and infertility. Not to mention more belly fat.

So what's a hyperdriver to do?

Move your body more (a.k.a. exercise). The fight or flight response made sense for our ancestors who had to flee wild animals and people with spears since the extra jolt of cortisol gave them energy to bolt. But if you're like most modern day sofa spuds, the constant release of stress chemicals such as cortisol and adrenaline will just make you feel edgy. Yoga, meditation and self-hypnosis can also quiet your monkey mind and make you feel more physically relaxed.

Eat low glycemic foods, such as most vegetables, nuts and other high fiber foods, which can slow down the release of sugar into your system and trigger the release of serotonin.. Diets such as Medifast have great suggestions for low glycemic foods you can eat, such as mushrooms, hummus and unsweetened almond milk.

Despite its popularity, drinking wine is not the best way
to deal with hyperdrive stress. The sugar from wine
increases cortisol levels and may even cause you
to wake up in the middle of the night

Remind yourself that not every stressor needs a response. If you're not sure, recall the serenity prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." Then determine in which category your stressor fits. The more calm your mind and body are, the more creative your solutions will be for dealing with situations under which you do have some control.

Repeat daily affirmations such as "I can see stressful situations as challenges," "I can handle whatever comes," and "This too shall pass." These simple statements can help you rewire your neural pathways so that you no longer view stressors as negative triggers, but rather as rich opportunities to draw upon your inner resources and gain personal power, suggests stress management expert Elizabeth Scott.

Reframe situations whenever possible, which is really just cognitive psychology jargon for turning lemons into lemonade. If you're home sick with a cold, savor the chance to play hooky from work and catch up on your Netflix queue. Transform a burnt dinner from a calamity into an adventure by going out to eat or zapping some popcorn and calling it dinner. And forget about crying over spilled milk. After you finish sponging off the counter and mopping the floor, relax at your kitchen table with a soothing cup of tea and appreciate your sparkling clean kitchen.

You can purchase Medifast replacement meals directly from Medifast Centers, the Medifast website or -- for less cost -- through the co-branded website of a Medifast TSFL health coach. Medifast does not recommend purchasing its products from third party vendors, but if you choose to do so, you can find them on both Amazon and eBay.

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