Dealing With My Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

As many of you might already know, I am a retired military veteran with service spread between two separate branches. I began my military career September 1981 in the US Navy which I was separated from in 1997 during force reductions. Skip ahead to 2008, and I re-enlisted into the Kansas Army Reserve National Guard…

Reduce Your Allostatic (STRESS) Load

The allostatic load is defined as the cost of chronic exposure to elevated or fluctuating endocrine or neural responses resulting from chronic or repeated challenges that the individual experiences as stressful. There is a difference between being stressed and being stressed out. Stress is a necessary function of survival while repeated negative stress increases the…

Coping with Stress

OVERLOAD!!! No matter how stressed we think that we might have been in times past, I do believe that we are more stressed now. As a child, I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis. That was stressful. Although the events that led up to one eventful day when even the children were aware that the world…

Stress and The Carb Addict

It should be common knowledge and come as no surprise that stress causes significant damage to our health and wellbeing. No matter how much we might try to avoid stress in our lives, it can weasel it’s way back in like a camel getting his nose under  the side of a tent. This small, seemingly…

Use Your Stress for Success

What’s Keeping You Up at Night? What’s bothering you? Ah, it’s a loaded question, isn’t it? “Botheration” is a real word that means “effort, worry or difficulty”. If you can identify the cause of your bother, you are well on your way to solving it. Two Threads Bother is caused by conflict, so every bother…

State of Mind

Do you have a running reel of negative thoughts  and possible catastrophic outcomes playing constantly  in  your  head? So many  people  do. When we allow negative thoughts to loop continually we are causing a constant release of cortisol, our major stress hormone to be released. The health implications of this are huge. High cortisol levels…

Causes of Stress Eating and Possible Prevention

The American Psychological Association estimates most people live with a stress level of 8 out of 10. Stress initially decreases appetite by causing an increase in adrenaline but if the stress persists, cortisol is produced. Cortisol ramps up everything, including appetite. Once a stressful situation is over the cortisol levels should fall, but if the…

Natural Ways to Reduce Anxiety

Chronic anxiety creates a difficult life. Anxiety and disease are related. Heart palpitations, headaches, insomnia and strained relationships are only a few of the effects of living with chronic anxiety. What is Anxiety? According to the American Psychological Association, anxiety is a broad range of disorders defined by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical…

Symptoms of Stress and Tips to Reduce It

The picture above I took from on the road in my semi out somewhere in south western Kansas. The tranquility of the open road is great for easing a stressful mind. At David’s Way, our approach to wellness is so much more than weight loss alone, as we know there are other elements that need…

De-Stress and Live a Full Life

My friends, besides being a health and fitness author, I am also a professional trucker. The picture above was the frozen landscape of southwestern Kansas this morning. Despite the bitterly cold wind, it was a beautiful morning which I wanted to share with you. I snapped this picture just a few miles east of Dodge…