Dizziness & Sweats Q: "Stress is really getting the better of me with dizzy spells, sweating & palpitations in difficult situations ... help, please?"
By award-winning author and stress-relief expert Susie Mantell
The "good" news I suppose, is that the symptoms you describe are surprisingly common...and there are many, many tools and techniques to try in order to prevent, or to cope with, such episodes.
First, it's always a good idea to check out any ongoing symptoms with a trusted health care professional. But when that has been done and the problem is in fact stress-induced, there is real hope for rediscovering balance and inner peace.
In these stressful times, it is important to collect a variety of stress-relief techniques. No one stress-buster is going to work every time, you know? But just as stress is cumulative and its effects tend to accumulate and manifest in physical and emotional and mental processes....so is stress management culumative. Finding practices that are personally soothing, realistic and meaningful to incorporate into everyday life BEFORE a crisis builds is, of course, the best way to prevent episodes of stress symptoms.
Here are a couple of ideas, but I would also suggest looking for a class in breathwork and/or meditation. Very few of us breathe properly, deeply, fully...and often the symptoms we experience such as dizziness, sweaty palms, head noise, flushing, palpitations etc. can be diminished with slow, mindful breathing and various forms of meditation. You might enjoy falling alseep to music or a soothing relaxation tape like my own, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace" or others. Spend some time browsing around our website and look at all the tips and previous q's and a's that might be very helpful on the following pages:
http://www.relaxintuit.com/tips.asp
http://www.relaxintuit.com/ask.asp
IN THE MEANTIME:
Take 2-3 minute mini-breaks once per hour in your work day, and commit yourself to doing a minimum of one fun thing every single day, without exception.
A few to try...
-Call up an old friend
-Take yourself to a funny movie (or a tearjerker! Crying is a great release.)
-Get some moderate, pleasurable exercise
-Watch a goofy TV show
-Organize a pile/drawer/closet (not fun until afterwards!)
-Buy yourself flowers
-Do something kind for someone else
-Take a long, hot bath
-Go out for a nice, healthy-but-really-delicious meal
-Get hugged
-Dance like crazy...all by yourself
-Listen to music you love
-Go someplace beautiful..a drive, museum, garden
Many people find great relief in acupuncture, massage or other body/energy work, the buoyancy of swimming, or even short-term counseling to explore the work-related stress and how to let the excess stuff go.... Hang in there!
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Award-winning stress-relief expert Susie Mantell ...is the author of the deeply soothing relaxation CD, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace,” clinically approved for symptoms associated with stress and sleeplessness, depression and grief, anxiety, P.T.S.D., Fibromyalgia, caregiver stress, cancer, pain, divorce and addiction recovery. Featured in The Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, CBS-TV, Town & Country, The American Pain Society, Hazelden and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, listeners include The Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, The Betty Ford Center, V.A. Hospitals,and Canyon Ranch (#1 Spa.) Customizing stress-reduction for Fortune 500 companies, distinguished hospitals and spas, Mantell has facilitated thousands in relieving health-related, work-related, chronic or traumatic stress. Her multi-sensory, mind-body techniques appear in national media, medical and corporate publications. Susie Mantell's Stress-Relief & Wellness Tips are intended as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, professional health care. Order “Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace” and find more of Mantell’s stress-relief tips at www.relaxintuit.com