Are you all stressed up with no place to go? Then try these nine stress-free strategies.

Stress. We all live with it each day. But how do you react to daily stress? For some people, life's stressors cause them to become irritable, short-tempered, or unable to concentrate on their tasks. Others have interrupted sleep (either difficulty falling asleep or awakening early in the morning with racing thoughts). Then there are those who react to chronic stress by eating food--and a lot of it!

If you found yourself eating more after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, you had great company. Not only did the horrific attacks cause a great sense of loss and distress, but going to bed each night with the unknown, thinking of what might happen, greatly accelerated these emotions. Is it any wonder that sales of comfort foods soared right after the terrorist attacks? According to data collected by Information Resources, Inc., from September 9 through October 7 sales of frozen appetizers and snack rolls--from pizza puffs, egg rolls, and other high-fat treats--were up 35 percent from the same time last year, and Oreo cookie sales jumped nearly 18 percent.

Some studies now confirm that for people who said stress often drove them to eat, the comfort food of choice tended to be greasy, salty, or sweet. Not surprisingly, such "stress-driven" eaters (particularly women) weighed more on average. Researchers confirm that chronic (long-term) stress elevates levels of stress hormones, particularly cortisol, which cause us to crave fuels of the stress response--fats, sugar, and carbs--like chips, fries, pizza, cookies, and ice cream, among others. In fact, a Finnish study published February 2002 in Preventive Medicine confirmed that obesity is associated with eating to cope with stress.

What Is Stress-eating?

Stress describes the many demands and pressures that we experience each day. Whether the stress is physical, mental, or emotional, it can be overwhelming, flooding your body with damaging stress hormones and leaving you with symptoms such as a racing heart rate, increased blood pressure, back pain, or headache, and even serious illness. Especially when outside demands exceed your ability to cope, stress can leave you feeling out of control or "all stressed up with no place to go." But before you overdose on that bag of greasy chips, let's try to understand the stressors in your life that cause you to overeat, and then learn some creative ways to deal with these in a healthy manner.

Stress-eating Quotient 

Check each situation that you've experienced over the past few months that led to stress-eating:

-- 1. Work deadlines and pressures

-- 2. Financial troubles

-- 3. Job loss or insecurity

-- 4. Chronic illness

-- 5. Relationship problems

-- 6. Caregiving to aging parents

-- 7. Inner turmoil and emotional upsets

-- 8. Waiting in line (traffic, grocery store)

-- 9. Juggling career and kids

-- 10. Safety concerns since September 11 attacks 

If you checked even one of the above situations, you need to address the problem of stress-eating and vow to make changes in the way you cope with life's interruptions--after all, they are not going away. The following stress-free strategies can give you insight on how to "major in the majors--not the minors" and focus on what's really important, while letting go of those things outside of your control, which you cannot alter.

Stress-free Strategy 1: Understand the stages of stress.

In 1926 scientist Hans Selye was one of the first to write about stress and its effect on the body. Selye defined stress as "the nonspecific response of the body to any demand" and described the stages of stress, called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS), in his book Stress Without Distress (1974). These three stages identify why stress can cause problems to the body and include:

Stage 1: Alarm Reaction:

Any physical, emotional, or mental trauma will cause an immediate reaction by the body to combat the stressor. This response is physical and known as the "fight-or-flight" response. It causes a tremendous burst of adrenaline that is sent to all parts of the body--the blood vessels, heart, stomach, kidneys, lungs, eyes, muscles, and more. If the stress is short-term (acute) or not severe (in biological terms, a short time would be a few hours, perhaps even a couple of days), we quickly recover without any detrimental effect to the body. If the stress is chronic or long-lasting, the body's resistance is affected, making you more susceptible to illness or disease.

Stage 2: Resistance:

At this stage the body tries to become more balanced (homeostasis) and to resist any deleterious changes caused by the chronic stress. You may think you can handle anything because the stress symptoms noticed in the alarm stage have now calmed down--until you become exhausted. As the stress continues you will have fatigue and a poor appetite, and experience sleep problems. This sleeplessness might cause you to become more irritable and dwell on your limitations. You may not be able to concentrate at work, and this creates even more stress--from poor productivity or absenteeism.

Stage 3: Exhaustion:

The body can combat stress for only so long until it shuts down completely. At some point, after days of unending stress, the body succumbs to illness. If you look back over a period of several years, you may find that the times you developed a cold or flu were right after a stressful event in your life.

The general adaptation syndrome shows us how stress affects the body, both initially and over a long period of time. Knowing this, you can make positive changes in how you cope with life's stressors so you do not experience immune dysfunction and the resulting illness. And eating is not a positive way to cope with life's stressors, as obesity is a risk factor for many serious illnesses.

Stress-free Strategy 2: Identify your stress response.

Unless you think that something is going to be a threat, it is not going to trigger the alarm stage of the general adaptation syndrome. That's why of all the psychological responses, perception is absolutely paramount. We all have different stress thresholds and respond to life's interruptions dissimilarly, depending on how we perceive the threat. For instance, you may eat far more calories on a day when you have to give a speech or teach a class than your spouse or best friend who thrives on being in the public spotlight.

Likewise, having a sense of Control is vital in order to combat stress effectively without injury. When this sense of control is lost, you feel helpless, and anxiety, stress-eating, and subsequent health problems may occur.

Coping style is another psychological variable that can influence stress-eating. If you are always tense and anticipate negative outcomes, the slightest aggravation can cause you to run for the refrigerator. Contrary to this is the person who is relatively calm and has learned to take life's intrusions in stride--without the need to binge-eat.

Your personality type also influences how you cope with stress. If you are an impatient type A personality and a slave to the clock, you may be so "wound up" in thinking about future goals that the slightest glitch in your daily schedule triggers the need to stress-eat. This is in marked contrast to the type B personality, who is quite simply a non-type A. If you are a type B, chances are you accomplish your daily routine but have also allowed for some healing downtime to destress.

Stress-free Strategy 3: Know which stressors cause you to turn to food.

Now that you've identified how you cope with stress, it's important to isolate and control the very stressors that cause you to react with overeating. If your children keep you all stressed up, you surely cannot remove them from your life! But you can learn how to schedule daily time-outs for both you and your children, so the ongoing tensions between you are reduced. If your job keeps you nibbling all day, try to figure out what part of your job distresses you. Is it a coworker? job deadlines? the hours? Once you identify the exact problem, work on ways to accommodate it, such as talking to your boss about problems with coworkers or tight deadlines. Make to-do lists each day so you don't get behind in your schedule. See if your employer would consider different hours, such as coming in earlier so you can be home when the kids arrive after school. Be creative in seeking solutions, and your stress load will diminish.

Stress-free Strategy 4: Be mindful and live for the day.

Mindfulness means living in the present--as opposed to ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. It is a simple yet effective stress-reduction technique that helps you to acknowledge fears and worries, yet keep them in balance with more positive feelings. Perhaps Jesus said it best when He said, "So don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too" (Matthew 6:34, TLB). *

To practice mindfulness, you must be highly aware of any negative thoughts. Once you start ruminating about your woes, try to focus--right where you are--on the moment: what you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you feel. By focusing on the present, you actually turn off some of the stress response that occurs with negative thinking. Some people find it helpful to wear a rubber band on their wrists and snap this anytime they have a negative or destructive thought. After mindfully stopping the hurtful thought process, you can reinforce more positive, healthful thinking.

Stress-free Strategy 5: Use distraction techniques.

When life's stressors keep you on red alert for hours on end, you need to have some expert coping skills, or you're likely to wind up eating until the wee hours of the morning. One easy coping skill is distraction--do anything to get your mind off the problem--and the resulting stress-eating. I explained how being intentionally mindful can help get you out of a negative mood. Other distraction techniques include going for a walk, riding your bike, cleaning your house, reading a book, or simply enjoying your kids or grandkids--without food as the center of attention. Figure out which activities help to keep your mind off food, and engage in these when you are super-stressed.

Stress-free Strategy 6: Exercise your stressors away.

Of all the tools used to reduce stress, exercise may be by far the most effective and efficient. Not only does physical activity increase alpha waves in the brain that are associated with relaxation and meditation, but exercise also acts as a displacement defense mechanism. Isn't it difficult to worry about daily stresses when you are working hard physically? All that is on your mind is getting through the routine ... not the problems you face each day.

Exercise is believed to increase the secretion of endorphins in the brain. This naturally produced substance has been called the body's own opiates and induces a feeling of happiness, peacefulness, and tranquillity. Many studies show that exercise, along with the boosted endorphin levels, really does increase confidence and self-esteem and reduce tension. The result? Your anxious need to "feed your face" is decreased.

Stress-free Strategy 7: Take periodic time-outs to relax.

Relaxation can offer a real potential to self-manage stress and put a halt to stress-eating. Achieving relaxation uses a mental approach to activity in general rather than any one specific activity. For each of us, many different activities or routines may be relaxing, depending on our particular mental attitude. And what may be relaxing for one person can be frustrating or tension-producing for another. For example, some of us may find it calming and soothing to lie quietly and listen to a certain type of music; others may gain more relaxation from reading an enjoyable book; still others might find running in a race relaxing. Remember that true relaxation involves more than just being still or engaging in physical activity. You may not be relaxed just sitting in front of the TV. Some people even have a high level of tension in their bodies and minds during sleep, such as those who toss and turn at night or who grind their teeth while asleep.

But relaxation is a skill that all of us can develop. Much like learning to play the piano or tennis, becoming good at relaxation involves time, patience, and practice. Find the very activities that help you to relax--whether listening to music, reading your Bible, or creative writing--and incorporate time for these in your daily schedule. The goal is to stay relaxed throughout your day so that when life's stressors hit, you are not as reactive.

Stress-free Strategy 8: Lean on healing prayer.

Daily prayer also can help to lessen the damaging effect of daily stress. When you pray to your heavenly Father, your body is allowed permission to switch from the pumping "fight or flight" response into a calmer, more peaceful mood. Prayer allows your thoughts to take a break from the worries of your day and gives support to the spiritual dimension of life. This quiet time with God allows your body, mind, and spirit to experience healing.

Stress-free Strategy 9: Eat calming foods.

If you must eat during times of great distress, reach for foods high in carbs. Research has found a definite food-mood connection, and the answer to overcoming stress can lie in carbohydrate-rich foods, such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, and fruit. Studies have found that when these foods are metabolized, levels of the brain chemicals tryptophan and serotonin rise, leading to feelings of relaxation and drowsiness. In the body, serotonin controls hormone secretion, sleep patterns, and one's perception of pain and is the neurotransmitter most closely linked to dietary influences. When serotonin levels are increased in the brain, it is associated with a calming, an anxiety-reducing, and, in some cases, a drowsiness effect.

Foods containing high levels of carbohydrates are the initiators of the metabolic pathway to serotonin, which explains why we feel drowsy after a big pasta meal for lunch, since a rise in serotonin in the brain is associated with a drowsiness effect. New studies show that certain carbohydrates can alter the chemicals of the brain to make you feel relaxed. Check with your registered/licensed dietitian for more information on the food-mood connection and how it affects you.

Focus on Your Stress-free Goal

The key to stopping stress-eating lies in recognizing the signs early on and taking active steps to reduce these before the stress and binge eating injure your health and self-esteem. Focus on one stress-free strategy at a time. As you master this, focus on another. The goal should be to feel relaxed all the time so that stress symptoms do not get out of control. When you achieve this goal, you will find that not only do you have a handle on the anxiety and food intake in your life, but you are going to look and feel better as well.

* Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright [c] 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill. Used by permission.

Debra Fulghum Bruce writes on health issues from Atlanta, Georgia.