Chenelle Lee Hitchcock - Proven Steps to a Calmer, Happier, Healthier You: How to be calm, happy and healthy

Copyright 2020 Chenelle Hitchcock

Print ISBN: 978-1-09831-210-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-09831-211-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher/author Chenelle Hitchcock.

Authors Note:

The information provided in Proven Steps to a Calmer, Happier, Healthier You is for educational purposes only. Do not use this program without the knowledge and consent of your medical practitioner. The information presented in this book is in NO way intended as a substitute for a medical consultation.

The author and others involved in the publication of this book disclaim any liability or responsibility resulting directly or indirectly to any person or entity, from the use of this book.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr. Merryn Thomae, a talented and dedicated endocrinologist, who has made valuable contributions to this book. (Merryn Thomae BMedSci (Hons), B Med (Hons), FRACP Endocrinologist.)

I would like to thank my talented editor, Sarah Mayor, your attention to detail, passion for your work, and medical expertise, has been a valuable asset to this book.

The HeartMath Institute, for allowing me to use a significant amount of their extremely valuable scientifically validated research in this book.

I would like to thank Dr. Sandra Cabot, MBBS, who wrote a supportive foreword for this book. I am very grateful.

Deep gratitude to my mother, Nancy, for instilling in me a love of learning and appreciation for the gift of education.

A BIG thank you to my family and friends for your support and encouragement.

Contents

Foreword
by Dr. Sandra Cabot, MBBS

I am pleased you have chosen to read this excellent book on stress management. It is so important to recognize and understand stress and anxiety, as these things will damage your health more than you could imagine.

As a medical student in the late 1960s, I gradually became aware of the limitations of the health system of the day. It was clear to me that there was a lack of focus on the cause of disease, as well as strategies to reverse disease.

I graduated with honours in Medicine and Surgery in 1975 and have been practicing medicine ever since; over this time, I have witnessed wonderful advances in our ability to diagnose diseases. We have also had new drugs that can cure some diseases such as hepatitis C, enabling patients to live normal lives. In 1988, we saw the introduction of the first new generation of antidepressants, with Prozac hitting the stage. However, drugs can only do so much they are part of the jig saw puzzle of health, and today, there are still many pieces missing. We are still missing the parts that would give us a whole picture of why a person is unwell. We need to look deeper, finding the causes of disease so that these can be treated, and this often requires the use of nutritional medicine, diet and lifestyle modification and hormonal balancing.

We now live in an era of rapid change, and advances in technology, which were supposed to reduce our stress levels, has ironically increased them. This is where this book, Proven Steps to a Calmer, Happier, Healthier You is so valuable, as it is now indisputable that there is a clear and strong relationship between experiencing chronic stress and the onset of disease. The more people that understand this and learn effective ways to reduce their stress, the healthier our society will be. In this this helpful book, you will learn how your body must produce increased levels of the adrenal hormone cortisol when you are chronically stressed. Chronically elevated cortisol levels have the potential to weaken your immune system, disrupt your sleep, increase osteoporosis and prematurely age you. Serious conditions like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and autoimmune disease are increased in those with chronic high levels of stress.

Chenelle Hitchcock, BA Education, graduated from The University of Technology; she is a trained Food and Nutrition High School Teacher, and trained HeartMath Resiliency Coach. She has developed simple practical strategies to help you manage your stress, so you are not consistently producing high levels of cortisol. She points out that your behaviour patterns may be sabotaging your health without you even recognizing it; you could be stuck going around in circles! She will help you to break that nonproductive circle of maladaptive behaviour. This helpful book will teach you a simple strategy to change your behaviour patterns, enabling you to make different choices and make yourself a priority in your life. Change is challenging, however, to get a different result, you must do something different.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn how stress affects their body and how to reduce it. Chenelles teaching experience helps her to present the stress topic in an engaging way, so you can clearly understand how seemingly simple things- like not getting enough sleep, worrying and not setting appropriate boundaries - has the potential to increase your cortisol levels, leaving you more vulnerable to disease. Knowledge is power; understanding how your everyday choices can increase your cortisol levels, is an important part of staying healthy.

Dr. Sandra Cabot, MBBS, has written over 30 books on health, including the award-winning Liver Cleansing Diet Book . Her books are translated into 11 different languages, selling well all over the world. Her website is www.sandracabot.com and www.liverdoctor.com. Dr. Cabot has a clinic in Camden NSW, which offers: General Practice, Expert weight-loss services, Intravenous infusions, Pain management clinic, Naturopathic medicine, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Therapeutic massage and Clinical hypnosis. https://www.drsandracabotclincis.com.au

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the most important and inspirational person in my life

my loving mother

Nancy

Introduction

This book is a must-read if you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed; you will discover what stress does to your body and how to reduce it. You are obviously concerned with self-improvement otherwise, you wouldnt have picked up this book - so, congratulations, you are now on the road to a better quality of life!

I finished writing this book during the peak of the 2020 COVID- 19 pandemic. Not since World War 1, has the world lived through such an extremely stressful time. Worldwide, people are facing unemployment, suffering financial stress, isolated from their work, family and friends - all potentially leading to an epidemic of stress .

However, this pandemic has given some a window of time that they might not have otherwise had. You can use this time productively, learning how stress can be devastating for your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to disease. You can start creating a calmer, happier and healthy you. A healthy immune system is one of your greatest assets in the fight against COVID- 19, as well as all diseases. Use this book as your guide to create positive behaviour patterns and learn important practical tips to dramatically reduce your stress.

You will learn how to use both your heart and your mind to reduce your stress. Some of the stress you are experiencing may be caused by patterns of behavior; perhaps you are constantly on the go, always saying yes when you should say no, helping others without considering how it impacts your health - even sabotaging it by not nurturing yourself with enough sleep, food, rest and connection with loved ones. Does this sound familiar? If so, you are in good company, as most of us have some of these behavior patterns.