Stress wreaks havoc on the body. This is no secret. It’s also no secret that chronic stress is a major problem in our society today. We place too much importance on things that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, and then when something goes wrong, we freak out. When we freak out, our bodies interpret that as physical danger, and we start the “fight or flight” response.
As part of this response, our senses get heightened. You can see better, hear better, and you’re ready to jump into motion at any second. You’re kind of left with a similar feeling as when you’ve had way too much coffee. Sadly, many of us have way too much coffee and then freak out over something that really doesn’t matter, making everything that much worse. But that’s another story.
It may seem like this all is great. Who wouldn’t want their senses heightened, right? Well, there are some problems that come along with this response. You see, the body only has so much energy to spend. So, when you go into fight or flight mode, your body isn’t really creating new energy; it’s stealing it from other processes that aren’t necessary to help you flee from danger. One such process is digestion, but there are many more.
If this stress reaction only lasted a moment, this wouldn’t be a major issue, but many of us deal with chronic stress, which means that it doesn’t really go away. And that’s pretty much how stress impacts your health. So, what can you do about it? Think positive!
In many cases, it’s your thought process that gets this stress reaction going. If you think something is a disaster, it will be. Your body takes its cues from your mind; there’s no independent thinking going on there, so if you want to relax, you have to start putting things into perspective. Ask yourself if the situation will matter in five years from now, or if it will affect the truly important things in your life. Can you learn to live with your daughter’s new tattoo? Will you still have your family and friends once this storm has passed? Usually, the answer to that question is yes, so calm down and deal with things as they come.
As part of this response, our senses get heightened. You can see better, hear better, and you’re ready to jump into motion at any second. You’re kind of left with a similar feeling as when you’ve had way too much coffee. Sadly, many of us have way too much coffee and then freak out over something that really doesn’t matter, making everything that much worse. But that’s another story.
It may seem like this all is great. Who wouldn’t want their senses heightened, right? Well, there are some problems that come along with this response. You see, the body only has so much energy to spend. So, when you go into fight or flight mode, your body isn’t really creating new energy; it’s stealing it from other processes that aren’t necessary to help you flee from danger. One such process is digestion, but there are many more.
If this stress reaction only lasted a moment, this wouldn’t be a major issue, but many of us deal with chronic stress, which means that it doesn’t really go away. And that’s pretty much how stress impacts your health. So, what can you do about it? Think positive!
In many cases, it’s your thought process that gets this stress reaction going. If you think something is a disaster, it will be. Your body takes its cues from your mind; there’s no independent thinking going on there, so if you want to relax, you have to start putting things into perspective. Ask yourself if the situation will matter in five years from now, or if it will affect the truly important things in your life. Can you learn to live with your daughter’s new tattoo? Will you still have your family and friends once this storm has passed? Usually, the answer to that question is yes, so calm down and deal with things as they come.
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