Madam – We live in a society where stress has inevitably become apart of our daily lives.
What is stress?
Stress may be described as involving negative feelings (e.g of being overwhelmed), unpleasant thoughts and uncomfortable body sensations (e.g butterflies in one’s tummy) or rather to be worrying about problems over which one has little control over.
Stress is the response a person experiences to a “stressor”, that is an external or internal event (e.g an anxiety-provoking thought) or a stimulus that disturbs one’s equilibrium.
In essence, stress is a response that includes the physical expression of our “flight or fight” survival mechanism. A threatening situation will trigger the (acute) stress response, which prepares us to confront or flee a possible danger. This helps for immediate danger but unfortunately the stress response is also triggered by anxiety-provoking thoughts and/or situations that are ongoing, where fight or flight is unnecessary, such as an unreasonable boss, or financial difficulties, health problems etc.
The ongoing release and circulation of cortisol and other stress hormones in our bodies will eventually cause a chronic inflammatory response that has a negative impact on the cells and tissues of one’s body and brain. If left unchecked, chronic inflammation will have negative effects on both mental and physical health.
Some of the health issues that can arise are ; depression, insomnia, heart disease, skin disorders, headaches, high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, auto-immune diseases and certain cancers.
Mindfulness and relaxation techniques, such as breathing “retaining”, as well as how to engage with anxiety and other negative feelings in a counter-intuitive, but highly effective manner, are ways to help “deal” with stress.
We must learn how to get out of the ruminating cycle of worrying too much and focus more on trying to relax and enjoy life.
Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is yet to come, today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.
Lisa Perrins
