August 2014
Welcome --
"It's not stress that kills us.
"It's our reaction to it."
(Hans Selye)
"Stress is hazardous to our health!"-- or is it? At its basic level, stress is just the response we have to change.
To that end, there are actually two kinds of stress:
The "positive" kind, eustress, and the "negative" kind, distress.
Let's begin with the stress we all know, distress. This is the pressure that can damage the system, raising levels are that best when lower ( blood pressure, resting heart rate, glucose, etc.) and lowering levels that are best when higher ("good" cholesterol, sperm counts, immune markers, etc.).
Distress is triggered when we're overly anxious, in what we think is an untenable situation, pulled in too many directions with seemingly excessive demands,
letting our thoughts run away with us. If not checked, its effects are insidious and can be long term, not just impacting us now.
Eustress, on the other hand, actually helps the Body-
mind and doesn't have the erosive effects that distress can have. We experience eustress when we're meeting a challenge, competing in sports, riding a roller coaster, beginning a new life -- marriage, moving, children.
Put
simply, distress creates "rust" in the Bodymind. Eustress is the friction that creates a pearl or the pressure that results in a diamond. Which would you rather experience?
When you find Your Self under pressure:
Stop.
Breathe.
Check in with your Bodymind.
Determine the quality of stress and take
the right action:
Distress? --
slow down, recollect yourself, prevent rust
Eustress? --
appreciate becoming the gem you are
Either way, let stress teach you. Opt for the diamonds and pearls as often as
possible ……..
"Remember that stress doesn't come
from what's going on in your life.
It
comes from your thoughts about
what's going on in your life."
(Andrew Bernstein)
