How
do you DO Stress?
by
John
James Santangelo C.Ht.
“So
then, HOW do you DO stress?”
How often during your week do you feel really stressed
out?
If more than two or three times, then you’re up
there with the national average.
A 1996 Prevention magazine survey found that almost
75% of people feel they have "great stress"
one day a week, with one out of three saying they feel
this way more than twice a week. Job stress tends to
be the leading cause of stress for adults, although
stress levels have also escalated in children, teenagers,
college students and the elderly. It’s been estimated
that 75 - 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians
are for stress related problems. No doubt this number
will keep rising as the decade’s progress.
Hans
Selye father of the “stress theory” describes
stress as “the non-specific response of the body
to any demand made upon it.” Stress can be either
physiological or psychological in nature. Stress is
the response to events in our environment. First come
the stressors (cause) and then the stress (effects).
If stress isn’t controlled or alleviated it can
literally be stored up in the body and may lead to physical
and emotional disruption such as sicknesses, cold, flu,
headaches, insomnia, or more severe symptoms such as
chronic pain, depression, heart attacks, cancer, or
even suicide.
The
fact is it’s not the ‘stressors’ of
our environment that cause us to stress out. It’s
how we respond to the events in our life, not the events
themselves. Think about it, how can the same experience
such as losing or transferring your job garner such
a different response from two different individuals?
In simple terms, it’s the meaning we place upon
the events which create the emotional reactions we experience.
All of the clinical research, which has been conducted
over the century, has shown that stress is “the
perception of not being in control.” Since we
cannot control our outside circumstances or events,
the only way to regain a sense of control is to effectively
manage our emotions.
Two
things predicate our behavior, Focus and Physiology!
Focus is the meaning we place upon the events in our
world and what we choose to focus on internally. Physiology
is how we use our bodies to respond to those outside
conditions. Either we control our emotions or we allow
our emotions to control us! The most effective way to
handle stress or anxiety is to change your physiology,
specifically your body posture AND your breathing. Your
state of mind is tied directly into the positioning
of your body. How do to stand or sit when you’re
depressed? Slumped and slouching? Breathing shallow
and restricted? How is your posture when you’re
happy or excited, upright and open? Breathing full and
deep?
So,
whenever you’re confronted with a challenge in
life, STOP, and ask yourself “what does this mean?”
Then immediately change your posture and your breathing.
Because each emotional state of mind has a specific
physiology associated to it, then it stands to reason
if you shift your physiology to a more resourceful posture
then your emotional state will change, leaving you feeling
more empowered to deal with life as it arises!
