A Stressful Marathon

It’s no secret or surprise that in today’s society most of us encounter a profound amount of stress on a daily basis. Sources range from: our wallets to Wall Street, our businesses, careers, families, relationships, physique, age, responsibility, and bills – all of which cause a multitude of stress within our lives.

Prolonged stress in any form is a great detriment to our health both mentally and physically and I believe stress to be the underlying cause of almost all disease. Stress creates chemical imbalances in our body that can wreak havoc on every aspect of our health and wellbeing. Stress is also a great contributor to heart disease which is the #1 killer in our country today – claiming the lives of about 3000 Americans daily.

I was asked after one of my “Have a Heart” events “if stress elevates the pulse, then why isn’t it good for the cardiovascular system – after all, that’s what exercise does and that’s good for you, right?”

I explained to her that unless hampered by a physical handicap or limitation, most of us have enough ‘reserve in the tank’ to be able to get out of bed in the morning or flee the house in the event of a fire. Our ‘fight or flight’ mechanism kicks in and floods us with adrenaline, our heart springs to action and elevates its rate and our breathing changes to bring in more oxygen and eliminate more toxins. Conversely, most of us lack the athletic ability to run a marathon – and if we tried to do so without proper training, we would most likely drop dead or suffer injury before the finish line. With practice and training, we can gradually build up our level of tolerance to added physical stress and have the strength and ‘reserve in the tank’ to accomplish anything.

However, stress is often encountered or induced too rapidly to have time to build up immunity. One rapid change in your employment or relationship status and you could be instantly sent reeling into a state of ‘stressure’. Now your pulse is racing at an elevated rate for hours, days or even weeks – continuously running a marathon of stress without any warning, training or preparedness. To add insult to injury, the body is now continuously releasing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline into the body, which leads to toxicity and acidity in the body. This toxic environment can become a breeding ground for cancer and other disease.

Almost immediately we begin to feel the effects of the stress on our level of energy, concentration, focus, and attitudes. These negative emotions have an adverse effect on our level of productivity, profitability, self confidence, and pride - which inhibit us from performing at our best at the very times when we need to be at our best. The worst part is that the very thing we are probably stressing over is far less detrimental than the harm the stress is doing to our body.

The good news is that the effects of stress can be naturally counteracted easily, effectively and economically. The only catch is, you must be willing to think differently and act accordingly. Are you ready to defeat stress and create success? If so, come to my "Stress Less" event - Tuesday, October 11th from 5:30 to 7:00 - MG on the Halifax - 231 Riverside Dr, Holly Hill, FL. Register online.