I want to emphasize that life is one darn thing after another and these darn things act as triggers to push us into the zone of stress where we tend to abdicate control and upset our physiological equilibrium.
Please recognize that even if you are inundated with irritations, insults, setbacks, disappointments and financial loss, you do not have to be stressed. Stress is the response.
Stressors – the events and situations that can precipitate stress are inevitable but stress is not. We have to learn to face the stressors and come away unscathed. Every stressor that confronts you brings with it 3 opportunities for you to defend yourself and prevent the unpleasant event or circumstance from turning into stress. No stressor can affect your physiology significantly without your cooperation. Remember that the stress is in the response you decide to make to any situation. Take time to learn to mount responses to stressors that will build your physiology.
I want to remind you that the impact of stress can be significant. Stress just does not only make you feel stressed and uncomfortable and out of control, it can increase your appetite for fat and sugar; lower the immunoglobulins and cytokines that the immune system uses to defend you against disease, and precipitate a heart attack.
It is worth doing the work to prepare you to win the battle against stress. In my next few blogs I will be giving you practical tips to protect your body, your mind and your performance at work from the pernicious effects of stress.