How much stress have you had in the past month? The past year? The past decade?
Technology is seemingly there to make our lives easier but in fact we’re more stressed now than we’ve ever been.
Stress is now classed as a worldwide epidemic (WHO)
However, this isn't all doom and gloom. What is actually important is the way that you see stress
Stress can actually be your friend!?
How you THINK and how you ACT could transform your experience of stress.
Instead of pulling your hair out and shouting or crying when you feel stress why not try a different way?
Did you know that our thoughts control our behaviour? Therefore, we can control our behaviour by changing our thoughts.
When you CHOOSE to view your stress as your friend you can transform your experience of stress. Instead of seeing it as a huge pain in the ass instead view it as helpful you change your whole biology and physiology
Why should you bother?
Stress is just a small part of your life, right?
You've got a handle on it?
I don’t feel stress like others?
Changing takes too much effort?
How about if i told you that for every major stressful life experience you go through such as financial difficulties or a family crisis, your risk of dying increases by 30%!
Does that make you want to change how you view stress?
How about what it does to your body?
Too much long-term stress can mean that our sleep and memory are affected, your eating habits change and you feel less inclined to exercise.
Some people may smoke, drink more or take drugs to relieve stress
The impact on our physical health may cause heart disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure and a disruption of your immune system making it harder to fight off viral infections.
So now do you see why this is important to get a handle on?
Whether you’re 15 or 80 you can still make changes that may have a significant impact on your lifespan, your health and your general well-being.
So how do you make stress your friend?
There's ONE thing you can do to make a DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT to your stress levels:
It's helping others.
Studies have found that people who spent time caring for others showed absolutely no stress related increase in dying.
Caring for others actually creates a stress resilience in people which in turn reduces the effects on the body.
So stress resilience and reduction is actually helped by human connection
So, how much time have you spent helping others in the last year?
Do you help family members?
Children?
Do you volunteer for charities?
Fundraiser?
Work in hospices?
If you have helped care for others then you’re more likely to not die from stress related illnesses than than those who don’t.
As you can see the potential harmful effects of stress on your health are not inevitable.
How you think and act can help transform your experience of stress.
When you choose to view your stress response as helpful you will create a different biology in your body.
Your resilience is then helpful to handle life’s challenges more effectively
Conclusion
Now that you know how to reduce your stress, you can go after what creates meaning in your life such as helping others and trust yourself to handle the stress that you encounter within your life.
Love
Nikki xx
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