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A Google search for “stress” returns 590,000,000 results. Take an hour and review the content listed in the first few pages of results and a simple theme resonates – stress is bad. We already know stress is bad. The problem is – what can we do about it? Leading research institutes, government agencies, top hospitals, and health experts all seem to agree that adopting healthy habits (e.g., relax, do fun things, think positive, meditate, avoid stressful situations, etc.) is the best way to manage your stress. Seriously? These are the solutions from some of the brightest minds to help solve the number one contributor of disease and, most likely, the root cause of your death.
How easy is it to pause and do breathing exercises when you get stressed out or overwhelmed with fear or anxiety. The problem with these solutions is that they seem simple and almost obvious on paper, but in practice they are nearly impossible. When your body gets overwhelmed with stress/fear/anxiety, your body’s fight-or-flight response gets activated and you lose all power to think rationally or process information. It’s not impossible to interrupt this response by pausing and practicing a mindfulness technique or breathing exercise, but it’s highly improbable without years of training and unusual discipline. It is critical to your health to create habits to effectively manage stress, maintain balance, and increase stress resilience. But how?
Let’s first understand why stress is the silent killer. According to research at Stanford University Medical School by Dr. Bruce Lipton, a renowned cell biologist, stress is a major factor in over 95% of all cases of disease. How stress is perceived provides a clue as to what is really involved when stress causes disease. In the majority of cases, it is not physical stress that is the main cause of disease, but mental and emotional stress. According to Dr. Lipton, although we may be born with genetic predispositions towards certain types of illnesses, Dr. Lipton states that it is actually our habitual thoughts and beliefs (along with what we are exposed to in our environment), not our genes, that have the most influence over whether we get sick or not. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, heart disease, cancer, and stroke accounted for more than half of the deaths in the U.S. in 2013 (1,339,150 of 2,596,993 deaths). All of these disease states are stress related.
Here is the primary issue with stress for people today. The “stress response” is designed to preserve us in the face of life-threatening danger. When our lives are at risk, the stress response kicks into action and activates the “fight-or-flight” system. This system initiates a chemical reaction that floods the blood stream with cortisol and activates our major muscle groups, senses, and vital organs to perform at peak levels to fight, flee, or freeze. This all happens without any ability to reason or think through our “next move” – it’s completely automatic and subconscious. This system has worked for thousands of years and is highly refined and sensitive. Every time we encounter an intensely stressful situation (real or perceived), the fight or flight system is activated and away we go. Our midbrain does not discriminate whether we are in a life-threatening situation or not. So, when you have a conflict at work, or an argument with your spouse, or your teenager won’t listen to you, or you are late to a meeting and there is highway construction up ahead, your body behaves like your life is in danger and floods you with cortisol. In these circumstances, this phenomenon is over-kill, unhealthy, and seemingly outdated. But the problem is how can you override human survival programming.
There must be a way to help cope with stress in today’s lifestyle. Here is what the experts at the Mayo Clinic recommend.
You can learn to identify what stresses you and how to take care of yourself physically and emotionally in the face of stressful situations. Stress management strategies include:
• Eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep
• Practicing relaxation techniques such as trying yoga, practicing deep breathing, getting a massage or learning to meditate
• Taking time for hobbies, such as reading a book or listening to music
• Fostering healthy friendships
• Having a sense of humor
• Volunteering in your community
• Seeking professional counseling when needed
Again, these suggestions all seem simple enough and certainly can provide benefits, but what if there was a better way? What if there was a technology that was simple to use, works immediately, and works in all circumstances? What if there was a way to rescue us from over-reacting to ordinary daily circumstances and guide us out of “survival mode” when it is not a life-threatening situation?
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