STRESS and its Effects on Our Lives
Have you ever being under stress?
Is there anyone that has never been under stress?
Is there anyone that hasn’t felt anxiety with their muscles getting tense; flaring up; those awful headaches; stomach getting upset again, although you had a light lunch; feeling tired and getting depressed; meanwhile you can’t explain why?
Obviously we can go on and on with the endless methods of describing the many ways we experience stress and the techniques we use to manage it, which unfortunately are not all optimal.
The Benefits:
To be fair though, with “stress”, we need to understand the mechanism behind it, and dare to state the benefits of it. For that, I want you to close your eyes after you read this paragraph, and imagine yourself casually walking through the bushes of Africa in an early spring morning taking in the beauty of the motherland. All your senses are delightfully stimulated, and you find yourself, while strolling, catching the smell of wild sage and potato bush, looking at the amazing vegetation, hearing wonderful, and at times, unknown mysterious sounds that elevate your curiosity level and your need to distinguish them between wild game and the echoes of nature.
Wait, wait. I know what you are thinking. “Who on earth is going to stroll by him/herself in Africa’s bush, when the “Big 5” are strolling along with that person. Right? Hopefully, no one, but for stress’s sake, let’s run the above scenario and add to the scene a hungry LION…
Stressed anyone?
Obviously, this kind of encounter can be described as “a nightmare” by many, if not, by all, and although the possibilities for this to happen are minute, we can still get that “stomach-cramped” feeling by just thinking about it. Fascinating!
So let me ask the question: What would you do if you felt the lion’s warmth on the back of your neck?
Except from getting petrified, consciously, we don’t have enough time to analyze and list the pros and cons of the situation. However, based on evolution, our amazing unconscious knows exactly what to do: the activation of the “fight-or- flight response.”