"It's a new anti-depressant-- instead of swallowing it,
you throw it at anyone who appears to be having a good time."
The Effects Of Stress On Mind and Body
More than 50% of deaths in the US are said to be a result of stress and the damaging patterns we adopt to cope with it. The medical community now estimates that 70 to 80 percent of illnesses are caused by or made worse by stress. This includes, but is not limited to:
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Heart disease
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Diabetes
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High blood pressure
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Cerebrovascular disease
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Irritable bowel syndrome
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Impotence
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Depression
Our body has been pre-programmed since prehistoric time to respond to stress in a particular fashion. This response is know as the fight or flight syndrome, because when we feel threatened our tendency is to defend ourselves or to avoid the threat by running away.
What does this flight or fight syndrome do to us?
Chemicals like adrenaline and cortisone get pumped into the body's system and blood flow is diverted from the stomach and genitals to the brain, lungs and large muscles to provide for maximum strength (which makes sense since digestion and sex are probably not really a concern when you are feeling or being attacked). In addition, your hearing is sharpened and the pupils of the eyes become larger to see better.
When a person is dealing with a brief emergency, such as an approaching work deadline, the stress-response is helpful because it increases energy and forces you to focus. As the emergency dissipates, and the body realizes it is no longer in danger, the body gores into detox mode. However, if the body activates the stress-response often it can become chronic leading to disease.
The Brain/Body Connection
I often say, "Where the mind leads, the butt follows." My attempt at humor aside, this speaks volumes about the relationship between mind and body. You can just imagine a stressful situation, like being told you're fired, and your body will begin to react through mental, physical, and emotional signals. The stress response is so immediate that it seems there's little we can do to control it.
As Sharon Promislow states in her book, Making The Brain/Body Connection, "Scientific proof supports the idea that what we imagine is as real to our brain as what we have experienced. PET.. measuring blood flow, MRI's... and CAT scans... measuring chemical composition, and EEG... measuring electrical transmission, show virtually the same brain activity for both real and imagined activity." What this means is that your brain and body, or more accurately your brain-body, react pretty much the same for real or imagined threats. The upside is that the same holds true for positive thoughts and emotions. When we experience joy, delight, laughter, and gratitude, for instance, we actually are strengthening our immune system and fortifying our bodies. Expressing your passions by doing things you love not only make feel good, but also help to keep you healthy and balanced.
The Body's Energy Field
Our mind-body system is not just a physical, chemical and emotional entity, but an energetic one as well. In fact, we emit energy from our bodies all of the time. This energy responds to and is affected by our every thought and emotion. So, when we are happy, sad, angry, depressed, or intently focused and concentrating, our energy reflects these different states. Wherever our mind-body goes our energy is right there with us flowing through and around us with an intelligence of its own.
How many times have you gotten a good feeling just being around someone? And how many times did you think to yourself, "I just didn't like the vibes i got from him/her?" This is not your imagination. You did feel something. you felt that other persons energy.
Just as veins and arteries carry blood throughout the body, pathways know as meridians carry energy all over the body. There are 12 major pathways or meridians that supply our organs with energy. Along these meridians are duct-like points know as acupoints. These acupoints can be stimulated to release, redistribute, or increase energy flowing in the meridians .
Our major body systems are all affected by the state of our meridians. If a meridian's energy is blocked or not regulated, the system it governs is in trouble. So, for instance, if our liver meridian is disrupted, and if the disruption is ongoing, the liver's ability to identify and neutralize toxins could be impaired. Anger is a primary emotion affecting the functioning of our liver. Expressing and releasing our anger will help this vital energy flow in a balanced way, thereby reducing the stress to the liver to maintain optimum liver health.
The bottom line is that there will always be something that causes stress in your life, however, the question I want you to ask yourself is, "What am I going to do about it?" Instead of letting it overwhelm you develop a coping strategy. Before it becomes a serious health problem eliminate the source if you can. Rather than just think about it, take action and take back your life. Instead of going it alone get support and make the decision to empower yourself in 2 ways:
- Learn how to do the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) through our free workbook or purchase the EFT DVD's created by gary Craig.
- Get a free Take Back Your Power session to take control of your life and eliminate whatever is keeping you stuck.
