Did you know that 60% to 80% of primary care doctor visits are related to stress? However, only 3% of patients receive stress management help.
Our body reacts to stress in different ways, and it can come in the smallest of reactions such as a headache, increased heart rates, grinding of teeth, or even tension in our jaw. Other reactions include anxiety, irritability, anger, stomachaches, or heart diseases. Do any of these symptoms resonate with you?
Having a deeper understanding of stress allows us to be more aware and sensitive to our stressors, and know when and how to take proactive steps to manage it better. Understanding stress also allows us to lend a helping hand to the people around us. Here are a few stress facts that you may not be aware of:
Fact 1: Your body doesn’t care if it’s big or little stress
Did you know that the human body does not differentiate between big stress and little stress? A typical stress reaction releases 1,400 biochemical events in your body. If we do not manage these reactions, our body will age faster and weakens our cognitive functions. Unmanaged stress also drains our energy levels, affecting our day-to-day performance and clarity.
Fact 2: Stress can make smart people do stupid things
Have you ever said something you wished you could take back? Or did something you normally wouldn’t do? As stress weakens our cognitive functions, it results in Cortical Inhibition, where stress occupies a small part of our brain, preventing us from performing our best.
In a state of Heart-Coherence, our heart, brain, and nervous system work together to enhance our cognitive functions: critical thinking, mental clarity, and emotional balance. It boosts our daily performance physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Fact 3: People can become numb to their stress
Most people have become accustomed to life's daily stresses that stresses may seem normal to them. However, not many are aware of how much damage accumulated stress can do to our mental well-being and overall health until something serious happens. For instance, unwanted conflicts or unwanted diagnoses from the doctors.
Fact 4: We can control how we respond to stress
We cannot control our emotions and thoughts, but we can choose how we want to react to stress. There are many simple yet effective solutions that we can use to manage stress. For instance, practising the state of Heart-Coherence daily will help shift our perspectives on the stressful situations we face.
Fact 5: The best strategy is to handle stress at the moment
Most people tend to allow their stress to snowball, thinking that they can come back to tackle it the next time. However, when we choose to sweep it under, the stress response has already been activated, and all cognitive functions, clarity, and health are affected.
Research has shown how emotions affect our heart rhythm patterns. Positive emotions such as appreciation will create coherent rhythms that appear smooth and orderly, while negative emotions such as frustration will create erratic patterns.
When faced with a stressful situation, we must shift our stressful emotions like frustration or anxiety to positive feelings like hope and gratefulness. With a coherent heart rhythm, we will not face Cortical Inhibition, and instead, we will have mental clarity and feelings of solidity and security.
Take a minute to think about how you have been coping with stress. Has it been effective? Have you tried Heart Coherence? Try it and feel free to reach out to me if you need help!
Stay tuned for future blog posts on how we can better manage stress❤️
With love & empowerment,
Elynn
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