Don’t Stress Over Stress: New Research Points to Positive Aspects

Stress is seemingly everywhere and affects everyone, there is no way out. And with our world as increasingly crazy as it seems to be, our stressful situations are not likely to improve anywhere in the near future. So, what can we do to better understand stress; how stress manifests itself in our lives and how best to handle stress? Should we change ourselves, or choose to live our lives in a way that would better allow us to manage or even transform our stress? And, or is there perhaps a new and better way to look at stress, which would allow us not only to survive but to actually thrive? These key questions and more are precisely what we looked at during our second Holistic Health & Wellness Seminar 2018, which focused on transforming stress.

I loved the raw honesty and vulnerability of participants, who expressed frustration and dilemmas about how they handle stress in their lives. Some described how they often find themselves focusing on perfection, and their realization that they impose this drive onto their family, making for further tensions at home. Others confessed how the pattern of eating sugary comfort foods followed by napping is often used as a soother for stress. This kind of sharing is what I enjoy most about our multi national community here on SHAPE.  It is in the exchange of ideas that we create a circle of community that mutually gives and receives, a win, win scenario for all.

Looking back on this open discussion, what I find most important is not whether any habit or pattern is good or bad, but that the self-reflection piece which follows, is informative and enriching. Our own introspection can be a catalyst for change. After the presentation, while reflecting at home, I realized that stress had perhaps gotten the better of me during my presentation and that in some part I had rushed my talk leaving out a couple of educational and fun activities, which were likely to be both enjoyable and beneficial for the participants. Yes indeed, even (and especially) the teacher gets stressed!

So back to the question about perhaps there being a new and better way to see stress. What I find exciting is the new theory about the way we perceive stress as making all the difference to our health and our lives. Stanford based Health Psychologist; Kelly Mcgonigal completely changed her career focus on stress when she and her team discovered new studies on perceptions of stress and its effects on health. In her TED Talk, Dr. Mcgonigal talks about how our perception makes the difference in the way we either live and thrive, or die with stress. She also hits home about the importance of reaching out to others as creating a positive feedback, circle of community, which not only eases our pain, but makes life all the more worth living. Please watch the attached link to this TED Talk. I think you will it both informative and amusing. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU

A Votre Santé,

Alyce Childers

Holistic Nutritional Health Coach

Important note:

For your protection, please always consult with a knowledgeable healthcare professional regarding any health issues (including stress and or anxiety). Neither this blog nor my seminars are meant to either diagnose or treat any medical disorder.