Stress
We all suffer from stress sometimes and it is everywhere: in the workplace, in school, in traffic and in relationships, to name a few. Stress is actually a beautiful mechanism. The moment you perceive a danger, your body will produce hormones which ensure that the body is ready for an emergency response: The hormones raise blood pressure, accelerate the heartbeat and activate the muscles and makes the body is ready to flee or fight.
So, what’s the problem? Too much constant stress makes that the body cannot recover and it remains activated and high strung most of the time. The body then gives priority to maintaining that condition over all sorts of other bodily functions, such as the digestive system and the immune system. This can cause all kinds of physical and psychological problems.
Enter ‘resilience: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties’. According to research (1) resilience is largely about body awareness and not about rational thinking. The people most able to enter relaxation mode again after being aroused by perceived danger, are the people who are able to connect to what is happening on a physical level. Being smart will not help you much. Noticing changes in your body will.
Improving internal communications with our bodies may be as simple as spending a few minutes each day in focused breathing, or laying down doing a body-scan. Massage, bodywork and work on posture will help you get more connected with your body and better at coping with stress.
To Better Cope With Stress, Listen To Your Body
See blog-post: How Stress Can Be Your Friend
