Creating Less Stress in Life and The Power of its Hidden Benefits
Let’s explore the hidden benefits of creating less stress in life. Modern life is so fast-paced that we have become so desensitized and don’t remember, creating less stress in life is beneficial.
We hammer our bodies and minds with crazy long-hour daily routines that trigger a stress response. Limited amounts of stress can be good and it has played an intracranial part in human survival.
Experiencing some stress on a regular basis is normal and can be beneficial. A perfect example is the “fight or flight response,” which has served us well and helped human beings avoid danger.
The modern fast-paced life can cause the “fight or flight response,” to be triggered and stay engaged 24 hours a day.
This amount of stress can negatively impact your life by causing mental and physical health problems. Excessive stress should be avoided, and we should seek less stress in our lives to avoid such problems.
Avoiding excessive stress is easier said than done as stressful modern life has become the norm.
Our Ancient Stress Responses
Don’t get me wrong, the “fight or flight response,” has served us well, and still does. It has helped us avoid danger and defend ourselves from predators. When confronted by a potential predator we have to decide quickly whether to fight or flee. It is one of my favorite lines from the movie “The Matrix“.
Cypher told Neo, “You see an agent, you do what we do. Run. You run your ass off”. That proved to be good fight-or-flight advice.
The characters in the movie lived over-stressed lives similar to the modern fast-paced life of today. We don’t have to worry about a Saber-Toothed Tiger pouncing on the use or a computer-generated Agent sucking the life out of us.
We face modern high-pressure stress that can feel just as real.
When the fight or flight response kicks in the part of the brain called the amygdala goes to work. We temporarily become superhuman. The amygdala activates our body’s fear circuits, which increases our heart rate and blood pressure.
We get hot, dry mouths, and our muscles tense for action. We are immediately ready to respond quickly to a threat. The body begins to make adjustments to deal with threats.
For example, the body tries to divert blood flow from the digestive areas and the face, head, and neck so that it can be used elsewhere. We think less and do more. These reactions
The body begins to make adjustments to deal with threats. For example, the body tries to divert blood flow from the digestive areas and the face, head, and neck so that it can be used elsewhere.
We think less and do more. These reactions produce the effect of elevated heart rate and blood pressure and increased respiration.
The way you perceive the problems that arise in modern fast-paced life can trick the amygdala to take effect. The stress of work, traffic jams, business calls, or an argument with a loved one can trigger a response.
You can spend days in a highly stressful fight or flight state. Over time this can affect your health, well-being, and happiness.
Buy me a coffeeLearn To Live Creating Less Stress In Life
You can’t avoid all stress, and low levels of stress can be beneficial. You have to be mindful of the effects of excessive stress. Understand your real goals and the actual cost. Take stock of what is critical in your life.
Learn to identify the situations that cause you to become over-stressed and avoid them. You will quickly begin to learn your stress triggers and how to avoid them.
With this newfound information make a conscious effort to avoid stress and pursue less stress in life. I know the fast-paced modern life says that it can not be done and achieve success at the same time.
You just have to abandon the “Fear of missing out (FOMO)” and embrace the abundance mindset.
Learn to say “NO” and don’t overload your schedule. Learn to live more with less. Planning to spend more quality time with good friends and family will help lead to less stress in life.
Working hard to buy more stuff and manage more possession will cause more stress in life. Choose experiences over things.
Remember you are not alone. Use your community to assist in creating less stress in life. If you feel stress and anxiety creeping into your daily life, talk to friends and family about it.
Just venting with someone will help more than you think. The person does not even have to have expertise on the subject. Just sharing and creating memories will help. Even talking to a pet or a baby can help. LOL.
Intense feelings of stress and anxiety seek professional help. Sometimes we take on too much for too long. In today’s modern, fast-paced world feeling over-stressed feels normal and healthy. It just becomes a way of life and can be toxic.
If you become desensitized to living with these physical and mental health problems, creating less stress in life becomes almost impossible. Please seek professional help.
Talk to a therapist or counselor about these feelings before they become a problem in your life.
The Hidden Benefits of Creating Less Stress in Life
Peaceful Outlook –. When you are not in fight or flight survival mode more of your body’s senses are turned on. The brain is no longer on a war footing, and a peaceful outlook rises from the ashes.
Creating less stress in life leads to a more peaceful outlook on life.
Better Path To Happiness – Prolong stress robs so much of our positive thought and makes being happy more difficult. The effects of stress can become the norm, and you forget how to be happy, or even that happiness is even possible.
People become so involved in living a stressful life they forget to seek happiness. Creating less stress in life leads to more happiness.
Better Relationships – When suffering from stress you see everyone else as the problem. You have a short fuse. The majority of people suffering from stress will tell you that stress is not an issue in their life.
They believe handle it well and having it under control.
The people around them see things differently. When dealing with a person suffering from stress can be difficult for their loved ones. They may have to walk around as if on eggshells.
The loved ones may live from one meltdown to the next. One blow-up to the next. Less stress in life leads to better relationships.
Better Sleep – People suffering from stress have horrible sleep patterns. The stressed mind is always racing. The brain is in fight or flight mode, and that makes rest almost impossible.
The inability to sleep properly only adds to the stress and other well-documented problems. Creating less stress in life leads to better sleep and relaxation.
Weight Loss – There are studies that support the findings individuals that who suffer from prolonged stress have higher incidents of weight gain. Melanie Greenberg Ph.D. says “Stress that goes on for an extended period is a triple whammy for weight—it increases our appetites, makes us hold onto the fat, and interferes with our willpower to implement a healthy lifestyle”.
Creating less stress in life leads to better weight control.
Improved Heart – It is commonly known that less stress contributes to better heart health. “When stress is excessive, it can contribute to everything from high blood pressure, also called hypertension, to asthma to ulcers to irritable bowel syndrome,” said Ernesto L. Schiffrin, M.D., Ph.D., physician-in-chief at Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, and professor and vice-chair of research in the Department of Medicine at McGill University in Montreal.
Fighting Cancer – Stress causes havoc on the immune system; which leaves us more susceptible to a variety of illnesses. The illness can be as mild as the common cold or as deadly as Cancer.
I am not saying stress causes Cancer but it helps create the environment for Cancer to thrive in the body. Creating less stress in life leads to stronger immune systems to fight disease.
Longer life – The biggest takeaway from The Power and Hidden Benefits of Creating less Stress in Life is that less stress in life leads to a longer and more enjoyable life.
Conclusion
According to the American Psychological Association, chronic stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.
Also, more than 75 percent of all physician office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
Just let that sink in. Stress is a KILLER! Please, Please, Please, Take great care of yourself. Value experiences over things. If you already have the essentials of life, don’t kill yourself at the job.
Spend time, love hug, and kiss the people you love as often as possible. I read a saying somewhere that said:
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“When you’re 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you’re 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you’re 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place” -Unknown
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Less stress in life leads to an immensely better existence – Gansta Mic drop – BOOM!
A very thought provoking article Tony.
Stress is a constant factor in many lives. Learning to say no is a big one for me at times.
The many benefits you list as a result of reducing stress are a great incentive to do something positive about it.