When was the last time you felt stressed? If you are like most people, it was probably within the last few hours. Unfortunately, too many of us walk around in an almost continual state of stress, and that’s just not healthy.

While most of us know that, what do we really do about it? Becoming de-stressed to improve our health is not merely a matter of stopping to take a few deep breaths occasionally, trying to avoid rush-hour traffic or slowing down and let that tail-gaiter pass you by, or taking a walk every day (although those strategies can actually help reduce stress). Do we ever really stop to consider how being stressed adversely affects ourselves physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, in family and work relationships, and more? Believe it or not, if we don’t learn how to effectively handle the many stressors in our lives, we can cause major problems in every single area of our lives!

What exactly is stress? Most of us know when we feel stressed, but where does that feeling come from? Every one of us is constantly surrounded by stressors, those little or big things in life that can cause us to feel stressed. Stressors can be both positive and negative, and our personal reaction to the stressor will determine how it affects us, either positively or negatively.

Consider the joys surrounding a family wedding, for example. Everyone is so happy for the bride and groom ... or are they? Have you ever heard of a family wedding where absolutely everything, and everyone, was perfect? Someone’s feelings were hurt because they didn’t get invited, or were placed at the reception table with people who didn’t talk (or talked too much), or only the adults were invited to the wedding and none of the children were allowed to come and you had to spend extra money on a sitter, or the dresses came in the wrong color (or size), or the cake split in half when someone on the dance floor had a bit too much to drink and hit the cake table? The list can go on and on, and yet, surprisingly enough, some people would be able to handle each of those stressors in a positive, productive manner, and other people would almost have a stroke just thinking about the trauma.

Consider whether how we handle stress might affect our cardiovascular system. Although many researchers have studied heart health and stress, it is not yet fully known how stress actually increases the risk of heart disease. Some have surmised that excess stress might cause us to have problems with other cardiovascular health risk factors, such as smoking, overeating, lack of exercise, or increased blood pressure, with others having shown connections between stress, blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. Regardless, stress can be a killer.

Bottom line, we need to SLOW DOWN, TAKE A DEEP BREATH and ask ourselves, “Is this problem REALLY worth the possibility of my suffering a heart attack or stroke?” The good Lord put us on this earth for such a short time; let’s make the most of it, and learn how to de-stress our lives!

Nancy P. Askins is a master trainer, facilitator, and behavioral coach serving as executive director of the Center of Renewal Retreat & Conference Center at Stella Niagara.
Contact Askins at 754-7376.

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