It seems that the world is getting busier, people have less time
and we are constantly being challenged to become more efficient and get more
things done in a shorter amount of time.
As a result, stress has become a legitimate health concern. As many of
us have discovered, stress and anxiety are not only problematic to our
emotional lives, but in addition are destructive to our physical well being.
As a large number of natural health professionals have
discovered, many of the physical ailments we contract have their roots in
emotional distress. According to Dr.
A.F. Beddoe, "our thoughts and
emotions combine to form vibrations - frequencies - our 'line of resistance'. Our thoughts, mingled with either love or
fear, will create our experiences that will then manifest in our lives
physically, mentally, and spiritually, either as health or dis-ease." He goes on to state in his book
"Biologic Ionization As Applied to Human Nutrition" that 80% of all
illness begins with holding on to negative emotion. Negative emotion tends to
create a more acidic environment in the body which leads to disease and the
breakdown of healthy physical functioning. In essence, it isn't the exterior
circumstances that create the stress, it is what we think about the exterior
circumstances that creates stress. This
is not to say that a person cannot push themselves beyond their physical
limitations, creating stress from exhaustion.
However, on many levels we tend to emotionally respond to life which
often produces stress if those emotions are based on fear.
Love and fear are the basic motivators in life. Fear puts the body into fight or flight mode,
releasing adrenaline and noradrenalin.
These chemicals contract muscles as well as activate the sympathetic
nervous system. When a person lives in
even a low level of fear consistently, the body responds as if there is a
consistent threat. Eventually we reach a
level of adrenal fatigue, the body is no longer able to counteract the effects
and we become tired, depressed and irritable.
Over time, our neural net reacts to this chemistry by creating more
receptor sites to accommodate the excess negative chemistry. As a result, when those neurotransmitters are
not available we can be agitated in a similar way an addict is agitated when
their drug of choice is not present in the body. In essence, we become addicted to our own
body chemistry.
Love, on the other hand tends to enhance the emotional states of
joy, happiness and well-being. When we
are happy, we are not anxious. Our
bodies are producing more calming types of chemicals such as PEA and Dopamine,
and our cortisol levels are lower. When
we are calm, thought processes are more coherent, we make better decisions and
our bodies are not working so hard to maintain balance. Many people find this a
much more desirable state in which to live.
Additionally, the science of Positive Psychology confirms that happier
people are more productive, live longer and have a healthier quality of life.
So, you ask....how do I
live a more peaceful life? The short answer
is balance. Everything in nature,
including human beings, is designed to live in a state of balance. Our work life, family life, spiritual life,
pleasure and rest all must balance out.
If we rob from one area to give time to another area, we will pay the
consequences by not receiving the full benefit from the area we have
robbed. For example, if we rob from
our time of rest to give to our time of work, our body will pay the price over
time. If we spend too much time in pleasurable activities our work life and
family life may suffer. Each time we
make a decision to be out of balance, there are consequences.
If you are plagued by stress or anxiety, it would serve you well
to take a look at your life and determine where you are out of balance:
·
What makes you
happy? If you are not including in your
life the things that make you happy, you are not in balance.
·
Look at your
relationships. How many toxic people are
in your life? You may want to make some
changes
·
How many hours a week
are you working and for what return?
Your life is worth investing in areas that will bring you the highest
return...whether that be financially or emotionally.
·
Are you resting? Down time gives us the opportunity to rejuvenate,
both physically and emotionally. It is
not an option.
Learn to take care of yourself and the result will be a happier,
more productive and more peaceful life.
