Stress, according to Eastern philosopher and yogi, Swami Satyananda Swaraswati, can be defined in the following formula:

Stress=the number of stressful situations/ability to cope

Formulaically speaking, one can either, reduce the number of stressful situations, which requires some lifestyle changes or one can increase the ability to cope, to reduce stress.

In order to be able to manage one’s emotions and stress, an understanding of how stress affects the physical body is pivotal to its management.

When a negative or limiting thought enters the mind, the brain matches a chemical to the emotion experienced.  For example, if one believes that there is never enough time in the day, this thought produces an emotion, perhaps anxiety, and produces a threat to subjective well-being. Once the brain identifies a situation to be a threat or a danger (whether objective or subjective), the hypothalamus of the brain signals the pituitary gland, which signals the production of cortisol.

Cortisol is an important stressor response when the there is an actual danger because it increases blood sugar and blood pressure, to help escape the danger.   However, when there is no actual threat, but a ‘perceived’ threat, the brain creates a neural and nervous system response.  If the stress is perceived repeatedly, the firing neurons wire together in the brain to create a neural pathway that trigger anytime a similar situation is perceived, whether it be based in reality or not. Once a neural pathway is wired, it fires in that manner, creating an involuntary autonomic stress response, which over time, wreaks physical and mental havoc.

The body’s stress response transports blood away from the internal organs and out to the limbs to prepare the body for ‘fight’ or ‘flee’.  Blood drains from the frontal portion of the brain, which damages clear thinking and reason.  Overtime, if this response is chronic, then the body’s internal systems begin to malfunction and manifest as disease in the physical and mental bodies.   Raised levels of cortisol for prolonged periods weaken the immune system and the organs, cause cells to mutate or die, kick-start nervous, circulatory and inflammatory responses, and impair memory and cognitive ability. People with chronic stress also suffer from insomnia, depression, anxiety, autoimmune and digestive disorders, migraine and tension headaches, asthma and ulcers.

How one reacts to one’s environment is crucial to managing stress.  Most of us have been conditioned to react to stress based upon past experiences as well as our observing, then absorbing, how those around us reacted to stress.  We then become wired in this way, much without our consent or knowledge until the age of about 7.  In past years, it was believed that these reactions were ‘hard-wired’ by our genes, as were certain diseases thought to be ‘hard-wired’.  However, a relatively new science, ‘epigenetics’ now demonstrates that we are not ‘hard-wired’.  Epigenetics tells us that a majority of a gene is affected by how we react to our environment.  Therefore, if we change or manage the reactions, and our perceptions of events, we can change the genome, our cellular structure, our health and the future.  Epigenetics helps us to understand that we are not powerless over our circumstances and our bodies, and that we can change our reactions, and thereby, our reality.  And quantum physics tells us that infinite possibilities exist, but it depends on the observer’s posturing that affects the perspective and the outcome.

So what does that mean?  It means there are an infinite number of possibilities that can happen in any given moment for you to choose you you react, and thereby affect the outcome of not just the external world, but the internal world as well.

Be open, not limited, in how you manage your stress.  It may very well, save your life.

Stay tuned for more tips on how to manage your stress, and take your power back!