Weekly Wisdom – Stress Is A Killer (Literally)

Basically stress was directly associated with things that could cause us to die.

Fast forward to today. We can have stress triggered because of a lack of money, being late for work, your favorite TV show was cancelled, the internet is down, you are on hold for more than a minute or because someone said something you do not agree with on social media.

Basically things that are more of an annoyance than something that is life threatening.

However, did you know that sustained levels of stress can lead to physical issues? One of which is an increased risk of heart attack!

Why is that?

Well, primitive man would be triggered by stress on major things. And this happened less frequently. Modern man has his stress triggered many times throughout a day. Basically keeping the “fight or flight” mechanism engaged most of the time.

It is like driving your car at max speed to every location. And doing this frequently.

Now, what would happen if you did not do frequent maintenance on your car when you drive it like this? Especially one that is a little older? It would break down of course! And that is what can happen to us guys over 40.

To compound the problem, when we are stressed, our bodies produce more cortisol so that more energy can be produced to handle the stress. But having cortisol production going constantly increases acid in our bodies and causes a loss of minerals.

Both of which can result in less than favorable results.

So, what can we do about it?

The good news is that there are a couple of things.

The first one is your state of mind. We have to decide to have less stress in our lives. And to do so, we have to increase our awareness and choose to react or take action that leads to a less stressful outcome.

For example, you are driving down the road and you get behind someone driving slowly. Many people get upset and aggravated (this triggers stress). We have to recognize that this is a trigger for stress at the time that it happens. And choose to do something like play soothing music, roll down the window and get some fresh air or just wait until you can safely pass. Because getting angry will not make your stress go away and will not make you feel any better.

The second thing we can do is to actively avoid drama. Many people say they do not want drama in their lives but their actions say something different. If we want to reduce stress, actively avoid drama.

Like billions of other people, we have Facebook accounts. And, like billions of others, we all have friends that have different opinions than us.

Let me ask this question. When was the last time that a friend posted something you did not agree with, you posted a comment that argued or disproved their comment and they actually changed their mind? I would bet that you have better odds of winning a lottery than that happening.

So why do it? You get upset. They get upset. No one wins and everyone is angry. Additionally your stress is triggered and it negatively impacts your emotions and your physical well-being.

Another way to deal with stress is to meditate. Some of you may think this is “kooky” or some other “out there” practice. But it has been around for thousands of years and for good reason.

Daily meditation can actually assist with a more positive mood, relaxation, concentration and has been known to boost a person’s memory. It can also have effects that can lead to a longer life? But that is a topic for a different post.

Since meditation can assist with a more positive mood and relaxation, that is the opposite of stress. Thereby actually reducing the stress in our lives.

So, you can either work on reducing stress today or before long you will not have to worry about it because you may not be here.

Most things in life are not worth getting upset and causing a negative impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. Guys…as we get older I practice Mind Over Matter. If I do not Mind, it does not Matter. You may want to consider picking up this practice too.

Simple Concepts. Powerful Results.

Specifically Designed For Guys Over 40.