Through out my whole life I consider stress as my enemy.I did hell lot of things to avoid stress like yoga, meditation, deep breathing and god knows what else , And i was very sure that many of you think the same.
We think stress is the reason for many of the physical problem starting from common cold to cardio vesicular disease and that is what we learnt through the years down the line. starting from our elders , our parents even the doctors told so, But is it really true ?
We think stress is the reason for many of the physical problem starting from common cold to cardio vesicular disease and that is what we learnt through the years down the line. starting from our elders , our parents even the doctors told so, But is it really true ?
Recently I encounter a Theory that changed my approach towords stress. Let me start with the study that tracks 30,000 adults in united states for eight years. The researchers started by asking some questions to the people like
- How much stress you experienced in the last year ?
They also asked that
- Do you think stress is harmful for your health
Then they used the public death records to measure who died. and the results shows that the people who experienced lot of stress in the previous year had a 43% increased risk of dying, But this is only true for the same people who thinks that stress is harmful for their health.
And the most amazing part is people those who believe that stress is not bad for their health but experienced lot of stress are having the lowest risk of dying among them all.
Through the study of tracking the deaths , the researchers concluded that the 182,000 Americans died prematurely not because of stress but because of the belief that stress is bad for health.
That is nearly 20,000 people a year, If this estimation was right then believing stress is harmful for your health is among the 15 top reasons of death in America and the rank is much higher then skin cancer or some other deadly diseases
Now you know why I am writing this article. This study make me rethink that how by changing your beliefs about stress will makes you healthier.
DOSE IT MEAN THAT STRESS IS NOT BAD ?
No, When ever you are under stress some biological changes happen like your heart pound , your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat , and normally we call it anxiety. These are all the symptoms of stress but When you change your beliefs about stress your body responded the exact opposite like
Now still your heart is pounding but not out of fear but out of joy, Your are still breathing quickly but to get ready for the challenge .
Their is another study that is conducted in the "HARVARD UNIVERSITY" which is named as "Social Stress Test" .
In this study the participants are divided into two groups and for one group they have conducted a stressful interview and measure their behavior during the interview with the help of sensors or medical equipment.
The same test is conducted for the second group but there is only one change that the second group had a training class before the interview , in the training they had been taught to consider stress as their friend not an enemy.
And The result is very clear the second group performs better in the interview.
you can read the full story here :https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33461091/nihms324194.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
WHAT SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT THIS
According to biologist Whenever you are under stress your heart rates goes up and your blood vessels constrict and that is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases or in simple terms it is not healthier to be in that state for a long time.
On the above mention "social stress test" the second group those who had been trained to treat stress as a friend their response to stress during the interview is much healthier like this
Another scientific fact is this there is a hormone called "OXYTOCIN" this has a cute nickname "the curdle hormone" this released when you hug some one or when you care about some loved one but their is another part of work for this hormone that most people don't know about that when ever you are in stress you pituitary gland releases "oxytocin" this hormone has a major role in your body under stress , it helps to relax you blood vessels it also started seeking for telling some one that you are under stress but the amazing thing is that your heart has receptors for this hormone this hormone is majorly responsible to repair the damaged which is done due to stress. Seriously A stress hormone is actually straighten your heart.
IS TREATING STRESS AS A FRIEND IS BETTER THAN AVOIDING STRESS ?
NO, avoiding stress is always a better way of leaving a healthier life but, in today's lifestyle it is nearly impossible to avoid stress. Now a days stress is became an essential part of our life may be it was relationship issues or financial things or work load in our professional life we are surrounded with stress. So, It is better to treat the stress as a best friend then an enemy and this is important not only for leaving a healthier life but also being confident under stressful situation and perform better in both personal and professional life.
And the procedure is pretty simple for doing this next time when you are under stress just remember that Stress makes you healthier and confident or create a believe that stress actually good for health,
Because STRESS IS NOT AN ENEMY .
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