Everyone, from all walks of life, regardless of age, gender, race and means are vulnerable to the effects of stress.
Stress appears in many forms and from many sources. Gone are the days when stress was purely a physical survival mechanism. Many animal species do not incur chronic stress-related ailments. Even though wild animals have many stressors to deal with, because many of their issues are acute in nature, their body has time after the stressful event to recuperate. Plus, during the stressor, fighting or running away is an appropriate course of action, which has a side effect of helping the animal release negative energy from the initial event.
Humans are wired the same way as animals in terms of the initiation of the stress response. Yet in our society, fighting or running away from the types of stressors that we face would not solve anything, nor would it be an acceptable response. So if people get a bout of acute stress and do not find a way to process and recuperate from this stressor, several acute episodes of stress can actually produce chronic physical ailments. And when physical ailments become chronic, that’s when our health is at the most risk.
We must utilize a completely different set of tools to handle stress appropriately today. As a majority of doctor visits are attributed to chronic distress, it is no wonder that lifestyle diseases are prevalent in our society and that many of us need to learn ways to manage our stress better. What better way than to implement holistic stress management practices into our daily lives to regain and maintain homeostasis in our mind, body, spirit and emotions.
The belief that the mind and body are separate from each other is losing steam quickly as ancient eastern practices are currently being introduced to the American public. As Americans spend more on holistic practitioners and remedies without health insurance coverage, it is becoming clear that we are losing faith in certain aspects of western medicine and simultaneously appreciating the benefits that a comprehensive holistic approach to our health provides us.
We must learn and practice appropriate methods of stress-reduction techniques on a regular basis to keep the negative long-term effects of stress at bay. A few of these practices include exercise, healthy diet and meditation.