Stress and its effects on the body

Stress is a normal human reaction that happens to everyone. In fact, the human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. When you experience stressors, your body produces physical and mental responses. Stressors can be physical or mental-emotional, real or perceived. Regardless of the type of stress, they call cause the body to react in the same way. Short-term stress is normal and important for survival. It is when stress becomes chronic that is causes long-term health conditions.

Why is stress management important? In plain words, it is about learning how to manage stress that builds in your life. Stress is rampant in today’s world and is at the center of almost all disease states, both physical and mental-emotional. Living everyday life in a world moving at amplified speeds, our energetic systems are bombarded with input at unprecedented rates. Multi-tasking between work, parenting, house chores, and other responsibilities makes life seem like a series of scheduled tasks. As a result, many people feel rushed, hurried, unsupported, and burnt out. The phrase, “I don’t have time,” is a common motto in the 21st century.

This manner of living puts tremendous amounts of stress on the body leading to multi-system dysfunction and, eventually, disease states. You should always take proper steps to manage your mental health. Effective stress management can make a huge impact on your life for the positive. While the short-term effects of stress are a normal physiologic response, long-term stress will lead to many adverse side effects, sometimes affecting your physical health. It is ideal for people to learn stress management skills to help them cope. 

Effects of Stress include:

• Inhibited cortical brain function (brain fog, ADD/ADHD)
• Emotional disorders (anxiety and depression)
• Increased risk for addiction
• Poor sleep patterns
• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Cardiovascular disease (hypertension, myocardial infarction)
• Digestive disorders (IBS) and micronutrient deficiencies
• Impaired immune function and frequent illness

“Being preoccupied with the past or future creates much of your stress”
-Doc Childre, founder of The Institute of HeartMath

HEART COHERENCE

Coherence means clarity of thought, emotional balance, and the quality of being orderly, consistent, and intelligible. It can also be defined as ordered distribution of energy in waveform.

One can create a more coherent environment through the power of their heart’s energetic expression. It’s through the heart that people change. The heart is a primary generator of rhythm in the body, influencing brain processes that control the nervous system, cognitive function, and emotion. The more coherent one becomes, the more synchronized the different energetic systems in the body become. Stress management is vital to the overall well-being of your body. Raising coherence helps you feel, think & sleep better, do better at work & school, and improve communication skills.

“Emotions manage people more than people manage their emotions” -Doc Childre, founder of The Institute of HeartMath