What is Stress?

My posters in various sizes from Zazzle

Written by Margot Cioccio 

My goal is to keep these posts short and frequent. So, we don't have to learn everything about stress all in one day. Be sure to check out the My Self Care Wellness Activity at the very bottom of the page. My quotable photo is available as a poster or as a note card at the bottom of the post. You help support this site when you purchase these items.  I hope you enjoy this post and will share it with your friends. I also love comments so please add your thoughts. If your trying to sell something please don't bother I just delete that stuff. 

Here's a few things I discovered today that may help you better understand what is happening and how stress works. 

 Most of us have some knowledge of stress. We deal with it every day and we hear people tell us that we should do various things to lessen our stress load. Do you realize that stress is called the #1 Proxy Killer. What is a proxy killer?  Its the mafia boss who sends out others to do the dirty work. So you might think of stress as the god Father pulling the strings and letting other disease bad guys take the blame.  


According to to Stress Management society "Stress is caused by two things. Primarily it is down to whether you think situations around you are worthy of anxiety. And then it's down to how your body reacts to your thought processes. This instinctive stress response to unexpected events is known as 'fight or flight'."

So back in the hunting and gathering days we were worried about animals or other tribes attacking us so fight of flight is hardwired into us. If you were big and strong you would fight if you were weak you would run way and hide. Ideally you get done with the stress and you relax. In our modern world stress is continual. Not just one bear attacking but the continual load of mindless zombies of stuff that needs our attention. I think the movies of our time are an expression of our great fears. Presently its mindless zombies because we feel trapped in a crazy world of unending stressors.  In the quote above it is interesting that what we think about a situation tells our body how to react to what we think. 

According to the Mayo Clinic "In looking at the causes of stress, remember that your brain comes hard-wired with an alarm system for your protection. When your brain perceives a threat, it signals your body to release a burst of hormones to fuel your capacity for a response. This has been labeled the "fight-or-flight" response. Once the threat is gone, your body is meant to return to a normal relaxed state. Unfortunately, the nonstop stress of modern life means that your alarm system rarely shuts off."

In this video Dr. Amit Sood, Mayo Clinic stress management and resiliency expert talks about how the stresses in modern life causes our minds to wander. It becomes a viscous cycle if we don't learn ways to break the cycle and better manage our stress. Its no wonder we can't focus. 

Here's the link just in case the embed code fails or does not show up on your device. http://youtu.be/JzZXhVzpaxg

My Self Care Spa Wellness Activity:

So my wellness tip for today is to encourage you to make a list of all those things you need to do and start crossing them off.  Keep the list with you and when your brain thinks of something add it to the list and release your mind from having to keep track of that item. You can clear some of that mind wandering by not having your brain keeping track of it all. Write it down and then pick the most important thing that can be done today and do it. Then pick 3-5 easy things to get out of the way. Celebrate the victory of having accomplished those task and reward yourself. I invite you to share what you accomplished even if it is simply starting your list. 

I found a great poster by Karen horneffer-Ginter called 50 Ways to take a Break. Here's the link to it. http://www.fullcupthirstyspirit.com/product.php?id=POSTER50WAYS
It would be handy to have on the wall for when you need a little down time or as a way to reward yourself for eliminating some of your stress zombies.

I don't make much of a royalty on these items but every little bit helps support this site. Thanks for keeping them in mind for your decorating and gift giving needs. ~ Margot

Take one step at a time. by MargotsDesigns

See another museum poster on zazzle.com

One Step at a time note card by MargotsDesigns
Check out One step at a time Cards online at zazzle