Stress is so cliché, but really it’s Killing us!
When you’re going about your day, you’ll probably hear the word stress mentioned in so many different ways buy so many different people. We all feel it, whether we’re meeting a deadline, under pressure to succeed, looking after our families, or making big decisions. By its primal definition, stress is “A state of mental, physical or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances”. So sure, many of us are feeling that throughout our busy day! But far too often we use the word “stress” to describe a multitude of other short comings that that we have, making it extremely overwhelming to handle and to change.
The most accepted definition of “Stress” today by the WHO (World Health Organization) and many leaders in the health field, is “The feeling or reaction of our bodies, physically, emotionally, mentally when our PERCEPTION is that the demand exceeds our personal and social resources and capabilities.”
Now here’s a bit of history into the thoughts of the Health Psychology movement. Before the 1920’s, the number one leader in Illness, poor health and morbidity was contagious diseases! This makes sense as this was before the time of Alexander Fleming and his invention of penicillin. 1928 bought the arrival of anti-biotics, knocking contagious diseases off the map so to speak as the number one cause of poor health and death. Today, Health Psychology holds Lifestyle Diseases responsible as the number one cause of bad health, illness and morbidity. And, drum roll please… the most major contributing factor to the lifestyle diseases of today (obesity, heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, to name a few) is stress!
So let’s bring this all together and summarise, a little fact that will completely blow your mind, while getting you thinking about how to manage your stress more effectively and take control of your holistic health and well-being.
- Lifestyle diseases are the leading cause of bad health, illness and death today.
- Stress is the major contributing cause to Lifestyle diseases.
- Stress is the leading cause of bad health , illness and death today
- Stress is defined as the reaction of our bodies when our PERCEPTION is that the demand outweighs our abilities
- OUR PERCEPTION IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF BAD HEALTH, ILLNESS AND DEATH TODAY
So instead of us throwing around the word “stress” so freely, and feeling overwhelmed, let’s start by recognizing our own abilities and self-belief, work on the skills that are missing and start to take control of our health and stressful situations. When we have improved our personal skills (time management, self-belief and self-esteem, assertiveness, prioritization, lifestyle balance to name a few), have a clear mind to think objectively and take a step back, and implement excellent coping strategies, we are acquiring health promoting behaviours and habits to promote wellness and good health, balance and satisfaction.
If you’re ready to take control of your life and well-being, get in touch to learn how to manage your stress, improve your personal skills and change your perceptions, and implement coping strategies, that will make you healthier and more productive!