Stress, An Addiction?

Everyone experiences stress throughout their lives, its normal right? Our jobs, our homes, our families, our finances, our vacations...stressful. It is a common standard of our society to measure success against stressful situations. We may even feel that our lives are inadequate when stress is at it's minimal levels. But what does living with stress really do to our bodies? What happens inside that makes it so addicting? Yes, that's right addicting.

When an excitable situation arises our bodies go into "fight or flight." It is our internal defense; a weapon, if you will, in our survival arsenal from the days of lore. Though we are still fighting our environment, the mode of the danger has changed dramatically. We aren't fighting bears anymore, but creditors. It isn't an every now and again occurrence, it's an every day one. We are reaching into our arsenal more and more, and with every use, there is a price to pay.

Ever hear of an "adrenaline junkie" who skydives, or bungee jumps, or swims with sharks to get that rush, that complete euphoria of the mind? Stress releases adrenaline into our bloodstream (along with some other chemicals) that prepare our body to either run for our life or fight for it. Our heart rate increases and digestion slows considerably so that blood can be rushed to muscles, our strongest defender. An extra reserve of energy and strength is released to help us survive. Remember the mother who lifted a car off of her toddler? For her, this was an appropriate response; one she would most likely use only once in her lifetime. Now, if the adrenal glands were able to differentiate between this stressful event and say, one where you are receiving a reprimand from your boss, life would be swell. It can't, however, and we have to counter the body's natural response with coping skills of our own. We live in a chronic state of stress and the effects of our innate responses are detrimental to our overall health.

This constant state of stress is reeking havoc on our internal functioning, and in some cases, external as well. Stress is related to physical and mental health problems, healing, and overall happiness. So why do we feel like failures if we don't rush from one stressful event to the next? Take a moment, slow down, give yourself a break. Ironically, your survival and health depend on not using your bodies natural defense at survival.