From Your Health Journal…..”First, Jane Brody is such a inspiration to many with her words of wisdom. This article is a good read, and if you pay attention, you can take away a lot from it. Stress is a way of life. It is hard to avoid. As humans, innately we worry. If we did not worry, the world would be a more dangerous place. It provokes thought, and hopefully, helps us to be the best person we can be. Bottom line, stress is normal. But, when it starts to get to the ‘abnormal’ levels, this is where we need to take care of ourselves. Stress is such a health hazard at these higher levels – it contributes to heart disease and weakens us to some extent. Learning how to cope with stress is important and positive for us to lead a healthy lifestyle – as well as convey these techniques to our children, family, and friends. I highly recommend reading the full article, you will not be disappointed.”
From the article…..
I was about to give an hourlong talk to hundreds of people when one of the organizers of the event asked, “Do you get nervous when you give speeches?” My response: Who, me? No. Of course not.
But this was a half-truth. I am a bit of a worrier, and one thing that makes me anxious is getting ready for these events: fretting over whether I’ve prepared the right talk, packed the right clothes or forgotten anything important, like my glasses.
Anxiety is a fact of life. I’ve yet to meet anyone, no matter how upbeat, who has escaped anxious moments, days, even weeks. Recently I succumbed when, rushed for time just before a Thanksgiving trip, I was told the tires on my car were too worn to be driven on safely and had to be replaced.
“But I have no time to do this now,” I whined.
“Do you have time for an accident?” my car-savvy neighbor asked.
So, with a pounding pulse and no idea how I’d make up the lost time, I went off to get new tires. I left the car at the shop and managed to calm down during the walk home, which helped me get back to the work I needed to finish before the trip.
It seems like such a small thing now. But everyday stresses add up, according to Tamar E. Chansky, a psychologist in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., who treats people with anxiety disorders.
You’ll be much better able to deal with a serious, unexpected challenge if you lower your daily stress levels, she said. When worry is a constant, “it takes less to tip the scales to make you feel agitated or plagued by physical symptoms, even in minor situations,” she wrote in her very practical book, “Freeing Yourself From Anxiety.”
When Calamities Are Real
Of course, there are often good reasons for anxiety. Certainly, people who lost their homes and life’s treasures — and sometimes loved ones — in Hurricane Sandy can hardly be faulted for worrying about their futures.
But for some people, anxiety is a way of life, chronic and life-crippling, constantly leaving them awash in fears that prevent them from making moves that could enrich their lives.
In an interview, Dr. Chansky said that when real calamities occur, “you will be in much better shape to cope with them if you don’t entertain extraneous catastrophes.”
By “extraneous,” she means the many stresses that pile up in the course of daily living that don’t really deserve so much of our emotional capital — the worrying and fretting we spend on things that won’t change or simply don’t matter much.
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