Stress and Its Physical Impact: How Our Body Reacts
Stress triggers physiological changes in response to perceived threats or pressure, affecting muscles and the nervous system. Key effects include:
- Muscle Tension:
-
- Stress automatically tenses muscles, leading to aches and tension headaches.
- Defence Posture:
-
- Stress prompts a defensive body posture, preparing for a fight or flight scenario.
- Nervous System Activation:
-
- Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, accelerating heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure.
- Rapid Heart Rate and Breathing:
-
- Stress increases heart rate and breathing for more oxygen and energy.
- Release of Stress Hormones:
-
- Adrenal glands release adrenaline and noradrenaline, boosting energy and response capacity.
- Immune System Suppression:
-
- Chronic stress suppresses the immune system, increasing susceptibility to illness.
- Fatigue and Lethargy:
-
- Prolonged stress depletes energy, causing fatigue and low energy levels.
Adopting stress coping strategies, such as exercise and meditation, is crucial. Massage therapies also play a positive role by relaxing muscles and reducing anxiety, contributing to overall well-being.
Understanding how stress impacts the body empowers proactive stress management. Incorporating relaxation techniques and seeking support promotes better physical and mental well-being in challenging situations.
Being Observant Discovering the Value of the Moment
We need to remember! We forget not only a year or a month ago but also a situation that happened 30 seconds ago, a sentence heard, a visual, a sound, or a number. We all seem lost in a cloud of fog while travelling towards the unknown at the top speed of a fast train.
Despite the rapid development of technology and its claim to make our lives easier, we run in a race against time in city life, holding our breath.
In all this running, we feel crushed and imprisoned under an intense external pressure that makes us forget our soul, emotions, thoughts and self.
The people around us are like beings who do not know where they are and have forgotten who they are. It is as if they have come from another planet and cannot find their way home. This situation is familiar to many of us. Yes, many of us are experiencing these feelings.
The contributions of technology to our lives are undeniable, but have we ever thought about what it has lost us? How can we have so many conditions, such as anxiety, insomnia, chronic back pain, muscle tension, restlessness, and fear?
We can recognise these conditions by developing our observation and connection skills, staying in the moment, and having a non-judgemental and non-critical perspective. The most crucial step to understanding our soul, body, emotions, and thoughts is undoubtedly to be an observer.
So, how can we observe ourselves? We can witness what is happening in our inner world by watching silently, without commenting, taking sides, or just focusing. This is the most critical step we can take towards ourselves.
How about strengthening our bond with nature, taking quiet walks with slow and calm steps, slowing down time to watch the trees, birds, the cycles of the seasons, feeling the harmony of the falling rain, breathing, looking at the sky and accepting our existence as it is?
