Stressing Out
“Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.” Richard Carlson
“For fast acting relief, try slowing down.” Lily Tomlin
Ahhh…stress. This word has become a constant in the American vocabulary. Our children are stressed by the unrelenting expectations of parents, schools, coaches, and friends. Everything they do is competitive; even their play. Our adults are stressed by deadlines, lay-offs, cutbacks, multiple jobs, long commutes and worry. We are one stressed-out nation, and it’s making us mean and ugly. The problem is that we’ve come to accept being under siege as the ‘new normal.’ We’ve grown to believe that having more to do than can possibly be done every single day is ‘just the way things are.’ And, we expect our bodies to get with the program. Only, guess what; our bodies are not wired that way.
Most of us, when we are on-edge, tighten up. We strain the muscles in our neck, back and shoulders. We get headaches from tight neck muscles, indigestion from an overly acidic gut, and because we are tense, we easily hurt ourselves. Back pain is our constant companion. When we are in pain, we automatically tighten up even more, so it becomes a pattern of stress-pain-stress. The solution is not medical or even chiropractic. It is not a problem that massage and Tums can cure. The problem is our lifestyle and our determination to push ourselves to the limit in order to be competitive.
Life does not have to be this way. Anything that has to be done is done better when we are relaxed. We can decide whether we want to actually live our lives, or spend them stressed out and anxious. Slow down. Give yourself a break. Whatever you have to do today does not require you to kill yourself in the process. Learn to tune in to your body and have a little compassion for it. Relax, honey…it’s all good.
In the spirit,
Jane
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