The Biggest Myth About Stress

There are so many myths surrounding stress, it is hard to pinpoint the biggest myth about stress we hear today. I heard a Doctor on the radio today talking about all the issues parents have around selecting a schools, activities, child care etc.. The Doctor was quoted as saying something like "No wonder we stressing our kids out, we are surrounded by stress". Another common myth is that stress is good, and the variant of that: I am not stressed out."

Although it is possible that one is not stressed out, most of the time I hear this in discussion of stress related issues, such as lack of sleep, lack of or too much appetite, physical symptoms of stress, and so on. I think that this is perhaps the most dangerous myth, the one we create about ourselves. What is really happening here is that we are combining denial, one of our best and most effective defense mechanisms, with our ability to adapt to almost anything as the new "normal". We have become desensitized to the level of stress we have in our lives.

This causes us to be able to sleep, but not well. Maintain our relationships, with some strain. Raise shildren, but not without stress. In fact, many of us are medicating ourselves, either with that relaxing glass of wine, or with powerful prescription drugs we get prescribed by our Doctors. Often these drugs have side effects that are worse than our symptoms were!

This brings me full circle, to what is probably our biggest myth: That stress is everywhere. This is a myth because it implies that stress is outside of us, and we feel helpless or hopeless when trying to deal with it. Stress is created by our reaction to an internal or external event or an anticipated event. For chronic pain sufferers, the anticipation of pain is often as bad as the pain itself. If we can adjust our expectations of whatever situation is stressing us out, we may be able to find it less stressful. Once we find something is less stressful, our mind can be freed up to find creative new solutions, or focus on something positive.

How about another stress tip? This tip is also completely free. It is something we all do, but we don;t do well: breathe. Breathing at about 6 breathes per minute can reduce stress, and improve your health, alleviate your physical and mental stress symptoms, and improve your performance. Breathe slowly in through your nose to a count of four or five, and breathe slowly out through your mouth to a count of four or five. Do this for about five to ten minutes in the morning, and at bed time. To really see gains do this throughout the day whenever you have a chance, especially when you feel rushed, stressed, or fatigued.