Is there a benefit to stress?

The obvious answer to this is no! 

In looking through some books as I was writing this, I did find one "benefit".  They discovered in a study in 1997 that only a small majority of heart patients were experiencing pain.  The rest are so stressed and disconnected from their bodies that they were unaware of what was happening....so you can have a less painful heart attack from stress...maybe not a benefit after all!

Stress does all sorts of awful things to our body and emotions.  On the most simplistic level, it stops the healthy flow of energy in our bodies.  It stops our effective thinking process and how we feel.  The really interesting thing to remember is that our bodies do not care if we are right or wrong when we get stressed.  If you get angry, your body responds the same regardless of whether we think that anger is justified or not.  The fight or flight response in our bodies sends the flow of blood to our vital internal organs and our limbs so that we can literally run away.  This takes the energy from our brains and other important parts of our bodies, like our digestive system.  

So the big question is, is the anger and corresponding stress worth it?  What are you taking from yourself if you let yourself get angry or overwhelmed.    

But, look at it another way.  Is there something you are gaining from being stressed?  Is there a benefit to being anxious or angry?  Is it enabling you to let yourself off the hook for something you should be doing?   This is called secondary gain.  It is a major factor in long term stress and anxiety.  If we did not have a secondary gain, we would often be more able to let these emotions flow through.  Who would you be without your stress, even at a very low level?  Has it become part of your identity?

This is a major part of what I have been working through this week in my journal.  As I let my stress levels rise, I am also giving myself permission to give up on my work plans and to spend too much time complaining.  This in turn leads to more stress as the work does not get done and complaining is not good for anyone.  As I tell all my clients (and friends!) there are choices and there are consequences.  Even if we don't go as deep as looking at karma, every choice we make brings a consequence with it.  

So I am taking a turn toward gratitude and appreciation.  I am spending time every day, doing heart focused breathing or meditating and simply letting the feelings of gratitude and appreciation flow through my body.  I have so many things to be grateful for - my family (including the four-legged members), my home, my friends, the cup of coffee beside me.  Big things or little things, there is always something to be grateful for.   Right at this moment I am profoundly grateful for the roof over my head which is protecting me from the heavy rain that I can hear.  

When we make even a small change, by taking a few deep breaths, we begin to stop the cycle of stress.

Take two minutes to try it now.  

Put your hands on your heart.  Breathe in and out slowly and deeply.  As you breathe imagine that the breath is flowing in and out of your heart centre.  As you get more used to doing this, it begins to come naturally...

Are you about to do something that makes you nervous?

Are you thinking about something negative?

Are you complaining - either in your head or to someone else?

Let these be a trigger to remember to do some heart focused breathing.  Then think again - how do you feel now?  Everything looks better, doesn't it?

As I try this and look out at the rain, I see a difference in my thinking.  It is not stressful and stopping me from going out.  It is nourishing the earth and giving life!

Photo by Pete Nowicki on Unsplash