Chronic Stress Bad, Some Stress Good

For today's post, we turn to a TedEd video created by Madhumita Murgia. The short video details how chronic stress impacts the integrative health of an individual, (SPOILER ALERT) its not good for you! Surely none of us needed to watch a video to understand that chronic stress has negative effects on health, however an important fact is highlighted in the beginning of the Murgia TedEd. The important concept is: some stress is good for you. Chronic stress decreases brain size, creates pervasively high cortisol levels (think total body inflammation), leads to depression, cognitive decline and is just all around terrible for our health and integrative wellness. This does not mean that we as humans should avoid stress at all cost and in my office I see this avoidance mistake (mistakes = opportunities = good things) made frequently.  Having stress in your life whether in the form of a difficult but manageable job, routine exercise, intellectual debate or challenging relationships are massively beneficial for health and efforts to lead a fulfilling life. The call to answer is establishing awareness of when stress has jumped over that beneficial level and teetered into the chronic and detrimental. This is where finding a professional *cough cough* that can help you uncover your natural ability to manage stress comes in. Watch the video, digest the content and let's get to work. If you are interested in the science of stress I highly recommend taking a deep dive into Dr. Robert Sopolsky's book Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. As always, take care of yourself.

- TM