Stress.
I decided to make a thread about stress. Stress is inevitable, we will all be stressed at some point in time of our lives. Since you can't stop it, you can be better at it. In my life, I have undergone very little stress. Life definitely was not easy, though. So I thought I'd share some science to why stress is good, but only when you want it to be good. In fact, you will most likely have a higher lifespan purely from the way you deal with stress. Stress can increase the likelihood of a multitude of diseases. I hope people can learn from this and apply it in their lives. Also, helping others is important too. Hopefully you will be able to help someone when they're stressed.Originally Posted by rory_20_uk
So let's get right into it.
The basic mammalian stress response:
We are humans. Humans are animals. Animals have stress responses. We, as humans, share the same stress hormones that a gazelle has. Strangely, we use these same stress hormones for really inane stuff. When a gazelle is running away for it's life, it is releasing many different hormones, one of which is the crystallised adrenaline from it's adrenal glands. This increases heart rate and breathing rate, while lowering digestion, the immune system etc. Basically, it shuts down all non-essential functions. Your body doesn't care about digesting that grass you had 20 minutes ago when you are running away for your life. This event lasts maybe 5 minutes. After which, your body can go back to it's normal function. Or you become lunch. This is why gazelle's don't have ulcers*. In fact, there is a very good book called Why Zebra's Don't Get Ulcers by Professor Robert Sapolsky. An excellent read. This is just a summary of what is in that book.
*The bacteria Helicobacter pylori is responsible for ulcers. Around 2/3 of the worlds population have this bacteria in their GIT. Stress lowers immune response, i.e. making it easier for the bacteria to do its thing.
Meanwhile, there are millions of people pumping those same hormones throughout their body for mortgages, work, relationships etc. OK, let's analyse this. People don't feel stress about mortgages when they don't have one. They don't feel stress when they're on top of their work. They don't feel stressed when they're in a stable relationship. So what's causing the stress? Well, obviously, when things aren't going to plan. When you DO have a mortgage, when you AREN'T on top of your work and when you're in an UNSTABLE relationship. All of these are adversities, challenges that life throws at us. And what does your body do? It's starts secreting stress hormones. Why? Because you have a challenge in front of you. The gazelle had a challenge when it was running away. The challenges humans have aren't directly life or death, for most people. But it still has a lot of impact. Your mind knows this. So it does what it can. It can't do your work for you, it can't solve all your problems with a wave of a wand. It releases those hormones. It cannot differentiate between life and death. It also cannot tell how long you're going to be stressed for. So it goes full steam ahead. All it sees is an adversity, so it does what it can to help. Your body is trying to help you as much as it can when you're stressed. Your heart rate increases, to get more blood to your brain. Your breathing increases, to oxygenate your blood, which is necessary for basic metabolic functions including those relating to the mind.
How to deal with stress:
So the next time you're stressed, remember, your body is trying to help you. All you gotta do is accept that help. Utilise it. If it's a long term challenge, like a mortgage, plan everything. When you plan things, you'll feel like you accomplished something. That feeling will counteract stress. You even might enter a state known as "flow". That's when everything is turning up Milhouse. Even though your heart is racing and your're breathing hard, you still feel good.
The way a lot of people deal with stress is counter-intuitive. They hyperventilate, they believe they're going to fail, they enter panic mode. Stress and panic are totally different things. There are times when someone says to someone that copes well with stress during an emergency, "How can you be so calm?!". Because they're not panicking, but they are feeling stressed.
The mind is a powerful tool. Your subconscious gets its nourishment from whatever it is given. If it is fed angry thoughts, you become an angrier person. If you believe you're failing, you will fail. I mentioned "They hyperventilate, they believe they're going to fail, they enter panic mode." The key word here is "believe". They convinced themselves that there is nothing they can do about it. The equivalent is a country that went through a disaster and being given aid from around the world. But the people are hysterical about their survival, even when they're being handed everything they need to survive. Hysteria is irrational. It is difficult to knock some rationality into someone having a hysterical fit. So what's the best way of dealing with this? Knock some rationality into them when they are calm.
People have different ways of coping with stress. Some people exercise, some people do yoga, some people drink and make matters worse.
I'm a heavy meditator and an even heavier psychedelic user. Sometimes I combine the two, which actually defeats the purpose of meditation, but I do both separately a lot too. This is something I came up with after meditating on LSD.
"The mind is a canvas, and people are the artists. The more you think, the more you practice your art.
But sometimes, your canvas gets too cluttered. Starting a new canvas allows for more possibilities to sharpen your mind.
Eventually, you will have a blank canvas, with the skill to make something breathtakingly beautiful." - Me
I keep my mind a blank slate. No thoughts, no emotion, no memory. Just nothing. Complete detachment. I recite a mantra that allows me to get into this state. It can be whatever you like, as long as it helps you detach. If detachment is hard, because of responsibilities and chores, then write them down and forget them.
Obviously, you don't need psychedelics. I'd assume very few, if any at all, are regular psychedelic users. So I won't even recommend DMT. I just use them as a tool for higher consciousness. Before I'm lectured on psychedelics, I'm not addicted. Purely because of the way I view them as tools. I take regular breaks, where I fill my mind with new thoughts.
I'm getting off topic here. Pursue your passion. Most likely you will be less stressed after a good round of whatever you enjoy doing, whether it's music, art or acting. Some people are workaholics and feel less stressed when they do work. Whatever works for you. All you gotta do is experiment.
Oh yeah, be healthy too. Healthy body, healthy mind. Don't need to be a vegetarian. Just find balance. Too much meat is bad. Not enough protein is also bad.
tl;dr version
Stress is good for you, panicking is not. Be on top of things. Be in control, or plan to be in control when conditions are favourable. Take time off to bring your mind to a neutral state. And be healthy, yo.
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