But Now, We're Stressed Out
Here's a thing no one told you about growing up: at some point in your life, you will be stressed out.
You will find yourself battling an unexpected horde of anxiety and worries; you will feel like you are being locked inside a darkened room, except you are not, and you actually can walk away from there whenever you want. But you feel trapped anyway.
Worrying is normal, and to some extent, even healthy, but it's also avoidable. Lying awake in bed, unable to sleep because your mind is replaying that minor thing that happened to you earlier, and it's blaming that little thing you about yourself for it. This is, to most of us, familiar ground.
And without getting too technical about it, your worrying is due to an overabundance of stress in your body. We used to need these chemicals, back when we had to fight saber-toothed tigers for a living; these substances helped us being alert in case a fight-or-flight situation came across our path. But now, our daily threats aren't really life-threatening at all, at least not most of them, and these buddies just can't seem to let us go.
As a result? We are continually looking for threats around us.
You know that annoying person in your life that always tells you to use workout as a stress reliever, instead of just binge-watching Netflix all night? Well, regardless of what you might think of them, they are right.
Because you see, these biochemicals related to such levels of stress can only be alleviated by running for your life. Literally. Since animals are no longer chasing us, and we aren't chasing them for food either, these chemicals are staying in our bodies, keeping us in a constant state of worry.
At this point, we've all kind of used to being stressed. We are used to the back pains, and the stomach aches, and even doctors will tell you that 80% of what's making you sick is a stress-related something. The other 20% is probably all that junk food you eat. And the worst part is, the more stressed out our brain is on a regular basis, the more it will be in the future.
The good news is, to start fixing this mess you need to redirect your focus from the things that trigger your stress and worry, to the ones that make you feel good and happy.
Like cats. And maybe porn, if you are into that.
I know it sounds pretty obvious, but once you learn how to shift your focus out of the things that worry you to the ones that don't, and then turn it into a habit, you'll start rewiring your brain and the way this one works. One way to do that is going for a walk. And I'm sure you've heard that one before.
Here's the thing, whenever you feel upset or stressed, our rational thinking becomes blurry; we get stuck in the cycle of stress and we can't get out. And when this happens, your blood will flow to the right side of the brain, far away from the left hemisphere in charge of, guess what? Our rational thinking. Going for a walk is known to be a bilateral activity, meaning, it will engage both sides of the brain, shifting your rational thinking back into gear.
It's completely fine and okay to worry from time to time; whether it's work, or your love life, or anything else that keeps you up at night, it's okay to be succumbed by your fears. What is not okay is when your life begins to be controlled by them.
It's effortless for the brain to fall into habits that stress us out even more than usual, making us sick in the process. But by adding new patterns to our lives, we regain control of our lives, and we can turn the negative energy back into positive again.
Source: "The Worry-Free Mind" by Carol Kershaw & Bill Wade (2017)
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