No doubt that we live extremely busy lives in modern times. As we hurrying about, working, multitasking, facing tough challenges, meeting deadlines and living up to family expectations and commitments, our lives can become quite hectic and stressful.
Dr Archibald D. Hart, author of ‘The Hidden Link Between Adrenaline and Stress,’ cleverly explains how managing our adrenaline levels is vital for the prevention of spiritual, mental and physical stress-related illnesses.
Here’s a look at Overstress.
“HURRY SICKNESS” – A TWENTIETH-CENTURY DISEASE
“A large part of the damage we experience in our lives is caused by “hurry sickness.” It comes from our urge to live and do everything in haste. As a Consequence, we live at a pace too fast for our bodies. This hurried lifestyle creates a persistent internal state of emergency that keeps our stress hormones elevated….”
“….This is the problem: people in a hurry don’t allow time for their complex bodies and minds to become revitalised. So they accelerate the wear and tear of their bodies. There is no time for contemplation or even meditation. Anxiety increases and they lose perspective on their problems because they don’t have time to think constructively. This makes them even more stressed and less able to cope with the strains of life, thus exacerbating the stress.
In short, people of our time are showing signs of physiological and psychological disintegration because they are living at warp speed. The pace of modern life is too fast for average human bodies, and stress disease is the manifestation of the deterioration that follows the abuse of the body and mind. This is the essence of the stress problem facing us today….”
Dr Hart goes onto explain that we, in modern times, live on too much adrenaline and that it puts a strain on our hearts and our bodies. He also explains that stress can be controlled if we aim at controlling our adrenaline levels.
LEARNING TO LIVE ON LESS ADRENALINE
“What does all this mean? Simply this: To avoid cardiovascular disease and other stress related disorder, it is not enough to eat the right food and keep cholesterol levels low. This is important, BUT IT’S NOT ENOUGH! It is not enough to exercise regularly and even take regular vacations. To protect yourself against dying of or suffering ill effects from stress you must learn to switch off your production of adrenaline when it is no longer needed, and stop using it for non-emergency life situations (like driving on the freeway)! We’ve got to become less dependent on this emergency hormone for everyday living.
Since anger, frustration, irritation, challenge and excitement are all adrenaline triggers (they depend on high adrenaline to do their thing), these psychological triggers must also be brought under our conscious control. Effective stress management requires that we be healthy in mind and spirit, not just in our bodies. This is what I mean by “adrenaline management”….
Sources:
Permission Attained by Dr Archibald D. Hart
CRED: Archibald Hart, M.Sc., Ph.D., FPPR., Senior Professor of Psychology and Dean Emeritus, Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Seminary.
Dr Archibald D. Hart, author of ‘The Hidden Link Between Adrenaline and Stress,’
Image courtesy of: www.freedigitalphotos.net / iosphere
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