Everyday we have to deal with all sorts of different stresses in our lives. Most people hear the word stress and they automatically create negative thoughts and ideas. It is true that there can be negative stresses in our lives, but there can also be positive stress. Positive stressors in our lives help us grow to be stronger and more capable of completing our daily tasks. Any weight bearing movement or exercise creates a positive stress on our bones, which causes them to grow bigger and stronger. Without this positive stress everyone would suffer from osteoporosis. The important thing to do is acknowledge the different stresses in your life and learn to handle each one as effectively as possible.

Negative stress can affect every aspect of your life. It can affect your energy level, your mental acuity, the quality of sleep, and your weight among many others. Negative stress can be completely debilitating, preventing normal daily activities from taking place. The most important thing in life is to become aware of the negative stress in your life and begin to find ways to eliminate the stress. By learning to manage and prevent the stresses in your life you will end up leading a much happier and healthier life.

When most people think about the negative stresses in their lives they think of the stress at work or at home, all of the stress and pressure to meet everyone’s expectations. This is just one form of stress. There are actually six different forms of stress, physical, chemical, electromagnetic, psychic/ mental, nutritional, and thermal. Each of the types of stress has their own unique properties, but for the most part the outcome is the same, an impaired ability to function.

The first stress for the fitness minded individual to be aware of is physical stress. There are two main forms of physical stress, overtraining and poor posture. With exercise the ultimate goal is to try to improve your overall appearance and physical capabilities. Unfortunately, by pushing yourself too hard and trying to do too much you actually get the opposite results. By overtraining you are impairing your body’s ability to repair itself. Over time this can cause immune system suppression, which can lead to persistent illness and injury. The other form of physical stress is poor posture. With our increasingly sedentary lifestyle, people’s posture is continually getting worse and worse. Poor posture creates an imbalance within your body as it tries to support its own weight. This is apparent by the increased incidence of low back pain and other nagging injuries. It is extremely important to listen to your body when exercising. Realize that more isn’t always better. Secondly, be aware of your posture. At first it may seem very difficult to stand and sit with proper posture, but the more you work on it the better it will get.

The next type of stress is chemical stress. We have basically turned our bodies into a chemistry experiment. Everyday we come into contact with chemicals that were created in laboratories that are completely foreign to our bodies. Our bodies don’t know what they are so they create negative physical reactions. We are exposed to household cleaning chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers, and even pharmaceuticals. Apart from the obvious danger of the cleaning chemicals and the other produce chemicals people take prescription and over the counter drugs daily. In my opinion, our bodies don’t know what to do with the drugs we consume. We are fed all of this propaganda about the benefits of pharmaceuticals, but after a little research you come to realize that a lot of the scientific research isn’t sound. It has been shown that the standard flu shot contains mercury, which is a known poison. Again in my opinion, commercial and industrial companies are only worried about their profit margins. So they create research that supports the use of their products. Instead of using more crop friendly means of reducing insect infestation they turn to the cheaper alternative of pesticides even though these can be extremely dangerous. The same is true for pharmaceuticals. The drug companies create a drug to “help” cure a disease and then use their drug reps to convince the doctors to prescribe it even though the benefits are questionable. The best thing you can do is buy organic produce that is free of any dangerous chemicals and avoid pharmaceuticals at all costs. If you maintain a proper diet and exercise program and minimize the other stresses in your life, there should be little need for any drugs.

Electromagnetic stress is probably the least considered form of stress. The common forms of electromagnetic stress are, overexposure to the sun, overexposure to X-rays and to a lesser extent microwaves, TV’s, cellphones, and computers. It is pretty common knowledge that too much sun can lead to skin cancer. Think back to those days when you spent too much time in the sun and once you went inside you felt really tired or “drained.” In some respects the ultraviolet rays from the sun are draining. It is also known that overexposure to X-rays, MRI’s, CAT scans, or any other medical scanning procedure can be harmful to your health. That is why you wear the lead vests when receiving X-rays. To a lesser extent there is the possibility that microwaves, TV’s, cellphones, and computers can be harmful with excessive use. I am not advocating an Amish lifestyle; however I think it is important to be aware of the potential risks involved with anything in life. Any form of electronic device emits electrical waves, which could potentially have side-effects. The extreme use of electronics has steadily increased over the past 50 years; so long term evidence of side-effects is non-existent. My advice is to use caution, within reason. Don’t spend every single day lying in the sun for hours. If you are outside working that’s fine, there is a purpose for that. Try to keep track of the number of X-rays and other scanning procedures you have had done and let your doctor know. No need to get neurotic just be aware. Also, limit your exposure to electronic devices as much as possible. No one needs to spend every second in their car on their cellphone. Again just be reasonable.

The most well-known form of stress is psychic or mental stress. This is the stress that is most directly related to depression. Any negative thought inside your head is a form of negative mental stress. Constantly focusing on things that are out of your control, thinking about things you don’t want in life, verbal abuse from others, and negative self-talk are all forms of mental stress. As with the other stresses you have control over mental stress, it is just a matter of taking the initiative to gain control over your thoughts and learning to handle the external pressures of daily life better. Learning to effectively manage mental stress is a long process that takes lots of introspection.

Nutritional stress has led this country to an increased incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Eating too much, eating too little, and eating the wrong kinds of foods are all forms negative nutritional stress. We have become increasingly dependent on quick and easy processed foods that provide very little nutritional value, while exposing us to all sorts of dangerous chemicals. A look at the typical food label will show all of the chemicals in processed foods. These unknown chemicals can harm our bodies. On top of that we aren’t supplying our bodies with the food necessary to function properly so it can handle all of the other stresses. In my opinion, proper nutrition is the foundation from which everything else is possible. If you don’t eat properly you won’t have energy, you will have a depressed immune system, and you will have impaired mental abilities among many other issues. It is important to avoid nutritional stress by making better choices. Avoid processed foods at all costs and opt for whole, natural foods. You would be surprised and how quickly everything changes.

The last kind of stress is thermal stress. In order for our bodies to function properly, or maintain homeostasis, it’s important to maintain an internal body temperature of roughly 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Anytime your internal body temperature deviates too much from the standard temperature you are susceptible to illness and impaired function. Hypothermia and heat exhaustion are common causes of thermal stress. Other forms of thermal stress are burns from a hot stove, burns from touching dry ice, or frostbite. The extreme temperatures cause damage to the surface of your skin. It is important to be prepared for any extreme variations in temperature. Wear loose fitting clothing in hot weather that will allow your body to naturally cool itself and whenever possible limit exposure to extremely high temperatures. In the winter make sure to wear appropriate warm clothing and again limit exposure whenever possible.

Each of the six types of stress can have negative impacts on your health and well-being. It is important to learn to acknowledge the different stresses in your life, so that over time you can learn to handle them better. In the next few days, I want you to try to take notice of the daily stresses in your life. For now, just acknowledge the presence of stress. In the next part I will examine the physiological response to stress and how to learn to avoid the daily stresses in your life.

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