Stress; Friend or foe?

Healthy or acute stress allows us to take action. It involves a quick stress hormone spike followed by a quick reduction once the stressful event has passed.

Chronic stress makes it harder for us to take productive action. It involves a prolonged stress hormone level in the body without sufficient reduction. This puts strain on the physical and mental systems within the body, including the cardiovascular and nervous systems.

We are in a culture where we can be highly achieving and productive but can also be chronically tired, stressed and burned out.

We need to assess if the stress in our lives is healthy or chronic.

We need to define our stress coping mechanisms and decide if these are healthy or not.

To reduce chronic stress we need rest, however sleep and rest are not the same thing. We need to consider if we have a rest deficit.

Great article below explaining the 7 types of rest we need.

https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every.../