Stress. The buzz word that everyone is either trying to avoid having, coping with, suffering from, quitting jobs over, or using to explain away their impatient, irritable , nasty behavior. People blame our fast-paced lifestyle for causing stress; a lifestyle described as being in the fast lane: keep running or fall and become trampled.
Stress is big business.
- People seek mental health counseling because of being too stressed out.
- Doctors treat patients who are experiencing health issues attributed to long-term stress.
- Dentists treat patients who clench or grind their teeth; a maladaptive response to stress.
- Priests and Pastors counsel people in their congregations about issues stemming from people’s fear of and inability to cope with stress.
- Countless books have been written to scare you about having stress and then instructing you how to eliminate stress from your life.
Stress is nothing new. I can’t imagine that cavemen did NOT experience stress when happening upon Sabertooth tigers, interested in a chomping on a little caveman leg for breakfast.
But……..What if we have been completely wrong about how we view stress? What if our perception of stress is what makes stress a killer?
See if this Ted Talk, by Kelly McGonigal, doesn’t change your perception of stress!
