Stress used to be a survival response to danger. 

Our modern pressures have redefined the term. Stress now comes from demands on our resources. The demand versus personal capacity is the issue. We have to manage the proportions so we feel less pressure. Stress is a stimulus for change.

Consider your stress at three levels:

Tame stress comes from the nervous tension of doing something you can easily tackle. Maybe you get nervous before giving a speech, but you know exactly what you’re doing. You have the resources you need to deal with the stress. It could be reclassified as excitement.

Tolerable stress is more uncomfortable, but you still have the resources to bounce back. It’s not the kind of pressure you want to experience, but you can deal with it. Tolerable stress can provide you with valuable life lessons.

Toxic stress comes from being in the fight or flight response too often, or the body freezes because the stress hormones are overstimulated. Pressures need to be adjusted, because the immune system is suffering.

Find out what is triggering the stressful feelings in you. Learn to appreciate the fact that you have resources. Look for the lesson in each stressful situation. The adjustment to deal with the pressure can be small. Seek what you can control in your life so your action can utilize your stress hormones for benefit.

Listen as Dr. Heidi Hanna joins Dr. Holly Lucille to share how to improve your response to the stresses of life.

Global Stress Summit – free online April 24 – May 1, 2017.

Free Stress 360 Assessment is a great tool for you to better understand your unique relationship with stress.