Stress is more than a feeling
Who hasn’t felt “stressed-out’” and longed for just a “moment’s peace” to just be able to put our feet up and relax?
Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine a time when you felt completely stressed-out or uptight. It doesn’t have to be a bad memory – even happy events (say your wedding day) can cause stress. Now, stay there for just a bit – take a minute to remember how your body felt at the time. Muscles tight? Stomach queasy? Temples pounding? Heart racing?
Now bring to mind a time when you felt serene, relaxed, peaceful. The memory doesn’t have to be anything particularly special. Sitting on a park bench enjoying the sun on your face and the sound of children at play can be just as (even more) relaxing than a dream vacation. Again, take a moment to note how your body feels when you are relaxed.
It is most likely more difficult to describe how your body feels when in a relaxed state than when stressed. As a matter-of-fact, when we feel relaxed it is due the absence of feeling stressed. Our muscles are no longer tight, our heart rate is normal. In other words, in a relaxed state we do not experience the physical effects stress has on our bodies.
Why we can’t run away from stress
So, it makes sense to say that when we are in a state of stress it is more noticeable to us than when we are in a relaxed state. Considering the negative reputation of stress it may be surprising to some that, in many respects, we can thank our body’s response to stress for helping us to survive. Throughout history the body’s response to stress – in particular the release of certain chemicals – fueled our ability to “stand and fight” or “take flight”. In other words, to fight off a threat that stressed us, or to run away from a threat that stressed us.
However, there is a major difference between experiencing a stress that we can make a decision to stand and fight or run away from and from the type of stress that most of us experience in today’s high-tech, speed-of-light world.
Many times we don’t have the luxury of choosing between “fight or flight”. If you’re stressed-out because you have a deadline at work you can’t just run away – not if you want to keep your job. And picking a fight with your boss probably isn’t the best idea either. If the nature of your job is to be stressed by multiple deadlines that you don’t control – well, no wonder your shoulders are up around your ears and your head is pounding.
Because we are consistently subject to life stressors, it makes sense to learn how to manage stress. Managing stress is important – and not only because we “feel” better subjectively. Stress can have an extremely negative impact on physical health. For instance, the chemicals our bodies produce when we are experiencing stress on a long-term basis can cause inflammation – which impedes the ability of our immune system to function optimally. This can mean not being able to fight off that cold – or worse.
There are many effective methods for stress management. These methods include: progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, deep breathing, and exercise. Meditation, while relatively new in Western societies, has been studied by the medical community and found to be an effective means to manage stress. Yoga has also been found to be an excellent means to manage stress – as is exercise in general. Simply taking a 10 minute walk can significantly reduce stress. We can also use our senses to manage our stress. Aromatherapy, for instance, uses different scents to enhance relaxation.
Burt Goldman’s tips on how to relax
How to relax – coping with and managing stress
However, some people not only can achieve higher levels of stress reduction when using these and similar techniques than others – some people are able to simply cope with stress in general better than others.
Psychologists have a few theories as to why some people seem to be better able to manage stress than others. Personality is often cited as a determining factor. Those with personalities that are more “sensitive” are often predisposed to experience higher levels of stress. How someone is raised can also impact the ability to manage stress. For example, people who are raised by parents who nurture a sense of self-confidence and self-esteem in their children are often better able to cope with stress.
These theories as to the psychology of how stress is perceived point to an interesting factor when it comes to managing stress:
However different a state of stress seems from a state of relaxation, they do have a very significant shared characteristic: both are affected by our state of mind (personality) and by the way we feel about ourselves and our world (self-confidence and self-esteem).
But not everyone has a personality that is “stress resistant”. Not everyone was raised with high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. Not to mention that there are varying degrees of how sensitive individuals are to stress – some more, some less. Some people are extremely self-confident and hold themselves in high esteem, while others are less so.
The quantum of relaxation
Quantum Jumping techniques can provide unique and powerful assistance when it comes to managing stress. Central to Quantum Jumping is the science of physics. The science of quantum physics describes the amazing capability for particles to exist in different places at the same time. What is even more profound is that, because particles exist in different places at the same time, parallel universes are created whenever the possibility of more than one outcome is present.
Human beings are made up of particles, and certainly our everyday lives consistently present the possibility of more than one outcome. This means that, for every person raised by less-than nurturing parents, there is a “twin” or “doppelganger” in an alternate universe that was raised to feel a high level of self-confidence. For every person with a stress-sensitive personality, there is a twin in a parallel universe who has a stress resistant personality.
Quantum Jumping techniques allow us to learn from our alternate universe doppelgangers in unique ways. Learning how to access our doppelgangers can significantly assist us when it comes to stress management and reduction.
