The quick answer: Worried sick? Kick the stress habit.
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A Cabin in the Woods
Way back in the ‘30s, my grandfather had the brilliant idea to build a cabin in the woods. As a child, I loved its rough-sawn exterior and knotty pine interior. To get to it you left the highway, crossed over a wooden bridge, and took a narrow dirt road through the forest. The cabin had a large shady porch perfect for sitting and reading. For 75 years that cabin—shown above—was a gathering place for our family. Though our means were modest, our little cabin in the woods made us children feel rich as any king.
My fondest childhood memories revolve around grandpa's cabin. I've a memory of climbing upstairs to bed, a little afraid of the dark, and falling asleep as the flame from the kerosene lamp flickered on the walls. I awoke to the morning sun shining through the trees and the reassuring sound and smell of a crackling fire. The long night had passed into another delightful day at the cabin.
Life can be stressful, even for kids, but at our cabin I never felt anything but peace. One key to health is to extend that peace into the spheres of our adult lives. That's not easy, but definitely worth doing.
Stress
There may be shortages of some things in life, but there’s always enough stress to go around. But stress, though a bit is necessary to get us moving in the morning, is toxic in excess. Most of our Healthy Changes are about eating right, four support exercise, but just one addresses stress. So, for your own good, please take some time to ponder this Healthy Change.
We discussed stress in a post last year. We talked about Hans Selye (1907-1982) the doctor best known for linking chronic stress with disease. We discussed the role chronic stress plays in premature aging (the meanest cut), cancer, and heart disease. The list goes on.
There’s a ratchet quality to stress—after a stress episode, we often don’t return to the relaxed state. Rather there is a residue that remains so that in the next bout—and there’ll always be another episode—we’re driven to higher and higher levels of stress. When caught in these chronic stress cycles, we take it as the new “normal.” Like fish in water, we can be quite unaware of a toxic stress level.
It's a measure of things gone awry that the Christmas Season—the time we celebrate the birth of Christ who offered a new form of peace—is the most stressful time of the year. Do Christmas different—celebrate peacefully.
Finding Peace
The key is not to run faster but to step out of the stress cycle. Here are seven ways:
- Family: The supporting love of family can be a great comfort. Who hasn’t come home from work, carrying all the troubles of the day on their shoulders, and found instant relief by getting down and wrestling with the kids?
- Best friends: A study of English children found being with their best friend gave the best relief from stress. Cortisol, the stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands, was most effectively relieved for children by best friends. Who’s your best friend?
- Music: The beautiful wife saw a bumper sticker for the classical music station: “Less stress, more Strauss.”
- Exercise: Strengthening the body helps it to relax and stimulates a similar process for the mind.
- Worship: Don’t you find, in the rhythm of church ritual, clarification of what’s really important? Whatever your faith, the God who orders the universe knows your name and proffers His peace.
- Meditation: Thinking more deeply about whatever troubles you can lead to new insights, and better paths to follow.
- Laugh: Remember Ferris Bueller? Life goes by pretty fast; if you don’t stop and have a little fun, you just might miss out
Please Comment: Too much stress for comfort? Stess can be addictive but you can break the pattern. Share your best stress reduction experiences. Been worried sick? It happens. How do you get well? Stress is one ailment where you can be your own best doctor.