Month: July 2013

Good vs. Bad Stress

Good stress is that which comes & goes, stimulating us to achieve more. An example is when we are excited or inspired after watching a movie, going to a seminar or having a productive meeting. During this time we may be creative, energetic and motivated.

Bad stress is that which is chronic or long lasting. This is when the negative effects begin to show up and ultimately poor health. In fact most chronic health conditions today are associated with bad stress. Chronic stress is not healthy, and many people are chronically stressed that they don’t even realize how much, until they go on a relaxing holiday or leave their stressful environment (e.g. work or relationship).

Tips to help deal with chronic stress:

– Relaxing activities (yoga, meditation, classical music)

– Therapies aimed at inducing relaxation (Chiropractic, massage)

– Removing the stressful contributor or minimizing your exposure to it

– Colour therapy (choose colours in the green, blue, violet shades)

– Exercise (generally increases cortisol, however is counteracted by the release of endorphins – “feel good hormones”)

Is getting sick healthy?

This opinion piece looks at the benefits of getting sick, specifically related to the common cold. Many of us are taught that when we get sick it’s a bad thing, but what if this article challenged that notion and showed why getting sick could actually be a healthy and good thing?

We’ve all felt first hand the unwanted symptoms of feeling unwell when encountering the common cold, things like a runny nose, sore throat & congestion. But would we prefer that this didn’t happen, and that our body automatically dealt with it without letting us know about it, possibly at the detriment of something else internally? Well this clever design called the human body, has reasons for doing many things. Some things occur consciously, most occur on an unconscious level (things like digestion and breathing). Alerting us when something is wrong is quite a normal and healthy response. It’s our body’s way of showing us that we should take notice of what’s going on, listen to the signals our body is telling us & take appropriate action. This may be to deal with excess stress, get adjusted, eat better, sleep better or exercise more. This response shows we’re human, but more importantly it allows us to take appropriate action in the best interests of our body. Similar to your car’s warning signal light coming on when something need attention, our body’s “light” comes on too.

No one likes to feel the symptoms of a common cold, and we don’t like seeing our children and loved ones in discomfort either. But take comfort in knowing that our body is merely doing what it’s suppose to (alerting us when something is wrong), encouraging us to take appropriate action, showing that we are human & this is a normal response.