Self-care is vitality important when it comes to a healthy lifestyle.

Believe it or not, stress can be good for the body. But let me “stress” one major thing: how you perceive stress will determine  how you deal with stress, your reaction both mentally and physically.

Think of it like this. Good reactions vs. Toxic reactions.

If you have good reactions to stress, this will positively affect you allowing you to handle life’s challenges with more ease. You’ll be better prepared.

If you have toxic reactions to stress, then your overall well-being will be negatively impacted decreasing your resilience in stressful situations.

Stress is comprised of three stages: (1) temporary stress, (2) an extension of temporary stress, and (3) chronic stress.

And you wonder why it’s SO important to build your resilience to stress.

Your body has two main functions: to protect and to grow. If you upset these primary functions, you disrupt your well-being.

Stress affects the whole body, especially in stages 2 and 3 — the heart, the immune system, and the digestive system.

The Heart

Stress can contribute to aneurysm, angina, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and strokes.

Your thoughts directly affect your heart. The heart produces a biochemical substance called an atrial peptide (ANF) which regulates the brain’s functions and stimulates behavior.

The Immune System

This is the army that protects your body from disease and illness. It secretes peptides or hormones, including endorphins; the feel-good hormones. Toxic thoughts and emotions prevent your immune system from doing that (Who Switched Off My Brain, Dr. Caroline Leaf, 2011).

For example: When your immune system is under attack, like your toxic thoughts, it generates blood proteins (cytokines) which can produce fatigue and depression.

The Digestive System

Your digestive system and brain are intertwined. So when your thoughts become toxic, the digestive system is directly affected.

An imbalance of chemicals caused by stress can poison your digestive system leaving only left-overs of nourishment for your body. Your body may show this in forms of constipation, diarrhea, nausea, ulcers, and vomiting.

In order to build resilience, you need to develop a healthy resilience to stress.

The K.I.S.S. ~ Develop a healthy resilience to stress!

This is how you choose to respond versus react in your every day.

1. Perform a “mental autopsy”. This is what Dr. Caroline Leaf calls it. Look back at your stressful situations. Examine and analyze them. See where you could of handle the situation differently. Where can improvements be made? It’s the how, what, why, where, and when questions of your reactions or responses.
2. Embrace stress with an action plan. Stress can be built because of fear, not knowing what to expect or how to resolve a situation. Make a plan so you can respond in a calm and calculated way instead of playing into the fear and letting a “knee-jerk” reaction lead your day.
3. Balance your mind and body with a support system. Nourish your body with good foods. Stay away from the easy grab foods, the processed foods. Stick with the foods that God made. Be sure to get your intentional movement every day and get good sleep too. These are foundational to your well-being. Also, have some family or friends you can trust with your life to keep you grounded giving you a safe place to express yourself.

Beginning with these three areas will give you a headstart to developing a healthy resilience to stress.

Stress does not have to rule your life. Create your now so you can live, love, and impact.

“Train for life. Love your journey!“