Stress or a Strawberry - You Decide

If stress is left to spiral out of control, it can impact most every part of your life.

So, as you're fretting about tomorrow mornings meeting at work, or the bills that need to be paid, you may also find that your related irritability has caused an unnesssary argument with your spouse. That argument leads to a guilt attack that is not only exhausting and frustrating but leaves you nursing one giant headache.

Such are the pernicious influences of stress. In fact, a full 75 percent to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are thought to be for stress-related problems.

Not surprisingly, an American Psychological Association (APA) study also found that 43 percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.

Although a little bit of stress is natural, chronic stress that never seems to go away can be devastating, and here are the top reasons why.

1. Stress interferes with your immune system. Chronic stress makes you more vulnerable to catching colds and other infections, while actually impairing your immune system's ability to respond to its own anti-inflammatory signals..

2. Stress can worsen, or trigger, diabetes. When you feel stressed, your body releases stress hormones that release extra sugar into your bloodstream (so you have the energy to deal with the stress). However, in people with diabetes, who are already struggling with high blood sugar, this only makes controlling your blood sugar more difficult. And while stress doesn't cause diabetes per say, it can trigger it in someone who's already predisposed to the illness.

3. Stress accelerates aging. People with chronic stress are more vulnerable to age-related diseases including mental decline, osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and major depression..

4. Stress impacts your relationships. Chronic stress can result in mood swings, depression, irritability, disorganization, decreased sexual desire, obsessive behaviors and even gambling, impulse buying and other destructive behaviors. All of these things cause big problems with your personal relationships.

So what can you do to be more mellow?  Some of the favorite remedies are meditation, medication, therapy exercise, and change of diet.  Sure all of them can have a  very positive effect, but I think you have to add one more important ingredient to the mix.

Stress or a strawberry?  You choose.  I have a dear friend who constantly keeps reminding me that life's too short to examine everything under the microscope.  Fred, says "all of us are heading to the edge of the cliff.  It's how you handle every day before you take that last giant step that determines the quality of your life".

I try to remember that everytime I get nuts.  I also try to keep myself centered, making sure my thoughts are the thoughts that bear gifts. Every day we wake up and have a choice to make.  Am I going to rule the day or is the day going to rule me?  Yeah, yeah, I know you've heard it before and it sounds preachy.  But, don't knock it until you've tried it.  It works for me and for lots of other people who have figured this out.  I had a very smart boss who said "I give stress, I don't get stress.

So you choose. I've got to go and get another strawberry, why don't you join me?