Looking at life from another prospective, a positive prospective, can improve your health and well-being. (Photos.com)
It is considered a scientific fact that one can stop the production of stress hormones by consciously relaxing, whether by meditation, yoga, gardening, journaling, or other means. However, initially perceiving a potentially stressful circumstance positively can save you from suffering a negative hormonal response in the first place.
“Anxiety—the distress evoked by life’s pressures—is perhaps the emotion with the greatest weight of scientific evidence connecting it to the onset of sickness and the course of recovery,” writes Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., in Emotional Intelligence. His work draws from numerous studies. One from Yale researchers found, “Intense negative emotionality of any kind … regularly sends surges of stress hormones through the body.” Whether that anxiety stems from worry, fear, anger, or other negative perceptions, Goleman says the crucial component to a stressful encounter is “a person’s emotional reaction.”
Imagine two women who theoretically have the exact same life situation—both are expecting to make a big sale, and then declined. The first woman feels severely stressed out by the situation. She goes home to journal, and feels much better. Having counteracted her bout of stress with a de-stressing activity, she effectively brought her body's functions back to it's normal state (i.e., her stomach immediately felt better.) The second woman, however, immediately thought, “Next time I will alter my presentation; this is a valuable step in becoming a better salesperson,” and never suffered the stress response in the first place. Perception was the difference.
The stressed woman may have presumed there was nothing that could be done to make things go better, and so does nothing to mentally problem solve for next time. Even if she performs daily de-stressing activities to lower her feeling of stress and anxiety, her pessimistic perception remains. Meanwhile, says Goleman, “Optimists tend to respond actively and hopefully, by formulating a plan of action … they see the setback as something that can be remedied.”
The good news, says Goleman, is “temperament can be tempered by experience. Optimism and hope—like helplessness and despair—can be learned.”
Jerome Kagan, Professor of Developmental Psychology at Harvard, has researched the amygdala, the emotional area of the brain that can become overly excitable, and how it can incite the fight-or-flight response. Kagan's research supports the idea that life experiences can prevent the emotional amygdala from reacting negatively. This depends on how we have emotionally learned to respond to various circumstances.
Goleman points to a study of highly anxious people (obsessive-compulsive) that found “experience had changed brain function—and relieved symptoms—as effectively as the medication.”
Goleman says, “Synaptic connections can form in a matter of hours or days.”
One of Goleman’s solutions is simple, “If chronic emotional distress in its many forms is toxic, the opposite range of emotion can be a tonic—at least to some degree.” Practicing positive thoughts and emotions, rather than repetitive anxious thoughts will teach the brain to wire differently. Like weight training strengthens certain muscles, almost any form of self-hypnosis, meditation, or mental imagery can be used to strengthen certain perceptions. Goleman affirms, “All learning implies a change in the brain, a strengthening of synaptic connection.”
To read more on this issue, look for Healing the Underlying Cause of Stress.
James is a certified holistic lifestyle coach who currently assists new parents and pregnant moms to achieve optimal health. He can be contacted at FitForBirth@gmail.com or through his Web sites GetFitForBirth.com, SecretsofPainlessChildbirth.com, and Your SuperBaby.com
