There are a lot of stressful things going on in the world right now, with no real end in sight. Modern society has a problem with stress. Animals deal with stress immediately and show much less long term effects than humans. It’s easy to stop being stressed when the tiger is no longing stressing you. It’s a lot harder to stop being stressed over modern worries–money, jobs, homes, anonymous Wall St. bankers, etc. There is no “real” threat to our bodies, so the stress just continues and so does the bodies response. This leads to cortisol imbalances in the body, which over time, stresses the adrenal glands.
Since the body is basically stuck in a flight-or-flight response for essentially and never ending period of time, we just get worn out. Our immune system is also on a state of alert this whole time looking for potential wounds and invaders to heal, which may or may not be there (no tiger bites, after all). It will eventually run out of energy to be so vigilant and SOMETHING will slip through whether that be a cold, flu, or even something as challenging as cancer.
Now is the best time to do something for yourself and your body. Go meditate, sing, take a walk, etc. Do something that relaxes you and gets out of the daily grind to give your whole being a chance to relax. For me, I know I’m most relaxes when I’m spending time in a nice, mossy forest. The Columbia River Gorge is one my favorite places to be in the Portland area. Of course, if you can’t manage a whole day out in nature, maybe just take a few minutes in your local park or just walk around the block. Your body and immune system will thank you.
