Repost- "The Habit of Stress"

One of the things that I have noticed as I have been talking to others is that most people seem to be a little stressed with their everyday lives. I know I have in my own life that is why I have been asking around wondering what other people are doing about their stress. I must admit that I have been surprised about some of the things that I have seen as people shared with me. Someone that I know is so stressed that it has affected his eyes. Another person that I talked to has trouble sleeping and found out that it is because the stress has started to burn out her adrenal glands. A dear friend of mine is gaining weight because she eats when she is stressed. Other people that I know are either taking something for it or trying their best to relax when they can so that the stress doesn't make them edgy when they are with their families and loved ones.

 In some cases people are so stressed out that it begins to take a toll on the physical bodies. Examples like clenching our teeth at night causing a shift in the bite changing the way our teeth are set. We age quicker, we become sexually inactive, and we become sick as the stress affects our organs. Stress even causes emotional blocks which turn on us and block the natural flow of energy that is meant to rejuvenate our physical bodies. We can't think and feel that we are walking around in a fog.

As I thought about it I wondered to if we as human beings can become addicted to stress or was it more of a habit? If we live within a world that is always saturated with stress then what would happen if somehow we woke up, and noticed that it was gone. What would happen then? Would we look for things that start the adrenaline going so that we have that edge that we need everyday to get that jolt like a cup of coffee? Would we wonder what it was like to be in a world of peace, but become board? I was just wondering if we can change our lifestyles, and change our eating habits along with what we think about would we find that we miss the stress in our lives, and began to look for it again? I know this thought sounds crazy, but as I look around I find that in a world of traffic, and deadlines we seem to be living in a world that seems to somehow perpetuate promoting stress in our lives.

Then as I was sitting in traffic I realized that the only one who could change things in my own life was me, and I was in the drivers seat. I was the one who allowed the stress in my own life, and I was the one who could make the rules in my life that would eliminate stress. One of the things that I needed to think about was allowing myself to let go of the things that stress me out, and to be aware of any triggers that would trigger it. Just by being aware more of what I am feeling, and what makes me stressed gives me options of what I can do to handle it, and let it go. I knew to that holding it in my body to deal with it later was not a good idea, or to live in it for hours was only making me unhealthy. It was time to step into my own personal power, and own it. Sounds easy, but not really. It is amazing how I discovered in my own life that the auto pilot in my body could take over in some situations, and I would move back into wool gathering. Now, I knew I was acting out of an old habit, and it is time to break the pattern.

Photographs by Ana - Taos, NM