Managing Stress in Body, Mind and Spirit
By Dawn Groves

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We know it's important. So why don't we actually do it?

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The word “stress” conjures a variety of unpleasant images: workaholism, muscle pain, exhaustion, short temper, sleeplessness. Stress management rivals weight loss as topic du jour for magazines, newspapers, even books. As a result, now there’s another familiar association to stress reduction: boredom. That’s because, despite the compelling new research about its long-term effects, the most effective tools to manage it haven’t changed for eons!

They are: 1) get enough sleep, 2) eat healthful foods, 3) exercise regularly.

Go ahead, yawn. These topics are covered ad nauseum in just about every magazine. We already know they’re important. So why don’t we actually do them?

• We’re bored. Most of us would prefer something more exotic or entertaining.
• We have self-improvement fatigue. Some of us have successfully changed a few habits; we’re tired and want that to be enough.
• We’re impatient. We don’t want to work with nature; we’re used to jumping over it.
• We’re waiting for the perfect time. We put off developing new habits until the holidays are over, classes are done, bills are paid, etc.
• We don’t like it hard. We’ve lost touch with the value that comes from effort and we’ve gotten a little lazy.

Changing your lifestyle to reduce your stress level is no small task. However, we now know that it is more than just preferable or even important — it’s crucial. Research clearly demonstrates that long term chronic stress emotionally and physically breaks us down. Our sleep cycle — the foundation of mental and physical health — is the first to go. Next comes an increased risk of bacterial infections, susceptibility to viruses, respiratory problems, and gastrointestinal problems, increased insulin levels causing fat deposits around your waist, increased risk of heart attack, insulin resistance and diabetes, high blood pressure and higher cholesterol levels. And that’s the short list. According the National Institute of Mental Health, 75 to 90 percent of all doctor visits are prompted by stress-related concerns.

Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, president and medical director for The Alzheimer’s Prevention Foundation International in Tuscon, Arizona, believes that current research supports a disturbing theory: ongoing elevated levels of cortisol can destroy optimal brain function and block memory. “This is why I believe that the inability to recall names, numbers, and memories [...] is increasing,” Dr. Khalsa writes. “While I used to see patients primarily in their sixties or seventies, now folks as young as fifty are requesting to work with me.”

Despite the overwhelming evidence that long-term stress is seriously bad for us, most of us still have a hard time changing our behavior to cope with it. We can’t scare ourselves into sustained healthy habits. Unless it is personalized, the edge of energy that fear provides will be dampened and eventually worn away by day-to-day distractions. So the question is, how can we motivate ourselves to change what we know needs to be changed?

Buddhism may have an answer: It involves the conscious development of a mental state known as a “beginner’s mind.” A beginner’s mind looks at old material with new eyes. It consciously sets aside the jaded, sophisticated, often cynical mindset that dampens enthusiasm and devalues the tried and true. A beginner’s mind understands that every day you are a different person. Today, this moment, old information can reach you in a new way, with greater depth and more power. A beginner’s mind says, “There’s more to this. Maybe there’s something I’ve missed.”

Beginner’s mind is really an attitude. Because attitudes can be cultivated, even the most jaded psyche can find a way to open up to possibility. When it comes to stress reduction, a beginner’s mind is a great way to start. Here are a few suggestions:

• Use information to jumpstart motivation. Learn why you should reduce stress. The motivation it generates may not have staying power, but it can help jumpstart change.
• Create a morning “wake-up” phrase. Positive self-talk is a powerful. For example, you might say: “I’m a different person today; I can walk a different path.”
• Take it one day at a time. Don’t make this too complicated. Beginner’s minds can’t be forced; they must be nurtured and practiced. When you fall into old patterns, use a beginner’s mind to view them from a new perspective.
• Develop a daily meditation practice. Meditation is one of the best ways to grow a beginner’s mind because it teaches you how to de-emphasize the old mental tapes that drive unconscious behavior. Explore the meditation classes in your area and find a style that suits you.
• Go into a situation intending to receive value from it. Remember that energy follows intention.

If, after reading this article, you still feel ambivalent about reducing stress, let me offer a final word. No matter how pressing your current issues may seem, they typically have a short, intense shelf life. Tomorrow, next month, next year you’ll hardly remember what drove you to distraction today. However, these same issues leave a wake of weakened bones, extra body weight, neuromuscular degeneration, relationship problems, and immune system damage, and memory problems that can multiply. If there was ever a time to get serious about stress reduction, it is now.

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Dawn Groves is a minister, author, and educator. She is also a keynote motivational speaker well known for her dynamic teaching style, warm presence, and accessible wisdom. Stress Reduction for Busy People: Finding Peace in an Anxious World by Dawn Groves, order toll-free: 1-800-972-6657 ext. 52 or at: www.newworldlibrary.com.

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