We Need To Talk About Stress

There is a more pervasive enemy than the coronavirus

Oedipus Cursing His Son, Polynices — Henry Fuseli (1786)

There are three types of people right now:

1. People who live in fear
2. People who fear for others
3. People who are not afraid

Whatever group you belong to, the pandemic has given you good reasons to be more stressed out than usual.

So let’s revisit stress 101.

Stress is a biological process designed to prepare you for a threat.

Stress shuts down the immune system so that your body can redirect energy to “fight or flight”.

Normally, stress is supposed to be “on” for a short time, like fifteen minutes. So you can fight the bad guy or escape from the lion and move on with your life.

Now, when you hear, “Millions of people are going to die! Go to your room and protect yourself!” — naturally, this causes fear.

This Covid-19 narrative instills fear in the whole of humankind. So if you follow the news, you get stress all day, every day.

The big problem is that the more stressed you are, the more likely you are to get sick. From anything. Including cardiovascular diseases, various upper respiratory tract infections, and depression.

When you’re under constant stress, you may develop behavior, that in the long term, increases the risk of cancer.

Do you drink more alcohol? Maybe eat a little less healthy since the start of the pandemic? It’s time to change that.

The age of coronavirus is a great time to take stock of your health. No matter how you choose to live, the ways to maintain your health and immune system are timeless:

• Eat naturally
• Get outside
• Socialize
• Keep the body moving
• Sleep well

And don’t let others put fear in your head.