“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” -William James
In this great article published in Huffington Post, Dr. Travis Bradberry talks about the consequences of stress in our brains, and how serious the damage could be if we don’t manage it properly. He suggests seven ways to reverse the effects of stress; and one of them, which I think it is the most important one, is the practice of mindfulness meditation. When you do this simple yet profound practice regularly you will gain control of your emotions and behaviors, and over time you will learn how to respond instead of reacting. As a result, you can manage your stress and choose to stay calm and act with awareness in any stressful situation!
“We all know that living under stressful conditions has serious emotional, even physical, consequences. So why do we have so much trouble taking action to reduce our stress levels and improve our lives?
Researchers at Yale University finally have the answer. They found that stress reduces the volume of gray matter in the areas of the brain responsible for self-control.
So experiencing stress actually makes it more difficult to deal with future stress because it diminishes your ability to take control of the situation, manage your stress and keep things from getting out of control.
A vicious cycle if there ever was one.
But don’t be disheartened. It’s not impossible to reduce your stress levels; you just need to make managing stress a higher priority if you want to reverse this effect. The sooner you start managing your stress effectively, the easier it will be to keep unexpected stress from causing damage in the future.”
Then he talks about the seven ways to manage the stress and Mindfulness is one of them, that actually helps you to utilize the other six ways mindfully. Here is the definition of mindfulness in his words:
“Mindfulness is a simple, research-supported form of meditation that is an effective way to gain control of unruly thoughts and behaviors. People who practice mindfulness regularly are more focused, even when they are not meditating. It is an excellent technique to help reduce stress because it allows you to reduce the feeling of being out of control. Essentially, mindfulness helps you stop jumping from one thought to the next, which keeps you from ruminating on negative thoughts. Practicing mindfulness might even increase your score on an emotional intelligence test. Overall, it’s a great way to make it through your busy day in a calm and productive manner.”
Read the full article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-travis-bradberry/stress-literally-shrinks_b_11353274.html?
Published: August 11, 2016
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