Stress – The Silent Killer

5pm. Traffic and your temperature is boiling.

That major test that you just can’t fail looms in front of you. Did they write this in a foreign language?

A presentation you have to give to an audience.

Stress is all around us and we each react different to that stress. One thing is certain though, stress can be killer. For years we’ve known that stress can lead to higher blood pressures. One of the latest trends is linking stress to more than just the heart. Stress affects the immune system and reduces our ability to combat diseases such as <a href=”https://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/stress”>cancer</a> and other deadly diseases.

So what are we to do about it?

Well, as Pai Lum Tao members, you have the keys in your hand to live a “stress-strengthened” life. None of us can live stress free. After all, nothing in life is for free. Living means you will deal with stress at some point in your life. The key is knowing how to cope with the stress to minimize the strain on your body.

1. Recognzie when you’re stressed

The first key to living a stress-strengthened life is to be able to identify when you’re suffering from stress. For each of us, stress manifests itself differently. It can be in the form of feeling hot or wanting to cry or tensing your hands into fists. Whatever is your physical cue of stress, it’s important you get to know yourself and can recognize those moments of high stress. This is the first step in dealing with the stress.

2. Chi Kung

For years, tai chi and chi kung have been touted as the way of dealing with stress. But simply doing tai chi or chi kung doesn’t make you magically able to handle stress. In fact, if all you are doing is going through the motions, you’re going to find it very hard to incorporate that into your daily lives to deal with stress. So as you train, think about a few things:

• How am I breathing?
• What does my mind feel like when it’s relaxed?
• How am I relaxing the muscles in my body to perform tai chi?

3. The Great “Sigh”

Sound is a powerful tool that we often underestimate. If you’re in a stressful situation, try taking a deep breath and letting it out with a sigh. Still feel stressed? Do it again. Use the time to think back to the previous questions about how you were feeling during your tai chi or chi kung training. Invoke in your mind those same images.

4. Reach out

One of the best advise for dealing with stress is to reach out to others. Here in the Pai Lum Tao family, we have a great network with a wide range of experiences. If the stress is too much for you to handle and overcome by yourself, consider reaching out to others. After all, our theme song is “Lean on me” for a reason. As the lines of the song say,

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on

The reality of stress is that we all deal with stress. It’s a part of being alive and living. How successful we are in dealing with the stress will determine how strong we come out. Beyond the initial strain, there are health implications to letting stress rule your life. Learn to use these techniques and others to cope with stress and come out strengthened by the experience. Live “stress-strengthened”, not stress-feared.