Learning to manage stress is a key factor in improving physical health, according to Tommy Yessick, director of research and marketing for Upward Unlimited.
Yessick presented talks on nutrition and managing stress during the two-day Healthy Leaders, Healthy Churches conference.
There are four things that affect the body’s cells and the way they function, he said. These are physical activity, enzymes and supplemental vitamins, nutrition and stress. “When your cells are out of balance, you’re more likely to get sick, can’t think straight, etc., and so you can’t do the work God called you to do,” Yessick said.
Although many people think of stress negatively, it is a necessary part of life, he said. If the stress from work, family, social relationships, spiritual activities was no longer present, there would be nothing left in life.
Yessick defined stress in a variety of ways:
1. An event or condition that may be purely physical, social or psychological — including anticipation and imagination — that triggers a stress response.
2. The confusion created when one’s mind overrides the body’s basic desire to “choke the devil out of someone” who desperately needs it.
3. An emotional response to a situation you shouldn’t be in or can’t get out of.
4. Anything that upsets the homeostasis, or balance, of the cell.
5. Change.
And while there are good and bad sources of stress, dealing with it improperly can let it beat you and affect you not only physically, but also emotionally and socially.
Three ways people deal with stress improperly are by ignoring it, being unrealistic about it and staying in the middle of it.
When stress is ignored, several things happen physiologically. The thymus gland shrinks, lymph nodes shrink and white blood cells disappear. Lipofusion occurs, which means waste products build up because the lymph nodes and white blood cells are not functioning correctly. The immune system is suppressed, the adrenal gland enlarges and bleeding ulcers develop.
Being unrealistic about stress means having unrealistic expectations of yourself and others — Yessick said it is like thinking you are Superman.
He added that people stay in the middle of stress by not giving themselves time to relax after experiencing stress. When stress occurs, the body goes through three stages:
1. Alarm reaction. The body prepares for the fight by producing hormones and other physiological changes.
2. Resistance. The body channels the stress and alarm reaction results to specific organ systems.
3. Exhaustion. The body is exhausted by the extra effort and physiological changes.
Yessick also suggested five ways to deal positively with stress. One way is to not collect stress. Chronic stress is the most detrimental type and comes as things pile on and they are not dealt with or are held onto.
Yessick also suggested F.I.D.O. — Forget It and Drive On. Some things are not worth worrying about.
And finally, build a foundation of resistance to help fight stress. Invest in that by practicing good nutrition and some form of exercise that works large muscle groups to work off the physiological changes stress causes.
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