Living in harmony with Nature is not easy in our stressful world because of overcrowded cities with too many people, cars, and clashes of cultures; constantly increasing, high cost of taxes and necessities; corporate monopolies or oligopolies; overreaching government regulations and loss of liberties; increasing crime and poverty; sickness care industries exploiting the masses; pollution and weather geoengineering chaos; rapidly disappearing forests, habitats, and wildlife; earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and droughts - to name a few. Worse, our highly paid elected officials are not addressing these issues with integrity or common sense, nor do they govern in harmony with Nature.
For the longest time, people thought survival depended on being the fittest. However, recent studies reveal that survival depends more on the ability to adapt, which is challenging because stability helps maintain harmony. And, the older one gets, the more stressful and discomforting change becomes. Nevertheless, change is inevitable in our rapidly changing world, so we must adapt to survive!
The best way to alleviate the stress involved in change is to mentally and emotionally plan for, or at least think about possible changes (plan B & C) that may occur in the future; meditate; and remember: Crisis = Opportunity to make changes you would not usually make. Also, remember, there is a reason for dramatic events, though not always initially visible.
Adapting to changes is a significant part of modern science. Nobel Laureate Hans Selye, MD, defines stress as an adaptation to change and states, “When we fail to adapt to life’s changes, we create increasing levels of distress in our lives. Those who adapt to change will experience the same stress but as euphoric stress.”
According to Dr. Selye, the body reacts to stress by mobilizing all its available energy. When the body cannot produce enough energy to overcome the stress, it automatically reacts in three stages: Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion. Prolonged stress forces the body to pass through all three. Each stage has a particular biochemistry and specific conditions.
The Alarm’s first stage activates the Sympathetic Nervous system. Symptoms include fast oxidation, high blood pressure and sugar, higher body temperature, and frequent bowel movements. The body releases adrenal and thyroid hormones, which mobilize energy to meet and overcome stress.
The Resistance second stage attempts to contain the stress it cannot eliminate in the acute Alarm stage, which goes on for as long as the energy holds out.
The Exhaustion third stage occurs when the body has exhausted all its energy levels to eliminate or contain the stress. Symptoms include fatigue, depression, apathy, despair, constipation, dry skin and hair, adrenal exhaustion, and less-than-optimal thyroid activity. When burned out, the body activates the Parasympathetic Nervous system.