Is there anyone who either currently doesn’t have stress in their life or who has never experienced stress? It’s inevitable. It’s going to happen. Trying to avoid it is something we probably all do as much as possible. Somehow, it seems to find us regardless of how hard we try to avoid it. What do you think? Can stress affect your health? Does stress affect your health? Does stress affect your physical health?
Speak for myself
I can only speak for myself but to me it’s a no-brainer. I believe it absolutely can and absolutely does affect our overall health, which includes not only our physical health but our mental health as well as our financial health and any other kind of health.
If there’s one thing we all have, it’s health. We may have different kinds or different levels of health but we all have it.
Similarly, we all have some sort of stress in our lives.
So, as I see it, the real question is not do you have stress and does stress affect your health. The real question is how do you handle it? What do you do about it? What do you do to relieve it?
Deal with it
My late mother, who died of cancer at age 67, and I had extensive conversations about this. She adamantly believed that one of the main contributors to her cancer was not the stress in her life but the way she handled it, or as she put it, didn’t handle it.
I have adopted her theory and couldn’t agree more.
There are countless different ways to deal with stress. As the saying goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Fun
Who among us doesn’t like to have fun? The better question is who among us actually has fun on a regular basis? Is fun something that needs to be planned or is it spontaneous?
I prefer the spontaneous variety but it’s also fun to plan something fun just for the fun of it.
One of the most effective forms of stress relief I’ve found is fun-lots of it, as often as possible.
What is it you consider fun?
Go ahead
Is it harmful to anyone, including you? Is it illegal? I say, if the answer to these questions is no, then go for it! Don’t wait. Just do it whenever possible.
Do you think it’s better to wait until stress comes knocking or is it better to have fun just for the fun of it before it arrives?
Again, I can only speak for myself, but I’ve found that if I’m enjoying life and having fun, stress does not seem as daunting.
Some suggestions for stress-relieving fun:
If possible, try to find fun in the most mundane or unpleasant tasks or situations
Try to make a game of things you find stressful, even if the game is only with yourself
Try to find the humor in things that are not funny, even if you have to keep it to yourself
Make a point of doing something fun every day or as often as possible
Plan fun time if you can’t be spontaneous. It gives you something to look forward to
