How Your Brain Handles Stress

Stressed?

We all are at some point during the day. Sometimes we “destress” by going to Starbucks for a quick “pick-me-up” and other times we roll by to the bakery for a quick reward.

Reward is a funny thing. Humans: from the time we wake up to the time we fall asleep, all we seek for is reward. That’s how we operate.

Stress is caused by kinks to us getting our reward. But sometimes we sabotage ourselves by finding false fixes. What are false fixes? The cookie sitting on the counter can be one. Or going through a drive-through for a quick lunch just so you can eat and get on your day is another example of a false fix.

Why are these false fixes sabotage? Because they are mindless eating that causes us further stress, and thus leads us down a path to further misery. That cookie spikes your insulin levels, causing your body to store fat and break down muscle over time. That Starbucks Frappucinno does the same thing. The Chick-Fil-A sandwhich is loaded with MSG (so are doritos and most chips) which spikes your blood pressure causing you headaches, and thus causing you more stress.

The less we think about what food does to our body the more miserable we become.

My post earlier this morning about staying positive is not so simple. It requires a level of thought and inspiration which can only be obtained if you hit the pause button of life and assess yourself daily.

Take 5 minutes for yourself and ask if everything you’ve done today is going to help you toward your goals or away from it.

Dr. Cheng Ruan