Tuesday, June 25, 2013

 
The "Fight or Flight" response was first proposed by Walter Cannon in 1929. It basically states that all animals, when confronted with a stressful situation, will either fight the proposed threat or flee. 

Unfortunately, human beings (we animals) have unwittingly continued to increase our own stressful environments via constant communication, population growth, environmental degradation, etc. We keep our minds in a constant "fight" posture that drains our physical and mental resources.

Western civilization, (that's us again), has also embedded in our way of thinking an aggressive stance to life or it's injustices, by always wanting "to fight" to solve the issue at hand. We "fight" cancer, zoning ordinances, sports contests, extradition, city/state/US laws, job titles, child custody, and on and on. Everything seems to be a battle and we are in a perpetual defensive or offensive position-
The "Battle of the Bands", "Battle of the sexes"etc.

In the early days of civilization, people could move away from stressful situations or other people without much fuss. However, with our overpopulated and totally wired earth, we now have the ability to see and talk to anyone anywhere in the world, whenever we like. This supposed improved communication network has drastically reduced our options for fleeing. Matter of fact a recent study stated that the average person checks their cellphones over 150 times per day and on vacations.

Is it any wonder that we all are facing increased levels of self imposed stress which has led to "heart disease" as the number one killer of both men and women. Neuroscience experts believe humans have reached the upper limits of future physical brain expansion in our skulls and we are running "21st" Century software that continues to increase the need for a bigger brain. Physics will tell you that this convergence will create even more serious mental/physical issues with the increased stress levels.

So what to do? First, step back and evaluate your daily life patterns and see if you can find time to "detach" from it all. Take your vacation time with no communication devices. Learn how to relax both mentally and physically. Take a walk.Devote one day for yourself and do not watch tv, listen to radio, or talk on the phone/read text messages. Unplug for one day and see how better you will feel. Make it a habit because we are all in the fourth quarter of life and we know we will lose this game. So, relax and have fun.

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