Stress Kills!

The picture shows the results of research into the effect of stress on telomere shortening.  A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA at the end of our chromosomes that protects the chromosome from deterioration.  Telomeres don't last forever: they get shorter as we age.  When they are gone, the chromosome is no longer able to reproduce and the cell dies.  When enough cells die, we die.  So anything that shortens a telomere, shortens life.  This study demonstrates that stress can speed up telomere shortening, thus speeding up aging, thus speeding up dying.  (Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15574496)
This is obviously bad news for those of us with a lot of stress in our lives - which includes just about all of us!  So what can we do to reduce the stress in our lives?  This is a matter of life and death!  We must find a way to handle stress.  But how?

There are some proven strategies for stress reduction.  Dr. Albert Ellis proposes using the A,B,C method:

• A = Activating Event - the thing that creates the stress in the first place.  By the creative use of the word "no", we can eliminate a lot of things that create stress in our lives.  Get to the calendar before anyone else does and schedule time for God, time for family, time for play, time for sleep, time for relaxation, time for exercise.  Then, when someone asks if we can do something, we pull out of appointment book or pda, and see if we have already scheduled ourselves for one of this very important activities and, if we have, we shake our heads and say, "No. Sorry.  I already have an appointment in that time slot."  (Another name for this is "Getting the Big Rocks in First", but that's another healthy spirituality tip for another blog post.  Check back!)
• B = Beliefs - what we believe about the activating event.  Some things are not inherently stressful.  What we believe about them is what creates our stress.  For instance, you get a summons to the conference president's office.  You think, "Oh, oh!  What's up?  This can't be good."  You experience stress because of what you believe about the event.  But suppose when you get there he says, "I just wanted to congratulate you in person on the great job your doing in your church!  Keep up the good work, and here's a little something to show our appreciation for your ministry," and he hands you a gift certificate for a Caribbean cruise!  You were all worked up for nothing!  It was only your beliefs about the activating event that created the stress, not the event itself.  Similarly, we can deliberately choose what label to put onto an event, and that label will determine whether the event is stressful or not.
• C = Consequences - what we do with the outcomes of the stressor, how we handle it, how we handle our stress.  Exercise can reduce the consequences of stress.  Prayer can, too.  The support of family and/or friends can mitigate the effects of stress.  Oxygen helps - just some simple breathing exercises can actually reduce stress hormones in our bodies and reduce the damaging effects of stress.  Relaxation exercises are helpful.  Stay tuned to this column for more effective ways to reduce the effects of stress on our bodies and help us to stay healthy.

Go in peace!