Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Stress Begins with our Thoughts - by Dr. Michael Olpin

All stress begins with a thought. It isn’t what’s happening “out there” that initiates the stress response. It’s how we interpret what’s happening “out there” that causes us to become stressed out. 

We call this the perception of a threat. If we think this situation will lead to some kind of pain (emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical), our stress response turns on automatically to prepare for the potential pain. The potential pain is what we call a “threat.” 

Prevention of stress, then, is best done by focusing on our thoughts, by changing how we think about those things we think are threatening.

When you find yourself in a potentially stressful situation, ask yourself these questions.