It’s okay to be stressed

Wait. What?

Ya. I was, shall we say, a bit perplexed, too.

How many different ways, and for how long, have we heard about stress, and how bad it is and how to manage it and on and on? We hear it because science does show that stress, especially the chronic variety, wreaks havoc on our bodies. It shortens our lifespan and can make remaining years full of all variety of aches and pains.

So, yes. Let’s still try to keep our cool.

But what if we also looked at stress as a challenge? A challenge that disrupts a balanced state that the body then makes resources available to meet.

Stress forces your body to react and, in small amounts, it can be the catalyst to make us stronger, faster, smarter, better.

Stress is the moment when you’re running, or lifting, or your walk hits that one hill in your neighborhood where you’re just like UGGGHHHHHH and your heart starts to pound and you breathe a little harder.

You’re not feeling joy. This is a safe space, we can admit that right then and there you might actually hate whatever it is that you’re doing. For fun, I run and hike distances that sometimes necessitate pooping in the woods, so trust me when I say you can feel intense displeasure at times and still, overall, enjoy an activity.

But even in this intense displeasure, through the hate and small amounts of swearing, you probably realize that there is good coming from the pain.

I’m here to tell you, my friends, at the most basic level, your cells are also swearing and sweating and stressing as they are building cellular resistance! Studies are showing small amounts of stress are extending the lives of cells and training them for future stresses.

This is showing up in the brain, as well. An area called the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) grows as we push ourselves to The Swear Point, as I like to call it, and is being linked to the will to live and willpower. This article tells us that exercising our brains like a muscle can enhance this part of our brain that, for some people, is already strong thanks to our genes.

And how, exactly, do we do this?

We go a step further than we think we can.

Mark and I are currently training for May marathons and that means logging a lot of miles in the coldest months of the year. The last time we trained through the winter we thought we were the baddest of a$$es when it hit 18 degrees and we “suffered” through a 20 mile day.

This time around, we’re relieved when it’s a balmy 12 degrees. We’ve run in wind and rain and snow; I’ve had to dig out my trail shoes to run on paved trails that are covered in inches of snow. On the rare nice day when temps hit *gasp* above freezing, we find ourselves moving more effortlessly through our runs.

Similarly, when we first changed our diets and faced those initial pangs of desire for cakes and brownies and thick Cuban sandwiches it took superhuman strength to reach, instead, for the fruits and vegetables. Now, almost a year later, we reach first for those fruits and vegetables.

We pushed ourselves (and our cells!) and are now more resistant to the stress that brought us to this point.

You might not be at the point where you can train for a marathon or walk away from tasty treats, but you can make one decision every day that challenges you in some way. It’s not too late to resolve to add just one thing that can not only add longevity but also add enjoyment to your life.

It’s not easy, but it is simple. And so worth it.