Is Your Stress Reflex Killing You Or Is It Healthy Stress Relief?

Ever had one of those days when everything that could go wrong, did, and then some? You know, the sort of day when it is only just 9am and already you want to quit, go back to bed and start over? Did you know that how you choose to react to what is going on depends entirely on the way you have learned to respond to stress, or in other words, your stress reflex?

Just like the other reflexes in your body, your stress reflex is unconsciously driven - you do not need to think about it, you just react along well established patterns of behavior. But unlike other reflexes, such as the knee jerk response, you have learned your stress reflex and it is totally unique to you.

So whether you choose to go for a five mile run along the beach, take a long soak in the tub or raid the fridge for that tub of special ice-cream you have been saving for just such an emergency, your stress reflex will have served you well over the years. At some point you will have learned that whenever you cannot cope, the adrenaline boost, or rush of endorphins and sugar hit or child like comfort of having someone else pamper and look after you for a while helps you deal with your stress.

And that is why you keep using that method of stress relief. And that is all fine, so long as you can deal with you stress and move on.

But what happens when you cannot cope on a routine basis and your stress reflex is inherently unhealthy? After all, it does not take a rocket scientist to see that diving into the Ben & Jerry's is less healthy than doing some stretches and sinking into a relaxing bath! But you need to stop stress eating. Obesity kills and that is where your stress reflex could be sending you.

So, if this is your way of handling stress, you need to find another way to cope with the onslaught of daily life challenges, before your stress reflex makes everything even worse. Fortunately you can, because your stress reflex can be unlearned. You can reprogram yourself to use other stress relief techniques and will time, they will become so automatic, that they will become your new stress reflex. But you have to want to.

So what is your stress reflex?.

What ever it is, it will depend upon your life experiences to date and is probably deeply rooted in your childhood. If you were encouraged to "go and slug it out on the football field" then your adult stress reflex is likely to be more healthy than someone who was given a special cookie and a hug from their mother when life turned tough. And the way you choose to deal with stress also depends on whether you are male or female too. For not only do men and women react differently to stress, but they also derive greater benefit from different forms of stress relief. Women, tend to use support networks of friends and close relatives for stress relief more than men, for instance.

But whatever your stress reflex is, you can change it if you want to. You do not have to make your life worse by binge eating, or risk injuring a sports opponent through misplaced aggression. Next time you feel stressed, take a step back and observe HOW you deal with it. If your stress relief technique is unhealthy, decide to find new ways to deal with it instead.