Chronic disease is not the only way our bodies force us into an early retirement. Sometimes we just have meltdowns. In graduate school, I started to get stress-induced migraines, which, as anyone that’s had a migraine can tell you, cause immeasurable pain and discomfort. These basically force you to chill out and sit in a dark room for the rest of the day. Migraines, however, were no comparison to the stress/anxiety induced panic attack I once had. I thought a) I was going to die b) I was going insane c) I was going to poop my pants. None of which I did, but it scared me enough to head to straight to a meditation center to rapidly begin the study of Zen inspired relaxation.
But fear is not always the best personal motivator for stress reduction. In fact, it’s somewhat counterproductive. The more you think about stress contributing to your various stress related disorders, the more you worry about trying to relax. Jeez, I should really learn to chill. I need to take more time for myself, find balance, meeelllooowww out. Calm. Down. Now. BUT I CAN’T! NO TIME! WHY ISN’T THIS MEDITATION SHIT WORKING! And then you realize the time you just spent trying to relax could’ve been spent doing something else, so you go back to running around, or drinking five beers in order for your brow to un-furrow and your shoulders to come down from their heightened position up by your ears.
While we all know some stress relievers—going for a walk in the woods, or a run in the park, or sitting quietly to meditate—are good things to do, we usually do them because they feel good and we want to do them. If we did them because we’re worried about how the daily stress will ultimately destroy our lives, chances are they wouldn’t be fun anymore. Action motivated by fear leads to guilt and anxiety when you’re not able to do that action; action motivated by fear also leads to big wars in the Middle East. It’s bad news on all fronts.
