Let’s face it, we all get stressed. There are stressors everywhere. At home, at work, on the road from home to work, school, everywhere in between. How does stress relate to health? I talked about whole health, and how you need to take care of your mind and body as a whole to prevent illnesses or even to combat illness. Stress is a very large factor in the whole health process. There are many different ways in which stress can affect our bodies. Let’s start with a scenario.I wake up, shoot out of bed, and look at the clock. I’m late for work!This is a stressor and it can go one of two ways. First, I react calmly and figure out the best way to work through the situation. Or I completely freak-out-because-I’ve-been-late-before-and-this-is-the-last-time-I’m-sure-I’m-getting-fired-and-SHIT-i-spilled-coffee-on-my-shirt-oh-well-get-out-the-door-crap-i-forgot-my-keys-go-back-go-back!-now-I’m-REALLY-late-damn-that-jerk-he-pulled-right-out-in-front-of-me……I’m sure this would go on for quite some time, so I’m just going to stop there. Okay, now which scenario produces more stress? Of course it’s the second one. The way you deal with a stressor is directly related to how much stress you feel. Now, this is just one little stress event. In this scenario little hormones and corticosteroids are released in my body to help bolster me up, preparing me for a fight-or-flight response. Corticosteroids actually help the body fight off bacteria and viruses.But wait. Stress is supposed to be bad for you. Like cheesecake. No. Like the cheesecake, tiny portions are totally acceptable, even dare I say, necessary for every day life. Okay, okay. Cheesecake is not necessary to life. Let’s go with coffee. Coffee is totally necessary. One cup of coffee a day is actually beneficial to your health, just like a little bit of stress every now and then is okay for your health and can help bolster the immune system.Let’s talk about what is harmful. A pot of coffee every day. Not good for anyone. You get jittery, you can’t sleep, you feel dizzy and maybe even nauseous. The same goes for stress. When people experience high levels of stress over long periods of time, their level of overall health goes down the drain. There have been many studies done that show a direct correlation between high, prolonged stress to negative health. Heart disease, stroke, death. But of course! This makes perfect sense when you think about it. And sometimes, there really is nothing we can do to prevent stress. The death of a loved one, traumas, external or environmental causes… The list could go on and on. Sometimes, it’s not about preventing stress, but about how we deal with it. So how do we deal with extreme stress? Want to hear something cliche? Your attitude about the situation at hand plays an extremely important role in how stress affects you. Well, of course it does! Negative thoughts and attitudes have shown to physically weaken a person, both mind and body. You heal physical wounds slower, you become depressed, you get more anxious, which leads to more stress, which leads to a very high increased risk for influenza, colds, infections, and a whole host of everything else that would like to eat your body.On the other hand, positive emotions do just the opposite. Of course they do, you think, but it’s not all sunshine and smiles! How can I have positive emotions if a close friend just passed away? Well, you can’t. It’s hard I know. And no one ever expects that. But if you want an overall healthier life, don’t let the negative emotions stay with you forever. Grieve, be sad, be dammed angry at the whole world for a bit. But then you need to live for yourself. Don’t let stress rule your life. You are in control.When you think about it, it’s actually pretty fascinating. You can control your health, even the length and quality of your life. When you get so stressed out that you can’t think anymore, and you feel completely out of control of everything in your life, just take a step back. Think about the good things you have going for you. If you have a hard time with that, it’s okay. Start smaller. Think about the things you are in control over. Every little thing, no matter how small. It’ll help you calm down. It will put things in perspective for you, and you will be able to start getting a better handle on what stresses you out. Of course, you could always reach for the xanax. But when you think about it, doesn’t that just cover up the problem like a bandaid does?Whole health means you don’t cover up the problem and pretend it doesn’t exist. Life is stressful. Here’s some tough advice: suck it up and deal with it (of course)..