Mens sana in corpore sano. Thus recite the Satires of Juvenal to indicate the fact that to be fit with the mind and theory wellness, one had to be fitted with the body as well. And today, in the modern era, an era in which stress governs and directs our days, this statement is even more true.
Can you recognize when you are stressed?
Stress is a mechanism that is activated in certain circumstances, a sort of reaction of our body that triggers a series of interchange of messages between the body and the brain or more precisely, between the nervous system and a specific part of the body. brain.
When you are in a difficult situation this process starts and the messages that pass between body and mind are then perceived as a state of stress.
Therefore stress is not a condition, but a natural reaction of our body, during which heartbeats and sweating can increase, even to the increase in glucose production, a phenomenon that occurs when, during a dangerous situation, the body prepares for a reaction, such as a fight or flight.
If we distinctly perceive these signs, we are certainly aware that we are in a stressful situation. But they are not always so obvious and this is how we find ourselves unknowingly stressed without even realizing it.
Despite everything, stress is present and this affects our life, our love and work performances, our interpersonal relationships in everyday life, at work or in sport.
If you are an ambitious person with goals, who need to be in control of what he does, you absolutely must be able to recognize stress even when it manifests itself in an almost imperceptible way. You must be able to know it, recognize it and manage it.
Several studies state that it is very difficult to escape from stress, but it is possible to get in tune with it to control it and live a life marked by greater psychological well-being and allows better work and sports performance.
Become aware of your stress
It is certainly not easy to know, recognize and manage stress. There are coaching specialists who organize NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) courses that, in order to bring their students to make the most of their potential (and we are talking about managers, coaches of various sports, personal trainers), must still teach how to manage stress by channelling it. in a path of well-being between body and mind.
We will not, therefore, pretend to explain here how to recognize stress and learn to channel it in the right way.
Today we can say with certainty that many studies put the so-called “emotional intelligence” at the centre of the process, through which it is possible to have a greater awareness of one’s own emotional and physiological internal state.
Some practices certainly help in the task of learning to pay the right attention to our physical states, such as meditation, yoga or learning to manage one’s “vagal tone”, or the acquisition of the ability to regulate one’s physiological processes that work without having to give a command from the mind (breathing, heart rhythm, etc.).
All of this helps build our resilience or, to use a recently revived term, our resilience.
I leave you with the suggestion of a reading that I personally found useful and that explains in a very effective way, the management of the vagal tone of our body – The meditation of the organs.
