RADIOACTIVE STRESS

Stress is a hit on the head from within. 

 Boris Lesnyak, a Russian writer 

Run away from stress!  

Incredible as it may sound, radiation and stress have a lot in common. Radiation damages biological macromolecules (proteins and DNA), which upsets the operation of cells, causes mutations, cancer, and death.  

Both radiation and stress damage biological macromolecules, which upsets the operation of cells, causing mutations and cancer.

This is common knowledge. Anyone would flee as fast as possible from a radiation-contaminated area. Moreover, many people worry about X-ray diagnostics and ask their doctors if they send them to X-ray procedures too often. This concern is a great thing: dangers should be avoided. Unfortunately, stress is rarely seen as a lethal threat. Many people get upset and angry really fast, provoke others, and even enjoy it! They claim you won't survive otherwise, life is a struggle, and so on. This behavior is dangerous and short-sighted.  

Chain reaction

Stress causes the same damage as radiation, though at a slower rate.

So where is the danger? Stress is a powerful negative emotion in the central nervous system. We all know that it makes blood pressure surge and may cause a heart attack or a stroke. The nervous system, however, is not an isolated submarine compartment. It supports the body's self-control mechanism, and it cooperates with the hormone system and the immune system. Any explosion in the nervous system hurts the other two systems as well. As a final result, many cellular self-control mechanisms (including cell division) start malfunctioning.  

Our muscles, in a way, are like flash drives that record information on stress experience.  

What follows is destroyed cells, mutations, tumors, and the like, i.e., the same hazards as those caused by radiation; they just do not come that fast. Chronic stress upsets the cardiovascular system, limits the supply of blood to the brain and the heart, and damages mechanisms that control blood sugar and cholesterol. It also weakens the immune system. What comes next is diabetes, atherosclerosis, frequent colds, slow recoveries, and autoimmune diseases of muscles, joints, and skin (including arthritis, muscle inflammation, and eczema). Moreover, failures at the cellular level trigger the emergence of malignant cells, which proliferate fast because the immune system is weak. This is the price we pay for the desire "to put them in their place" and prove that "you can't be rude to me."  

Transform your negative emotions.

Is it good to hide your negative emotions when they tear you apart from within? Maybe shouting, yelling, or a benevolent fit would be less damaging than those hidden bad feelings? There are two ways to suppress an emotion. The first one is passive expulsion. In this case, the emotion stays, like a growling lion, in the cellars of your subconscious mind, waiting for a chance to break loose. The longer you hide the emotion, the more you suppress it, the more powerful the explosion will be.  

Efficient ways to battle emotional discomfort include sublimation, meditation, religion… and professional manual and reflex therapy.

An alternative way of resolving an emotional conflict is sublimation, that is, a release of negative energy in a different form. First and foremost, we are talking about physical exertion and other kinds of physical stress, such as hunger, cold, heat, massage, muscle stretching, or yoga. Any nervous strain seeks to be discharged through the muscles. If skeletal muscles cannot be used, they will be discharged through the smooth muscles of internal organs and blood vessels, causing hypertension, headaches, gastritis, colitis, and so on. Physical exertion reduces the incidence of such ailments. On the other hand, preventing a fire spares you from the hassle of putting it out. Age-old wisdom offers many avenues that lead you away from negative emotions.  

The energy inside a man is so positive and healing that it can handle any stress.

Take philosophy and religion. Their goal is to provide a way of escaping into yourself rather than outside. The skies inside us are much more spacious than those above! Those who can find a road to these skies acquire the most powerful means of getting pain out of their lives. Indeed, the energy inside man is so abundant, positive, and healing that any stress is like buckshot to an elephant. Religion calls this healing source God, philosophy calls it the meaning of life, and artists use it for inspiration without caring too much for names and meanings.  

Those wary of religion and philosophy have other alternatives. For instance, meditation. Contrary to a popular misunderstanding, meditation is not about visualizing bliss. A meditating person turns off his imagination, memory, and forecasting faculties, those three forces that pull us away from the present. Live here and now. Open your eyes, ears, sense of smell, and touch to everything around you. Every instant is precious. Meditation is the art of seizing this instant and never missing a single moment in your life.  

Finally, there is an option even for those too lazy to exert their body and soul on their own. I mean, rehabilitation centers like ours in Chicago. Your muscles (especially those at the back of the neck, lower jaw, and the thorax) are much like flash drives that accumulate information about stress experience. Experts in manual and reflex therapy know how to “delete” this information and break the harmful chains that lead from stress to future ailments.  

Evade obsession with problems and bad feelings. Don’t get exposed to the radiation of stress!