When scientists want to study the physiological effects of anxiety and stress, the animal model that they use is the chimpanzee, whose stress system is very close to ours in terms of hormones and neural pathways. In a sense, we’re both designed pretty much the same way, but the chimp has a very different lifestyle than most of us have. What do chimps do most of the day?
They hang out. They sit with each other, look at each other, pick fleas off each other, swing on some branches, get something to eat, but mostly, they just hang out and relax. When a predator comes into the colony, they screech and either run awayDaily Stress Check List, or band together to attack the predator and drive it away. In about 10 seconds, it’s all over and done with and they go back to hanging out.
Is that how you live? Do you have a day calendar where we write down your schedule for the day? Does yours read: 8:30 Hang out, 9:00 Hang out, 9:30 Hang out, 10:00 Pick fleas, 10:30 Hang Out? Probably not. Although we’re physically designed to handle about 10 seconds of stress two or three times per week, is that your life? Again, probably not.
In scientific terms, we’re designed to spend most of our time relaxing, digesting our food, circulating blood, and bringing oxygen, glucose, and energy to replenish all the cells of the various organs in our body. When danger occurs, our sympathetic or emergency nervous system is quickly mobilized to respond by “fight or flight,” just like the chimp.
However, unlike the chimp, many of the dangers we face don’t go away, like chronic health problems, financial or job-related concerns, relationship issues, terrorism, smog, inflation, and so on. As a result, our emergency nervous systems stays constantly activated, leading to mental, emotional, and physical burnout over time. That’s why is so important to learn how to relax, re-balance yourself, and re-charge our energetic batteries.
At the Bresler Center, you can learn how to better control stress and anxiety thanks to the help of sophisticated biofeedback equipment, diagnostic testing, and relaxation training programs.
According to the scientific method, you cannot reliably change anything that you can’t measure. A Daily Stress Check List will allow you to keep track of the ways that stress may be causing certain physical symptoms, may be affecting your mental processing and daily behaviors, and may be evoking stress related feelings.
You can download a copy of The Bresler Center’s Daily Stress Check List by clicking here. If you are checking more than 12 boxes on a regular basis, contact us at 310-474-2777 for a stress management program that will really work for you.
Some of the more common anxiety disorders that we successfully treat include:
• General Anxiety Disorders
• Panic Attacks and Phobias
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders
• Acute Adjustment Disorders
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD)
