Newsletter

Stress Less2023-05-01

Stress, as in the perception that things are bad, can lead to anxiety, depression, even psychosis and dissociation in vulnerable individuals. It is a major driver of suicides. Stress can be mitigated, and ultimately prevented. There are fast, easy and effective ways to cope with it.

Acutely, there are three steps. First, something that is perceived as bad happening to us makes us unhappy. We need to take a deep breath, take a walk or jog if we can, and reflect if it is truly that bad. Second, we need to be hopeful and optimistic that it is temporary, limited in scope, and controllable, that we have dealt with similar (or worse) things before, that we can overcome, and laugh about it down the road. Third, we need to attribute meaning to it, that it is happening for us, not to us, that in the long term it would benefit us and make us stronger.

For prevention, we need to avoid events and individuals that we learn are detrimental. That is not always possible, so we need to work on what we have control over, which is our own resilience. Becoming stronger biologically (sleep, exercise, nutrition, including using nutraceuticals and medications if need be), socially (having a tight-knit circle of supportive family and friends), and psychologically (viewing things through the lens of optimism and/or religion).

We have done our bit to help. Based on two decades of research, we had developed an app to keep track of stress, life events, and help develop resilience. And we have developed a blood test for stress to help match people to nutraceuticals and medications.

Live. Happier. Longer.