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  There is an emotional disposition that exists in all of our lives that is often minimized or overlooked for its effects on our physical health, our ability to perform on our jobs, and even the influence it has on our families.  This small emotional disposition is called “stress.”  In the late 1800s the major causes of death were contributed to contagious diseases (such as pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, and measles) but today the major causes of death have been shifted to noncontagious diseases (such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic lung disease) with a focus on the role of psychological behaviors and lifestyles.

As a working definition, “stress” can be defined as, “anything that places a demand on the body, emotionally or physically.”  In essence, we are always experiencing some state of stress, whether pleasant or unpleasant.  However, it is the unpleasant stress that is often overlooked, not taken seriously or improperly handled that leads to many of the physical ailments that occur in our bodies.

Listed below are at least six major stressors that can directly impact our mental and physical health:

1.      Cataclysmic events (September 11, 2001, Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina)

2.      Chronic stressors (bad marriage, poor working conditions, divorce, alcoholism)

3.      Hassles (time pressures, fighting traffic jams, financial concerns)

4.      Occupation burnout (Chronic exposure to high levels of stress & little personal control)

5.      Frustration (negative emotions due to a blocked goal)

6.      Conflict (forced to make a choice between at least two incompatible alternatives)

It is important to know that when we are stressed either mentally or physically, the body experiences several major and minor physiological changes.  Stress has an interesting domino effect.  As one domino falls, it topples the next.  For example, stress will cause your heart rate to increase, blood pressure to rise, muscles to tense, constrict the blood vessels; and so on.

Most importantly, prolonged stress is a major contributor to the weakening of the immune system and a contributor to diseases of adaptation, including asthma, ulcers, and high blood pressure.  In severe cases, long-term exposure to stressors can be life threatening because we become vulnerable to serious illnesses such as heart attack, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.  Under a great deal of stress, our bodies are less able to resist infection and cancer development.  Stress inhibited immune systems will suppress “lymphocytes,” the main immune system cells that control cancer – thereby increasing tumor growth.

NOBLE, “stress” is not a cliché to express how busy we are and the many time sensitive appointments that we have, but it is a real mental, emotional, and physical presence, that has ruined families, led to addictions, destroyed job performance, scarred our self-esteem, and has contributed to the onset of many physical diseases.

Every now and then, it is needful for all of us to measure the level of stress that currently exists in our lives.  To help with this, I have included a short rating scale that will help you see the impact stress currently has on your life.  Listed below is a table of events and number values associated with each event.  For each event that you have personally experienced in the last year, write and total the numbers.  Now compare your total score with the following standards:

    0-149  = No significant problems

150-199  = Mild life crisis (33% chance of illness)

200-299  = Moderate life crisis (50% chance of illness)

300 and  > Major life crisis (80% chance of illness)

NOBLE, the time is now that we decide that “prolonged” stress has no place in our individual lives and within the family of NOBLE.  We desire health and not sickness.  It is through health that we are strengthened as a family, because what we know about health is: 

1.      Healthy things grow

2.      Growing things change

3.      Change challenges us

4.      Challenges cause us to depend on God

5.      Depending on God makes us healthy

6.      Healthy things grow… (and the cycle begins again)

May God continue to bless you all.