Stress

Everything I read about physical health indicates that it's closely connected to emotional health.

Too much stress can have physical repercussions.

Some stress is good, some is bad:

The Difference Between Good Stress and Bad Stress?

In general, good stress is short-term and pushes you to accomplish greater things. In these situations, you tend to have a lot of control over the outcome and the stress can motivate you. Bad stress can be short-term or long-term. Bad stress is often accompanied by feelings of helplessness because you don’t have a lot of control over what’s happening and you may begin to feel compressed or trapped.

Good Stress Motivates You

Good stress, also called eustress, can propel you forward and help you achieve more goals, ultimately leading to more happiness, success, or fulfillment. These are generally relatively short bouts of stress (acute stress) and provide motivation to get something done or overcome an obstacle. Even though you’re excited about something, you can still feel stressed out about it.

Situations or events that could contribute to eustress:

• A deadline
• A test
• Giving a speech

Bad Stress Hinders Progress and Causes Health Issues

Ongoing, or chronic, stress can slow you down and inhibit you from doing the things you need to do. This type of stress, negative stress, is detrimental because you never really get a chance to recover from the effects of fight-or-flight—you’re constantly in a threatened state. Your body and performance suffer, so that fight-or-flight response can give you a beneficial edge or even save your life in the short-term is lost.

Situations that could contribute to bad or chronic stress:

• Relationship trouble
• Ongoing high demands at work with little to no reprieve
• Loss of a family member or friend

The best way to deal with stress is the SERENITY PRAYER: 

Written by Reinhold Neibuhr (1892-1971)

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference. 

Having a strong social group whether that's friends, family, or both is crucial to good health.

I believe you also need something in your life to be passionate about whether that's your job (lucky you!), children, exercise, books, or a hobby.  I have lots of hobbies....someday I will post about them here.