Stress: Manage it? Or Avoid It?

Stress is a fact of modern life; so much so that it was the No. 1 Google search last year. So if you can't avoid it, how can you manage it? One word: resilience. The ability to adapt to and recover from the stressors in your life is the superpower for the coming years. Because let's face it -- no matter whom we elect as president, no matter if we're winning the war against terrorism, no matter whether we get immigration issues and race relations under control -- no matter what is going on outside, we will always have stress. Not all stress is bad. Stress is necessary and good, and our bodies can handle some stress, some of the time; but when we are under a lot of stress all the time, then our bodies break down by failing to return to that place of balance and rest.

Most of us are familiar with the story about a psychologist who was teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 8 ounces to 20 oz. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

Habits that act as counterbalance are key. There will be days when we chuck it all in the face of a pressing deadline, the flu, a big vacation or intense family drama; but as Aristotle said, we are nothing if not the sum of our habits. Good habits that can act as a counterbalance to stress, creating margin. Margin is like money in the bank that you can use for a rainy day. When you habitually add margin to your life, you have reserves left over for when things get hairy.

No. 1: Address the stress. There is a wealth of research showing why organic produce is less stressful for your body, and why grass-fed meat is a better choice. Recognize that white sugar and white flour and high fructose corn syrup help create modern day "diabesity." We've all heard that sitting is the new smoking. For years, we've been told that alcohol and tobacco products are generally harmful to our health. When we begin to see all these different areas of modern life as "stressors" that lead us away from our vision of a happy, healthy life, only then will we address the stress and move away from them.

No. 2: Connect with allies who encourage and challenge you to keep going when the going gets tough. A study from the New England Journal of Medicine showed that having obese friends can make one obese. Connecting with friends who share your vision for health and well-being will help you accomplish that vision and stay on track.

[See: 8 Ways Meditation Can Improve Your Life.]

No. 3: Choose. One of the amazing things that separates us from all other animals on this planet is that we have the power (and responsibility) of choice. Only humans have the executive function of the frontal lobe to be able to calculate the outcome of different paths of action, and only humans have the ability to choose temporary pain or sacrifice for a greater good at a later time. Use it.

No. 4: Recognize what stress is really doing to you. The most common symptoms of stress show up in our modern day "diseases." They aren't caused by any bacteria or virus, but by life choices. Just as you wouldn't address your car's oil light being on by putting a piece of black tape over the sensor, you can't expect to address these warnings by covering up or suppressing them.

No. 5: Rest is the key to managing stress and lifestyle diseases. We live in a hyped-up society where stress means success. Nothing could be further from the truth. For every period of stress, we need an equal or longer period of rest where we recover and build capacity so that we can do more the next time we face stress. From its inception, technology was supposed to simplify our lives and give us more free time. It's had the opposite effect of making us always on call and surrounding us with a "busyness bubble." Turn it off.

[See: What Keeps You Young?]

No. 6: Detoxify. While our bodies were made to naturally detoxify through sweating, eliminating and even crying sometimes, they were never made to handle the amount of stress we currently live under. Added detox protocols will help you balance the stress in your life. Explore and practice them.

No. 7: Nourishment. Foods were meant to sustain and energize us, but most of the foods in our cabinets are empty nutritionally -- even worse, they're filled with sugar, bad fats and artificial chemicals that actually put stress on our bodies. When epithelial lining of your gut detects something it doesn't like, it sends waves of panic and agitation to your brain to tell you not to ingest that again. Eat right.

No. 8: Movement. Plato said that a lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. He was right. Move more. Sit less. And while you're at it, get regular, specific spinal adjustments to help regulate the stress response in your body.

[See: 11 Simple, Proven Ways to Optimize Your Mental Health.]

No. 9: Be grateful and generous. Everywhere you go there will be something to complain about. Gratitude is a function of intention and attention. It is the opposite of entitlement. Recently, positive psychology has explored the health benefits of being grateful. They are many. Likewise, generosity or altruism pays big benefits as well, not the least of which is improved immunity to disease.

Dr. Pete Sulack has seen more than 1 million patient visits over the last 14 years in Tennessee, validating his unique approach to health and wellness. His studies on the effects of chemical, mental, physical and emotional stress, coupled with testimonials from patients and attention in medical communities, have garnered him the title of "America's Leading Stress Expert." Dr. Pete Sulack is also the founder of Unhealthy Anonymous, a 12-step program comprised of successful strategies to reverse the negative effects of stress, as well as the soon-to-be-launched StressRx.