Stress can be a killer; what exactly does that mean anyway? I sure have heard it enough. Does it mean that because we have stress in our lives we are just going to keel over? Not necessarily. I believe its our perception of stress, the kinds of stressors we have in our life, and how we respond to them. I say this often: the human body is miraculous, and it was made to perform in the perfection that it was made. It is our responsibility to help it function healthily, to keep it from breaking down and becoming part of the perfect storm that could lead to something bigger like cancer.
I have been taking care of two precious dogs this weekend and the house I’m staying at is on the bay. This morning when I woke up there was quite a storm and the Lord spoke to me. “Venus, all storms have purpose in life, whether it is in nature or in our daily lives. It’s our perception of these storms that can make a difference. Life is not a ‘stormless’ smooth ride all the time.” I thought, “that’s right,” and how boring would it be if everything was the same everyday and there was nothing to challenge us in growth, spiritually, physically, or mentally. When Jesus asked Peter to have faith and walk out on the water with him I can only imagine what that felt like. I think of that story often and realize in life we are asked to walk out on the water often; the key is to keep looking up, not to waiver and look down. If you do you might be swimming with sharks!
One of the worst things that can happen when we live in a state of constant stress is adrenal burnout. I would say most of us have burned out our adrenals more than once. The idea is to get back on track. Let them heal and not cause such extreme burnout so often! Adrenaline, the hormone that is excreted in times of fear, was meant to be excreted to take care of the problem – to get out of reach of the situation but then calm down. Modern man lives in such a state of stress and anxiety that the body will just burn out the adrenals. Over time this can put the body in death mode. Hmmm, I guess constant stress can be a killer. I have heard that even when people think they might hear bad news from their doctor or get a diagnosis of cancer, their cortisol levels go so high that the body produces too much adrenaline. This is how they burn their adrenals out and how the body goes right into death mode. This is when I knew I had to change that situation right away and start the healing process immediately.
Stay tuned forThe Perfect Storm-Part 4: Stress and the Adrenals
