The High Cost of Stress
Discover the Art of Human Transformation
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“It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” — Hans Selye
Over the past three decades, I have delved into Gabor Mate, M.D.’s work to understand better the relationships between stress, anxiety, Trauma, and disease. The insights I’ve gathered have been nothing short of astounding. It’s the most significant breakthrough in my life beyond marrying the woman of my dreams and raising a family.
The primary driver to seek help was stress that felt like I would sometimes implode. My journey has also been fraught with obstacles. As a founder, business owner, and entrepreneur for over three decades, I’ve pursued an ideal that has resulted in tremendous self-imposed pressure, leading to a total implosion — physically, mentally, and spiritually.
In pursuing wealth, I was continuously berating myself with notions of inadequacy. I was never enough — not wealthy, successful, and certainly not free enough. The gulf between my aspirations and my reality resulted in a total collapse. It was a massive chasm full of stress that had gone untreated. There’s much to be said for “being and having enough.”
Managing stress and its cousin anxiety is much easier when our perspective is such. Cancer took both my father and my father-in-law from us, and we’ve witnessed far too many friends receive life-altering diagnoses. Chronic stress and old age were the primary contributors to my father’s poor health. I also believe many of us are unaware of the high cost of untreated stress, anxiety, and Trauma. These are the primary drivers of changes in the brain and body that drive all addictions. I know this because it’s my experience living in recovery for decades.
The silver lining in this rather bleak cloud was that through grace and a deep personal commitment to self-improvement and healing, I learned to rise from the ashes, transforming myself from the inside out. Yes, I had a lot of help, and I’m eternally grateful to all who guided me. We are all a work in progress, even though most of us put too much pressure on ourselves to work, make money, and play hard.
Here’s a note about Trauma I learned along the way. Trauma is what happens within us, not what happens to us. According to…
