Stressed out – or loving the pressure?

For many, getting their heads around stress is about as confusing as knowing what to eat. You hear them say: ‘First we hear fat’s bad for us, now we’re told some of it, at least, is good for us.’ There’s as much confusion around salt – and a genuine problem now with people, especially women, eating too little.

It’s at least as confusing with stress. Most seems pretty bad. People lose the will to live in some cases. Others react irrationally, dangerously or hurtfully. Others still can thrive off it. So are there types of stress that are always bad – or even good – for us? Or is it less about the type of stress, and more about how we react to different types of stress?

Given it’s International Stress Awareness Week, we’ve taken a dive this week into these murky but important waters, looking at stress more generally and then HRV (heart rate variability) as a proxy for measuring it.

On a separate note, we’re also nearing UK release time for our ‘blueprint for health system sustainability’. Those who’ve asked to be kept in the loop over endorsement will – tomorrow – get a link to a very near-final, pre-endorsement draft of the ‘blueprint’, along with some simple instructions. It’s the culmination of months of work and we’re nearly there! Thanks for your patience.

The real work of health transformation and emergence now begins…

In health, naturally, sustainably and harmoniously

 

Rob Verkerk, PhD

Founder, executive & scientific director