How our Mind Tricks us into Living in a Constant State of Stress

I think the fist step in understanding how mindfulness can help you, is understanding how and why our brains are wired to automatically assume the worst case scenario and how that affects our thoughts and our bodies. What I find fascinating is that not only can we change the tenancy to assume the worst case scenario but these changes can also be visualized on brain scans. Our ancestors roamed the planes and forests, honestly they did so with very little defenses. Humans don’t have tough hides and sharp teeth and claws…but we do have greater reasoning abilities than any other animal. Here is our advantage. We have foresight, we know if we see a gator in the water we are swimming in we better get out of the water as soon as possible to prevent any chance we might become that gator’s dinner. Well, this hyper-vigilant state served us well when we were in survival type situations on a daily basis, it helped keeps us alive, truly critical. Even if the “gator” ended up just being a log, we still reacted as if it was a gator but it was totally justified because one error and we could be eaten. In those times, we might face several real dangers like that every single day. Today however, we are rarely in these type of life and death situations. Our bodies still act like we are. Even in our thoughts, we worry about things that haven’t even happened yet or worry things that are in the past. This is called rumination and it’s a natural human condition that developed from our ancestors and the high stress, life and death conditions they faced in the past.

The unfortunate thing about how our brains evolved is that in high stress situations, our bodies create cortisol in high amounts. Cortisol in high amounts is linked to obesity, fatigue, decreased immune system, cravings, GI problems….the list goes on and on. Our bodies are living in a high stress state and our minds are also slated to assume the worse. When you practice mindfulness, you become aware of those body sensation and you become aware of your mind drifting to the negative outlooks. Simply by noticing it, becoming aware of it, in a NONJUDGMENTAL way we can begin to fix it. Every time you dedicate time or incorporate mindfulness in you daily activities is a step in the right direction. That’s right you can practice mindfulness while you do chores or even while on a nice evening stroll. It is called mindfulness PRACTICE because it is something we can do everyday to cultivate our skills. Becoming a master of your mind won’t happen over night but I can tell you the more you practice the better you will become. Even when you do become a master you will still use the same steps you used in your very first session. So now, get started!