Woman Meditating

PWR TIP: Do you often feel irritable? Do you have trouble sleeping? Are you easily forgetting things? Are you becoming unfocused at work? Have you lost your appetite, or can’t stop eating? Do you sometimes feel like you are about to implode? If your answer is “Yes” to any of these questions, it may be time for you to de-compress. We are clearly more out of balance than our grandparents. We work longer, sleep less, and are overloaded by information and technology. Some stress can actually be beneficial. It can motivate you to finish a pending task, or prompt you to move faster along a dark street. However, the danger with contemporary stress is that it tends to be emotional rather than physical in origin, and is thus more persistent. Chronic stress can lead to insomnia, hypertension, severe acne, backaches, headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, infertility, strokes, heart attack and depression. Managing stress is the key to a balanced and successful life.