Stress Myths: Stress in inevitable

*MYTH #1: Stress is inevitable--there's little we can do to prevent or eliminate it.*

FACT: Stress is not an inevitable part of life. Many people do lead stress-free lives. When exposed to identical situations, some people experience high degrees of stress while others experience little or none. More importantly, it is possible to change yourself from "high-stress" to "low- stress" individuals.

How can we accomplish this feat? Clearly, it is not because they were born this way, or they wouldn't have become stressed in the first place. How about luck, the amount of schooling they received, or a sudden religious conversion?

While religious conversions do take place, the majority of people who change themselves from high-stress to low-stress individuals do so by acquiring a new type of KNOWLEDGE. Not the type of knowledge they learned in school, but knowledge that allows them to correct many of the myths and misconceptions other people believe.

As Richard Ecker points out in his 1985 book /The Stress Myth/: "We like to believe that stress is inevitable--that life is so complex these days, that we're being dragged along by a runaway world which offers us less and less that we can depend on. But this belief is nothing but a myth, a myth that has done more to perpetuate stress in our society than any other single factor."

Ecker goes on to say, *"Ironically, the main proponents of this myth are the very same ones who claim to be teaching people how to deal with stress!"*

What Ecker says is unfortunately true. Most of what we've been taught about stress--including what it is, what causes it to occur, and how we should cope with it--is based upon inaccurate, out-dated theories that are no longer accepted by twentieth-century thinkers.

The good news is that once you learn to recognize these myths, and once you correctly understand what stress is and what really causes it to occur, you can prevent or eliminate much of the stress you ordinarily experience.

Live a healthy life. Start with a healthy diet, and learn more about how you can enjoy life.