This Positive Thought Pattern Can Help Combat Stress & Inflammation

For most of human history, our stress came from threats like being chased by predators and hunting for food to survive. Of course, even in our modern, relatively comfortable society, we can often use a little more of the grit of our ancestors, despite the fact that in most cases, our stressors these days are tamer and rarely relate to our immediate survival.

But one layer of our modern problems is unquestionably worse today. Over the long term, our chronic stressors are turning out to be the demise of our health. The rat race of today, with its deadlines, time stressors, 24-hour news cycle, perpetual hyper-connection through social media, and poor sleep is severely damaging our well-being. 

Over time, humans have adapted a physiological pattern called the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA). This is a type of gene expression that's associated with increased inflammation1. So if you were being chased by a predator, CTRA allowed for some helpful short-term benefits, such as increased healing, physical recovery, and the increased likelihood of your survival. But in ancient times, humans weren't constantly being chased by large predators or human enemies. The stressful times would eventually calm down and allow the body to recuperate. 

Now, with our modern mental and emotional stressors rarely turned off, our body constantly thinks it's being chased by predators. As a result, long-term activation of our brain's CTRA is contributing2 to chronic inflammation and increasing the risk of health problems. 

Unsurprisingly, the participants who were encouraged to think critically about themselves had a faster heart rate and greater sweat response. The findings suggest that being kind to oneself switches off the threat response and puts the body in a state of safety and relaxation important for regeneration and healing.

Instead of complaining either in your head or out loud, try speaking love into your life. About 37 trillion cells are intently listening to how you speak to them. Speak kindly. Words and thoughts are powerful modulators of your biochemistry.

Acceptance and self-compassion can fight chronic inflammation from stress and in turn, help decrease the risk of health problems. This is the immense power that your thoughts and emotions have over your health. I see so many people who eat perfectly but remain unwell in part due to the unhealthy emotional pain and stress they are holding on to. Forgive yourself and forgive others.

Sometimes the best form of healing is acknowledging the role you play in your own suffering and showing yourself grace and compassion to evolve from that awareness. In short, you are not your negative thoughts and emotions. Take them captive and observe them for the transient things they are. Build a healthy relationship with yourself. True sustainable wellness flows from realizing your intrinsic worth.

And finally, when you cultivate more compassion for yourself, you can show compassion to others more abundantly. It's easy to reflexively judge something or someone we don't understand, especially when we are exponentially harder on ourselves. True compassion says, "I don't understand this or it's not for me, but I see the humanity in this person and show kindness anyway." Otherwise, we become what we hate in others: judgmental, hateful, shaming, small-minded, and militant. Kindness, compassion, and empathy are nothing more than empty words and vapid virtue signaling until you can show them to people you disagree with or don't understand.