Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

This book was written by the same author who wrote Behave and A Primate's Memoir. Robert Sapolsky has a unique way of turning scientific jargon, into a masterful education tool that breaks down even the most complex bodily functions into understandable material.

I recently went through a significant amount of stress and developed some health issues as a result. It took me 3 years to recover and and I am still having to maintenance myself daily, and by maintenance I mean shoving a cocktail of supplements down my throat every morning. However, they do make me feel better and I find my body can cope with stress much easier when I do have proper supplementation then without. For those who do not know, I am studying to be a Naturopathic physician. Therefore, most of the books I read are related to this field of study. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers is no exception. This book breaks down the physiological response to stress while also providing valuable stress-management techniques. It teaches you how to cope with catastrophic events while explaining the psychological variables and how they affect you based on personality and temperament.

Everyone knows that stress is bad for you. And most people understand the basic physiological responses that occur with stress such as anxiety, sweating, shallow breathing etc. But did you ever stop to think how your thoughts can cause the same sympathetic response as an actual threat, like being attacked in a parking lot? Studies show that the mere act of thinking about a dangerous situation triggers the same stress response in the body as if the event was actually occurring. Think about this for a moment. If you are watching the news and you are seeing other people getting beat up and killed, your body will start to react the same way as if you were there in person! We cause ourselves more unneeded stress than our environment.

So what are the consequences of this? Well nothing if it's short lived. It's when we get stuck in patterns of negative thinking that triggers the stress response to occur chronically, is when this becomes a problem. To give you a brief overview, our autonomic nervous system is made of up of two branches. The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system is what triggers the fight or flight response. Both systems can not be activated at the same time. When the fight or flight response kicks in, the energy is immediate diverted from the core of the body to the peripheral system, this prepares your body to run or fight. This means that crucial systems for daily functioning, shut down. You digestion is the first to stop, then your immune system and reproductive. The end result? High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, fibromyalgia, auto-immune disorders and skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. This way of living is not healthy or sustainable. I realized while reading this book, how important stress management is. Techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, dancing, hiking, singing, chanting, nature walks, qi gong, tai chi, martial arts...all of these have the potential to reset your nervous system at the end of each day allowing you to get better quality sleep, and in turn, better health. If there is only one thing you take away from this article today, may it be the importance of self care. Even if you don't understand why it's important, just trust me that it is the best thing you can do for yourself and the world. You cannot help others while you are drowning yourself. If you want to help the people around you during this challenging time...teach them how to manage their stress and possibly avoid indulging in too much television because that will only undo all the progress you will be making.

And of course, Be Mindful, Be Aware, Be Loving and Take Care of Yourself.