April is Stress Awareness Month. At GenAge Center, a medical practice serving Ada and the Grand Rapids Area, we help our clients optimize their longevity and wellness, including lifestyle factors, such as stress and sleep. A recent Harris poll found that 76% of adults had experienced negative health impacts from stress in the prior month.1
But you can learn to stress well and use it to your advantage. Here’s how:
Acknowledge the stress. Take a moment to recognize what you are stressed about. For example, “I’m stressed about my patient’s new health diagnosis.” Accepting the stress shifts your brain’s response from reactive to deliberate.
Stop looking at stress as harmful. Don’t try to avoid it or escape from it. Looking at stress negatively has been shown to increase the risk of depression and other negative outcomes.
See the positives of stress. Stress can push you to higher levels of alertness and performance.2 It can even improve your immune response and help grow new brain cells.3
Build your stress capacity. Use meditation and mindfulness; get good sleep and exercise; and optimize your hormones and micronutrients.
Stress is inevitable. Instead of letting it get the better of you, learn to stress well.
Visit GenAge Center at 6745 Fulton Street East in Ada or call 616-737-1710 to learn how we can help you optimize your longevity and wellness.
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Dr. Hyung Kim is a devoted family man, former hospital system president, and a physician at GenAge Center, a medical practice specializing in longevity, health and wellness. He is triple board-certified by the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, and the American Board of Internal Medicine. His M.D. is from Johns Hopkins, and his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!).