You are driving your car. Your engine warning light just came on. What do you do?
- Ignore it, maybe it'll go away.
- Put it on your To Do List for later.
- Stop at the nearest service station and get it looked at immediately.
Some of you may take better care of your vehicle than you do of yourself - the “car” you have for life, the one you can't trade in for a newer model.
Perhaps the engine light isn't consistently on, leading to a false sense of security. "There's no problem," you say to yourself, "It's not the engine, it's just the light that is malfunctioning".
Or you may treat your car like you do your body; ignoring that engine warning light and continuing to drive until the engine burns out. At least a car's engine can be replaced!
You may luck out and replace some of your parts, as I have, but others are irreplaceable. Bear in mind that the new parts don't always work as well as the original, plus they wear out, too!
Stress is implicated in a number of serious medical condition. Rather than being an acute, immediate response to danger, as was intended, the stress response becomes chronic; activating on a frequent and regular basis, resetting the nervous system and darkly colouring all aspects of life. It is often overlooked as one of the contributing factors to diseases, often because the illness may take some time to develop.
When your "engine light" comes on, don't wait until you get to the spa, the gym, a vacation or retirement to look after it. Regardless of the condition you are in, you can start now. It is never too late to learn to balance your autonomic nervous system with techniques that can be done anywhere/anytime.