Great read to understand the use of data to direct lifestyle decisions in the future. It was presented that there’s intentional and unintentional stress. Is it possible to trick the mind to mask the effects of certain stressors on the body over time? For example, being a new dad has been an unintentional stress (in my opinion), and I’ve convinced myself that it’s a non-negotiable part of my life that I have work at everyday.
Great question! I don't think the intentional vs. unintentional categorization changes the impact the stress itself has on the body. Stress is an absolute value in terms of how much it pushes our nervous system away from homeostasis. Whether that stress is intentional/unintentional doesn't matter in my view. While altering your perception of stress can certainly help with coping with that stress psychologically, I don't think it changes the input. So you may still be improving your response to the stress of the new challenges being a father has, in my opinion it likely doesn't reduce the impact that stress has on your physiology but instead your improved outlook on that stress might mean you're tolerating that stress better... only one way to find out! (measure it with HRV!)
Good thing I had my morning coffee before I tried to read this!
Great read to understand the use of data to direct lifestyle decisions in the future. It was presented that there’s intentional and unintentional stress. Is it possible to trick the mind to mask the effects of certain stressors on the body over time? For example, being a new dad has been an unintentional stress (in my opinion), and I’ve convinced myself that it’s a non-negotiable part of my life that I have work at everyday.
Great question! I don't think the intentional vs. unintentional categorization changes the impact the stress itself has on the body. Stress is an absolute value in terms of how much it pushes our nervous system away from homeostasis. Whether that stress is intentional/unintentional doesn't matter in my view. While altering your perception of stress can certainly help with coping with that stress psychologically, I don't think it changes the input. So you may still be improving your response to the stress of the new challenges being a father has, in my opinion it likely doesn't reduce the impact that stress has on your physiology but instead your improved outlook on that stress might mean you're tolerating that stress better... only one way to find out! (measure it with HRV!)