The Art of Taking It Easy: How to Cope with Bears, Traffic, and the Rest of Life's Stressors

by Brian King

What is irrelevant when we are stressed? Well, if we think about this in terms of being attacked by a bear, we can identify a few things. For example, our immune system is not necessary. If we are being attacked, what difference does it make if we catch a cold? Sure, that bear seems dangerous, but I should probably get this cough checked out. Our digestive system can definitely be sacrificed. If we have any food in our stomach, we can probably wait to digest it (or just get rid of it altogether), and if we are being attacked by a bear, we probably don’t want to stop to make a sandwich. Healing from wounds or injuries and repairing the cells of our body are not priorities either. Sure, it is important for our long-term health, but if we don’t survive this current situation there may not be a long term. For that matter, growing and developing our body isn’t important either. Sex drive is definitely not important.