Unit7

　　Ifyouoftenfeelangryandoverwhelmed,likethestressinyourlifeisspinningoutofcontrol,thenyoumaybehurtingyourheart.

　　Ifyoudon'twanttobreakyourownheart,youneedtolearntotakechargeofyourlifewhereyoucan—andrecognizetherearemanythingsbeyondyourcontrol.

　　SosaysDr.RobertS.Eliot,authorofanewbooktitledFromStresstoStrength:HowtoLightenYourLoadandSaveYourLife.He'saclinicalprofessorofmedicineattheUniversityofNebraska.

　　Eliotsaystherearepeopleinthisworldthathecalls"hotreactors".

　　Forthesepeople,beingtensemaycausetremendousandrapidincreasesintheirbloodpressure.

　　Eliotsaysresearchershavefoundthatstressedpeoplehavehighercholesterollevels,amongotherthings.

　　"We'vedoneyearsofworkinshowingthatexcessalarmorstresschemicalscanliterallyburstheartmusclefibers.

　　Whenthathappensithappensveryquickly,withinfiveminutes.Itcreatesmanyshortcircuits,andthatcausescrazyheartrhythms.

　　Theheartbeatslikeabagofwormsinsteadofapump.Andwhenthathappens,wecan'tlive."

　　Eliot,64,sufferedaheartattackatage44.

　　Heattributessomeofthecausetostress.

　　Foryearshewasa"hotreactor".

　　Ontheexterior,hewascool,calmandcollected,butontheinterior,stresswaskillinghim.He'snowdoingverywell.

　　ThemainpredictorsofdestructivelevelsofstressaretheFUDfactors—fear,uncertaintyanddoubt—togetherwithperceivedlackofcontrol,hesays.

　　Formanypeople,therootoftheirstressisanger,andthetrickistofindoutwheretheangeriscomingfrom.

　　"Doestheangercomefromafeelingthateverythingmustbeperfect?"Eliotasks.

　　"That'sverycommoninprofessionalwomen.Theyfeeltheyhavetobeallthingstoallpeopleanddoitallperfectly.

　　Theythink,'Ishould,Imust,Ihaveto.'Goodenoughisnevergoodenough.

　　Perfectionistscannotdelegate.

　　Theygetangrythattheyhavetocarryitall,andtheyblowtheirtops.

　　Thentheyfeelguiltyandtheystartthewholecycleoveragain."

　　"Othersareangrybecausetheyhavenocompassinlife.

　　Andtheygivethesameemphasistoatrafficjamthattheygiveafamilyargument,"hesays.

　　"Ifyouareangryformorethanfiveminutes—ifyoustirtheangerwithinyouandletitbuildwithnosafetyoutlet—youhavetofindoutwhereit'scomingfrom."

　　"Whathappensisthatthehotterpeopleget,physiologically,withmentalstress,themorelikelytheyaretoblowapartwithsomeheartproblem."

　　Onesteptocalmingdownistorecognizeyouhavethistendency.

　　Learntobelesshostilebychangingsomeofyourattitudesandnegativethinking.

　　Eliotrecommendstakingchargeofyourlife.

　　"Ifthereisonewordthatshouldbesubstitutedforstress,it'scontrol.

　　InsteadoftheFUDfactors,whatyouwantistheNICEfactors—new,interesting,challengingexperiences."

　　"Youhavetodecidewhatpartsofyourlifeyoucancontrol,"hesays."Stopwhereyouareonyourtrailandsay,'I'mgoingtogetmycompassoutandfindoutwhatIneedtodo.'"

　　Hesuggeststhatpeoplewritedownthesixthingsintheirlivesthattheyfeelarethemostimportantthingsthey'dliketoachieve.

　　BenFranklindiditata