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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Comment
Elissa Epel

Commentary: Stress drains your body’s battery. Here’s how you can recharge it

My phone is showing that little red low-battery bar, and I need to plug it in immediately or lose my connection. What if I didn’t recharge — no, that would stress me out. But what if, in addition to recharging my phone, I took a few minutes to recharge myself?

We have an energy crisis, not just the burning of fossil fuels ravaging our ecosystems. Inside, we are burning up energy like a wildfire with our chronic stress. And it’s exhausting.

The 2022 American Psychological Association annual survey on stress showed a flashing red alert: More than a quarter of U.S. adults are feeling overwhelmed by stress — paralyzed, even numb. No wonder we are communally fatigued — stress uses a tremendous amount of energy. We have fatigue from work, the long shadow of COVID and much more to contend with.

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