Inform Yourself

If you’ve been reading my posts then you know about the Genius Project which was conducted by my good friend Mr. Jay Niblick. You’ll also recall that your ability to achieve Genius Level (5th Level) of Performance one must rely on their natural talents and be authentic to oneself. This post reveals some of the side effects of being inauthentic to oneself.

The effects of being inauthentic reach far beyond simple performance issues. The more disconcerting aspects of being inauthentic are what it does to you emotionally and even physically.

Being inauthentic is stressful, and I don’t mean healthy stress (eustress) I mean harmful stress (distress). Being inauthentic in the first place is stressful enough, but the lack of performance that usually results adds even more stress on top of that, and when you look at what modern medicine is just now learning about the impact of stress on the human body (let alone psyche), the effects are startling.

According to Dr. Leon Pomeroy, who was the founding President of the International Academy of Preventive Medicine, psychological and emotional stress can gravely affect the human body in many negative ways. There are a lot of things that cause stress and a lot of factors that determine our ability to handle it, but we do know that being inauthentic, and having to work in an uncomfortable job, having to modify your behavior all day long, constantly having to apply a non-talent – is definitely stressful. If your job requires this of you full time, then the stress this causes you is chronic.

Such stress triggers an overdose of hormones like epinephrine and cortisol that, over time, can become toxic to the human body. Chronic stress negatively affects your body’s ability to regulate it’s own processes (homeostasis). Your ability to absorb nutrients, lose weight and even fight off infections are negatively affected. Even the chemistry of sleep is also disrupted by chronic stress, and sleep deprivation itself only aggravates the symptoms even more. Some common side effects of chronic stress on the physical body are:

• The immune system. Under stress, the body becomes more vulnerable to illnesses, from colds and minor infections to major diseases. If you have a chronic illness stress can make the symptoms even worse
• Cardiovascular disease. Stress is linked to high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia), problems with blood clotting, and hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). It is also linked to coronary artery disease, heart attack, and heart failure
• Muscle pain. People who are stressed often have neck, shoulder, and low back pain. This may be caused by constant tension in the muscle because of stress. Stress also affects rheumatoid arthritis
• Stomach and intestinal problems. Recent research indicates that stress plays a significant role in gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, and irritable bowel syndrome

Chronic stress can negatively affect your thoughts and decisions as well. Psychological
signs and symptoms usually associated with stress can be:
• Increased irritability or sensitivity to minor disturbances
• Feeling jumpy or exhausted all the time
• Difficulty concentrating
• Worrying about insignificant things
• Frustration and a feeling of something being wrong somewhere, but not sure where

According to Elissa Epel, PhD and an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, “The problem lies within our neuroendocrine system -- a brain-to-body connection that harkens back to evolutionary times and which helped our distant ancestors to survive. Though today the sources of stress are more likely to be an unpaid bill than a saber-toothed tiger, this system still activates a series of hormones whenever we feel stressed.”
"These hormones give us the biochemical strength we need to fight or flee our stressors," says Epel. “While this system works fine when our stress comes in the form of physical danger -- when we really need to "fight or flee", and then replenish -- it doesn't serve the same purpose for today's garden-variety stressors.”

According to Shawn Talbott, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of Utah, our response to stress today doesn’t involve burning any of these extra hormones that we create in anticipation of having to fight or flee. These extra hormones are created but not used up and this build up adds to the detrimental effects of chronic stress.

Granted being inauthentic is not the only cause of stress in our lives, but being inauthentic definitely adds to our level of stress. And the more inauthentic you are, the more frustrated you get with your results, the less fulfilled you feel in your work, and the less success you achieve – the more stress you will suffer. And that’s bad news for your physical health and wellbeing.

Take a moment now and look at yourself. What side effects of being inauthentic do you notice about you? Please post your thoughts, comments, and findings. You are not alone!