Second-hand stress related to asthma and autoimmune disorders

My friend was complaining to me about her child's prolonged cough, however she noted that when she is vacationing in a nice cold skiing resort, the cough disappears.  In fact, many times parents relate that at work they are the CEO or CFO, overseeing many workers and projects, but when they open the front door of their homes, their heart palpitations elevated and they break out in cold sweat.  Parents and children having anxiety at home is very common today.

Sanctifying your household should be the top priority of any parent or leader, preferably the father.  I don't mean calling in the medium or bomoh.  

Sanctify:
To set apart as holy, free from sin, purify, vindicate, unburden, ...

The generic meaning of sanctification is "the state of proper functioning." 

To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. 

A pen is "sanctified" when used to write. 
Eyeglasses are "sanctified" when used to improve sight. 

In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God's design and purpose.

SANCTIFY YOUR HOUSE

When two parents take up their responsibility to set the tone in their house, there will be security, joy, hope, faith and love in the household. Parents set the borders and guidelines, have open communication, and their children respect the borders.  However, when parents are venting out in anger and frustration, hurling emotional and verbal abuses, using hostile body language and conditional threats, in their own homes.  There is no purity in the home.  We are all familiar with the shouty moms and the Santa Claus dads, where the head of the family is the matriarch and the father takes a passive spectator role instead.  An angry abusive dad and a passive mom is equally bad.

Research has found that depression in a spouse frequently leads to depression in the partner. The same holds true for roommates. In addition, children raised by depressed parents are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with depression. In fact, one family members' depression can bring down an entire family system. Other emotions, such as anxiety and fear, can have the same effect.

Watch this funny take on stress at home: 

Even in the workplace when the CEO allows lies and manipulation to breed, eventually produce tension and suspicion. Often these creep up without you being conscious of it - it can start with one employee exhibiting some self-pity, a gossip, etc.

THE UGLY

At this point, you may be thinking, if that's the bad, what's the ugly. The ugly is the consequences. Just as second-hand smoke can have the same or worse effects on the health of nonsmokers, second-hand emotions (if they're the negative kind just described) can have significant, long-lasting effects on the health and well being of those experiencing them. The negativity keeps pounding away at you and ultimately results in significant second-hand stress, which as you might expect, has the same effects on your mind and body as direct stress. The body experiences and interprets it as one in the same.

Caroline Whang, writing for Ladies Home Journal, notes that workers who deal with trauma victims on a regular basis often experience serious physical and emotional symptoms such as muscle tension, fatigue, low energy, insomnia, and depression. She also describes a study of infants out of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center at the University of Colorado that discovered that children whose parents are experiencing significant strain are more likely to develop asthma and autoantibodies that increase their risk for diabetes. Other medical problems, such as heart disease, have also been linked to second-hand stress.


Why Your Health May Suffer from Empathic Stress

If you're often around stressed-out people, or you choose to watch stressful programming on TV, your health could suffer (see Science Says Stress Is Contagious).

• Decreased nutrient absorption
  
• Elevated cholesterol
  
• Increased food sensitivity
  
• Decreased oxygenation to your gut
  
• Elevated triglycerides
• Heartburn
  
• As much as four times less blood flow to your digestive system, which leads to decreased metabolism
  
• Decreased gut flora populations
  
• Decreased enzymatic output in your gut – as much as 20,000-fold!

A dysfunctional family possesses draining atmosphere that sucks up all the positive energy and replaces it with anxiety, fear, unhappiness, and chaos.  Women are generally more vulnerable to absorbing Emotional Contagion (EC) from others - both positive and negative emotions (see Doherty, et al., Emotional Contagion: Gender and Occupational Differences).

Happiness is contagious too. People who are surrounded by many happy people are more likely to become happy in the future.  Positive thoughts will improve your immune system, decrease pain and chronic disease.

Are Some People More Vulnerable to Others' EC?

Read more ... Emotions Are Contagious—Choose Your Company Wisely

9 Emotional Pains Pregnant moms pass on to Unborn Child

Allergy - You are attacking yourself!