Our hearts, brains, and guts are key control centers for processing and managing emotions and for keeping us alive, well, and fully functioning as we navigate through life. And the effects of stress on each of these centers, and, therefore, our overall well-being is becoming clearer with more research each day.

While normal stress (engaging in new and novel activities and interactions, learning and growing, participating in healthy physical activities, etc) is necessary for helping us to grow and develop resilience and happiness in life, overwhelming, chronic, and toxic (destructive to our mental health) stress has a definite negative impact on our health and overall well-being (physiologically in and in all possible ways).