About 5 years I ago I had a number of “pre-melanoma” moles removed. The gene for melanoma runs in my family, and I was a bona fide sun-worshipper in my teenage years and twenties. My dermatologist, and several other second opinions, told me that I was at the highest possible risk for developing melanoma—one of the deadliest forms of cancer. I gladly underwent the removal process, and in my follow-up appointment, assumed that I would hear the usual tips and advice from my dermatologist. I felt pretty confident that I was doing all I could to prevent future skin cancer.

But along with telling me to avoid sun during the harshest hours, wear sunscreen, and cover up, he told me that the most important thing I could do is to avoid stress. Although it’s become commonly known that stress can activate genes that cause disease, it wasn’t something I had thought about deeply before. I always knew “stress is bad,” but as I was worrying about meeting deadlines, having enough money, and doing it all—I never stopped to think about what all that stress was doing to my body.

As I left the dermatologist’s office that day, I made a conscious choice to ditch stress. That pledge to myself was kept with varying degrees of success—until ph360. With the insights from ph360, I feel like I know what I really need in all aspects of my life to avoid stress, whereas before I was still going through a process of trial and error. I realize now that there are a million tiny stressors around me all the time, and it’s up to me to navigate not only how I react to them, but also how I choose to make them a part of my life or not.

ph360 also helped me learn that not all stress is bad—there is a type of stress that feels more like excitement or anticipation (called eustress) that I thrive on. Eustress can be motivating and actually helps me reach the goals I care about most. But when the scale tips to worry or anxiety, I think about my health and I ditch it right then and there.

Now that I have ditched stress, I realize how much of my life I spent stressed out without realizing that there was another way to be. I’m excited for the other self-discoveries that will come as I keep myself disease-free and happy with ph360!

Want to find your own way out of stress? Try ph360’s Lifetime Membership today.