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Stress Information
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Stress Myths
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Mind/Body Balance
Emotions/Immune
System | S.A.D.
Treatment
Stress is a
natural reaction to life. Daily events, relationship conflicts, internal
pressures and expectations, sudden or major changes are all sources of
stress.We can not remove stress from our life but we can change how we feel about it, how we interpret it and what we do to cope with it.
Research indicates it is not the stressful situation itself that bring negative results but the way the stress is perceived and handled.
We can reduce our stressful reactions, modify the situations or use it to help us change and grow.
We can learn to self regulate our physical reactions to stress and have more emotional control.
We can improve our self esteem, control our fears and enter into deep
states of relaxation to reduce stress.
Stress is a physical change the body undertakes when it becomes alarmed through a sense of impending danger.
A biochemical reaction prepares you to either remove yourself (flight) or defend yourself (fight). A cascade of hormones trigger an internal alarm system which causes you to have rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweaty or dry palms, edginess, digestive problems, blood vessel, and pupil constriction, dry throat and hyper-alertness.
After a prolonged period this biochemical physiologic state can become habitual and chronic. We adjust to this way of feeling and often don't recognize the strain on our bodies and mind. Instead, we feel "tired" when we relax our bodies and become unstressed.
HOW STRESS EFFECTS YOU
Effectively coping with a few stressors can cause a feeling of exhilaration known as eustress. This helps us to have more energy and motivation to continue to produce more enjoyment or be more effective.
When too many stressors pile up or continue for too long a time, we begin to experience distress.
When this happens:
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You don't feel in control
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You lack decision making power
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You see few or no options
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You engage in pessimistic or negative thinking
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You have uncomfortable physical reactions such as fear, anxiety, panic, fatigue, headache
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You seek comfort through potentially damaging behavior such as overeating, drinking, or excessive shopping
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Your self esteem drops
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You can develop stress related illnesses
Many degenerative diseases such as high blood pressure, ulcers, elevated cholesterol levels, heart disease, digestive disorders, sexual difficulties, elevated sugar metabolism are precipitated by prolonged stress.
Most importantly, stress lowers our immune system function causing us to be more prone to virus, allergy and invading bacteria. Our ability to fight off disease is greatly reduced when we respond to life events with distress rather than eustress. Research shows that learning the Release Technique can improve your health. The following websites provide situation-specific background information: about-hypertension.com , depression-and-anxiety.com and preventing-obesity.com
Can
Emotions Affect Your Immune System? WHAT CAUSES STRESS? Take our Stress
Test to measure your stress level. Visit
ediets.com
to find out how stress affects your eating habits.
Any change in our life, either positive or
negative, can cause us to have a stress reaction. Often, the events are not as
important in causing stress as our emotional reaction to them.
Some major
events that are usually stressors are listed below:
Other
events can also cause a stress reaction:
Stress begins at an early age as parents,
having fewer children have greater expectations for them. The previous
generation did not have to submit to interviews, waiting lists and acquiring
computer skills.
Two income families create more stress for parents who
have to divide their time between home and work. On average, women are putting
in another 33 hours running a household and men are contributing an additional
14 hours.
Technology contributes more
pressure. Fax machines, airplanes and computers speed up everyone's lives. We
have less time to think and reflect with little time to decompress.
HOW TO REDUCE STRESS
There are
several ways to reduce stress. They fall into 3 areas:
1. Physical
2.
Mental
3. Emotional
Usually people go to the gym to work out, play
tennis, ride bikes, go to a show, movie, read a book, call or be with someone
you feel close to, go out or eat a nice meal.
It is reported that stress
related health problems has benefited from the biochemical changes produced by
humor and relaxation. Laughter, research suggests, reduces stress by increasing
gamma interferon levels, an immune system enhancer.
Here are some ways
to reduce your stress:
Regular exercise: Everything from aerobics to
weightlifting to yoga will contribute to less stress. Be careful about
competitive sports; losing consistently can also increase your stress
level. Visit www.ediets.com to receive
a personalized exercise program.
Condensed worrying: Set aside a half-hour each day for concentrated
fretting. Worry will be exhausted after 30 minutes of dwelling on it and
provides the time for constructive problem solving.
Put it into words:
Talking about your stressful situation with a friend can be helpful. Writing in
a journal is another stress- busting option.
Take a break: Rest is highly
underrated. Sleep rejuvenates the immune system and protects it from stress
damage. Getting up from your desk for 5 or 10 minutes is a simple but effective
stress-fighter.
Planning: Setting goals and staying organized can reduce
stress. Keep your plans flexible and realistic.
Relaxation techniques: There
are many: meditation, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, tai
chi, massage, listening to soothing music. Start by adding 5 to 10 minutes of
any relaxation activity to each day, and work your way to a half
hour. The Release
Technique was developed to reduce stress and improve your
emotional well-being. Visit their site for more instruction.
Get a change of scenery:
A weekend getaway is an effective way to reduce stress. The website at
Country
Inn and Suites offers wonderful deals that will help you reconnect with the
stress busting outdoors and with yourself.
Expand your horizons: Visit websites that can improve your self-knowledge such as: breathing.com, heartmath.com, and Healthfinder.org. Click here for a list of other recommended self-improvement sites.
Eustress: However, not all stress is harmful and sometimes it brings about beneficial results. Exercise is stressful activity, yet widely recommended because it forces the heart, lungs and muscles to grow stronger. Shopping for the right gift can be stressful--until you see the look on a loved one's face. Even disagreeing with a co-worker might seem tense, until you realize it cleared the air and allowed you to work better together.
Ask yourself what is most important in your life and what are you doing to get there? If you can address these questions with concrete answers, you have a start on stress management. A visit to www.beliefnet.com may help to find some answers to these questions.Here are some other website links that can bring stress reducing relief.
More
Background on Stress
De-Stressing Stress
Body and Mind Interactions
Advances in the
Treatment of SAD
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