Stress has become such an integral part of our lives that we often fail to see how damaging it can be. Protect yourself by learning to recognize its symptoms and take steps to reduce its harmful effects.
Stress & Its Effects
Stress is essentially your body’s normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. This ‘stress response’ causes your nervous system to release a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper.
These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed up your reaction time and enhance your focus – preparing you to either fight or flee from the danger at hand.
This response has the potential to protect you from dangerous situations, but the problem is that your body doesn’t distinguish between physical and psychological threats. Thus, stressful situations like heavy traffic delays, deadlines and tension at home or work will cause your body to react just as strongly as if you were facing a life-or-death situation.
When your body is constantly in this ‘fight or flight’ mode due to the pressures of modern living, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your body, mind and soul.
Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body by raising blood pressure, suppressing the immune system and increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Long-term stress can also contribute to infertility, speed up the ageing process and can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
Identifying Your Stressors & Responses
The secret to controlling your stress levels is to identify what is causing your stress and to recognize how you naturally respond to those sources of stress. The situations and pressures that cause stress are known as stressors. Common stressors can include:
- major life changes,
- work pressures,
- financial problems,
- relationship difficulties,
- family conflict, or
- self -generated pressures like negativity, pessimism and extreme perfectionism.
Furthermore, experts recognize the top stressful life events to be: a spouse’s death, divorce or marital separation, a jail term, pregnancy and the arrival of an infant, a death in the family, injury or illness, loss of a job, moving house and retirement.
Remember, just as people’s stressors differ so do their responses to stress. Psychologists recognize three key responses to stress, namely:
- an angry or agitated stress response;
- a withdrawn or depressed stress response;
- a tense and frozen stress response.
Dr. Greg Viz, a Johannesburg –based GP further explains that other problems caused or exacerbated by stress, include: pain of any kind; heart disease; digestive problems; sleep problems; depression; obesity; autoimmune diseases, and skin conditions, such as eczema.
How Much Can You Take?
“It’s important to know your own stress limit and your ability to tolerate stress depends on many factors”, explains Dr. Viz.
Some positive stress-busting factors include a strong network of supportive friends and family members, a strong sense of control, an optimistic outlook, an ability to deal with emotions and your knowledge and preparation about a stressful situation. So how do you know if you are in control of your stress levels or if they are controlling you? Take a look at the quiz below to find out.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
An extreme form of stress that has affected many people in our violent South African society is posttraumatic stress disorder or (PTSD). This is the debilitating condition that can occur after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that can trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults such as rape or mugging, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. People with PTSD can experience memory flashbacks, insomnia, nightmares, anxiety, irritability, extreme guilt or outbursts of anger and experts recommend therapy to work through their trauma.
Stress Management Secrets
So, you have identified your stress level, stressors and natural response. Now, how do you bring back the balance and effectively manage the pressures that plague you?
“Firstly, take time to truly unwind”, suggests Kunundra Mali, a wellrespected life management coach.
Enjoying deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, massage therapy, soothing music or reading a book are all relaxing options.
“Setting aside at least 15 minutes each day in your schedule to do something for yourself, like taking a bubble bath is crucial for your mental wellbeing”, says Mali.
Getting sufficient sleep, eating balanced meals and benefitting from the positive endorphins generated by regular physical activity are also all important stress busters.
Remember that unhealthy ‘crutches’ like alcohol; drugs, smoking and overeating will only further deplete you and are best avoided in order to keep your psychological and physical equilibrium. Writing down your thoughts and worries in a journal or communicating them to friends can also be very therapeutic, suggests Mali. If reaching out to your social circle offers no relief, seek the guidance of a professional therapist.
“Offering your help to others or immersing yourself in a new hobby can also be very healing for a stressed body and soul,” asserts Mali.
Setting Limits
Lastly, keep in mind that setting your personal limits and planning your time efficiently will also go a long way in helping you to manage your stress levels. “The core stress management principle is to get the most of out your life without it taking too much out of you,” says Mali. “If you think that you have a stress problem, take the necessary steps to help regain control today and get back to living the full and healthy life that you deserve.”
How Do You Handle Stress?
Jeanne Segal, an American behavioral specialist, suggests that you ask yourself the following questions to determine whether you handle stress in positive, proactive ways or not:
YES/NO | When I feel agitated, do I know how to quickly calm and soothe myself?
YES/NO | Can I easily let go of my anger?
YES/NO | Can I turn to others at work to help me calm down and feel better?
YES/NO | When I come home at night, do I walk in the door feeling alert and relaxed?
YES/NO | Am I seldom distracted or moody?
YES/NO | Am I able to recognize upsets that others seem to be experiencing?
YES/NO | Do I easily turn to friends or family members for a calming influence?
YES/NO | When my energy is low, do I know how to boost it?
If you answer NO to a few or more of these questions, your stress levels may be spinning out of control!
By Julia Lamberti, Information sourced from: Stress Management
For Dummies by Allen Elkin,www.medicinenet.com, www.helpguide.org, The Language of Emotional
Intelligence by Jeanne Segal, Ph.D,www.ehealth.com, www.Medic8.co, The Mayo Clinic Website, TheMeditation Escape™ Website, www.Solveyourproblem.com
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