Stress

As there are two sides to a coin, so are there to stress. On the positive side, stress can help you compel to action for it can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. However, as a negative influence, stress can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which can lead to health problems like headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers and stroke.

Studies indicate that there are certain individuals at higher risk to stress. More vulnerable to the effects of stress than others are younger adults because it may simply go unnoticed in the very young and old. Also, women in general are at higher risk than men from stress-related chest pain, especially working mothers, regardless of whether they are married or single, because they bear a greater and more diffused work load. Other individuals at more risk are the less educated, divorced or widowed ( especially since studies indicate that unmarried people generally do not live as long as their married contemporaries), the unemployed, isolated individuals, targets of racial or sexual discrimination, those without health insurance, and those who live in cities.

However, nobody is immune to stress and you need to work toward change the source of stress or change your reaction to it. To do this, you must be aware of your stressors and your emotional and physical reactions. Among these, recognize what you can change and employ techniques like goal setting, time management techniques, and delayed gratification strategies. Also, reduce the intensity of your emotional reactions to stress by changing your perceptions. Work at adopting more moderate views so that you can see the stress as something you can cope with rather than something that overpowers. Along with this you can learn to moderate your physical reactions towards it and build your physical reserves by exercise cardiovascular fitness three to four times a week, eating a well-balanced meal, and maintaining your ideal weight.

To help you more cope up, try other activities as relief of stress. While there are many things you can do to reduce stress, the first thing is to make sure you are getting enough sleep as sleep restores the body systems and provides rejuvenation. Make you exercises regular for it is good for the mind, not just the body. It can help stave off the depression that can set in with stress by raising the output of endorphins, one of the ‘feel good’ chemicals in the brain. Also try spending time in nature since mental health benefits with time in the natural world to to calm the mind and emotions and to bring greater body awareness as a way to let go of mental stress. There’s also massage therapy which works on your soft tissues like the muscles, tendons, and ligaments to improve muscle tone and relieve pain, as well as relax, stimulate, and tone the body. Although it largely affects muscles just under the skin, it may also reach the deeper layers of muscle and even the organs, also stimulates blood circulation and assists the lymphatic system, improving the elimination of waste throughout the body.

To avoid stress, you must be aware of the common causes of stress which is really a non-exhaustive list. However, this includes events like: births, deaths, reunions, weddings, and moving home. Responsibilities like unpaid bills, lack of money, exams, rush hour traffic, project deadlines and personal relationships are also a culprit. Check your lifestyle also for I’m sure you’ll identify one stressor or two there. There is what we call acute stress, which is the reaction to an immediate threat, or more commonly known as the fight or flight response. Common acute stressors include: noise, isolation, crowding, hunger, danger and infection.

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Stress