STRESS MANAGEMENT
Think back to a moment of crisis in your life, for example, a near car collision on the highway. After the crisis passed you are in a sweat, your heart is pounding, you are weak in the knees and emotionally drained.
This is a portrait of STRESS.
Stress originates from the French word 'cstrece' meaning narrowness, a constriction or limiting of your power. The most debilitating type of stress - negative stress generally occurs when you view change and pressure as burdens and perceive rising demands as threats. You feel a sense of helplessness. Repeated or prolonged negative stress like too heavy work load, difficulties of city traffic, hidden mistress, clandestine love affairs, bad Industrial Relations, strained interpersonal relations, poor health, money problems etc. can trigger complex physiological reactions involving 1500 or more chemical changes in the brain and body and may lead to an exhaustion of mental and physical energies and increased susceptibility to disease.
Stress spans the whole of human life. It begins even before birth when a pregnant mother undergoes stress the baby's birth weight, heart rates motor - activity etc. are influenced, in childhood there are school hassles, during teens stressed love affairs, in youth job tensions, in old age the fear of isolation and loneliness heightens stress. In other words stress is inescapable.
Now the first question that really flashes is how does stress damage the body and mind? The prevailing theory is that stress hurts you by sounding the alarm to mobilize for FIGHT OR FLIGHT; when you feel you're in danger, your heart rate speeds up, the fats especially cholesterol in your bloodstream increase, your stomach secretes more acid, your immune system slows down, all of these changes are a colossal strain. And the strain is greatest if the stresses you face are numerous, severe and persistent.
Managing Stress really means managing the tension, anger, and anxiety, helplessness you feel in stressful situations so that you can respond creatively and healthfully.
Most everybody knows what kind of things get on their nerves and make an effort to avoid them, setting aside some quite time just for yourself or a solitary walk can help isolate you from the hassles of the day. Taking time out for exercise may do more for your resistance to stress than a week's vacation, learning to say no and deciding your priorities are a few other ways to be happy and healthy.
The woes of stress can be overcome by: -
First: FOCUSING: It is a way of recognizing signals from the body that something is wrong. Take a strain inventory once a day and ask yourself what's keeping me from feeling terrific today? "Today Again I Choose Happiness," should be your "mantra" of success, repeat it often.
Second: RECONSTRUCTING STRESSFUL SITUATIONS: Think about a recent episode of distress, then write down three ways it could have gone better and three ways it could have gone worse. Follow / avoid them to your benefit.
Lastly: COMPENSATING through Self Improvement: Some times you come face to face with stress like illness that you cannot avoid. It is important to distinguish between what you can and cannot control. Be Cool and persistent.
The other ways are: -
1.PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION: Also known as the tense - relax method, progressive relaxation systematically tightens and releases every major muscle group of the body; people can relax a muscle to a much greater degree after first tensing it. Progressive relaxation employs the body tension scan principle and boosts your ability to detect and eliminate unnecessary tension.
2.AUTOGENIC (SELF - REGULATION) RELAXATION : Uses mental imagery and verbal cues to regulate breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension. The autogenic method emphasizes calm, rhythmic breathing, a slow heartbeat and muscular sensations of heaviness and warmth.
3.DESTRESS: One touch relaxation is elicited through key muscles that with gentle fingertip pressure can trigger a "cascade" effect for eg. Shoulder Shrug that quickly dissolves tension throughout the body.
4.VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS, CAN HELP: Yes they can because many nutrients are crucial to the body's natural ability to cope, a daily multivitamin and mineral is especially important during times of stress. Take Vitamin-B complex as well, the extra B Vitamins it supplies promotes the health of the nervous and immune systems and can counter fatigue, Calcium and Magnesium are worthy too, because they can relieve muscle tension and strengthen the heart. Both Siberian and Panama ginseng, which bolster the adrenal glands, may also be effective. These stress-fighting herbs are sometimes called "adaptogens" (because they help the body to adopt to challenges) or "tonics" (because they tone the body, making it more resistant). All can safely be taken together.
TO SUM UP
People who coped poorly with stress became ill four times more often than those with good coping styles. Negative Stress increases the risk of many diseases including heart diseases, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and even the common cold. In addition it makes you gain abdominal body fat, kills brain cells and appears to prematurely age the adult body and brains.
WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO:
Ø Exercise regularly. In addition, try breathing exercises, pranayama, yoga, tai chi, meditation, massage, acupressure, biofeedback and relaxation.
Ø Eliminate or restrict your intake of caffeine or alcohol. They can contribute to jitteriness and keep you from sleeping.
Ø Consider psychological counseling and therapy, which can help increase your coping skills, popular in USA & JAPAN.
Ø Maintain social ties. A close support network of family and friends is crucial to good health. Even a cherished pet can be a great stress reliever.
FINALLY:
Stress is simply an individual’s response to taxing physical, emotional or environmental demands. Job pressures, family discord, financial problems, traumatic events, injuries or illness etc. all cause the initial reaction to stress called the fight or flight response which is a natural and healthy reaction in which the adrenal glands prepare the body for impending danger by secreting stress hormones like adrenaline that provides an instant burst of energy allowing the body to confront an enemy or escape to safety. Persistent stress meaning chronically high levels of stress hormones in the body deplete both nutrient and energy reserves, creating an overall state of exhaustion. What's more you end up with high blood pressure & cholesterol levels damaging the heart and blood vessels, stomach secretes too much acid, sex hormones are decreased and the brain becomes starved for glucose, its only energy source, impairing mental ability and also weakening the immune system resulting in weakened resistance to infection and illness.
STRESS INVENTORY
Ø Fatigue, insomnia or difficulty in concentrating.
Ø Nervousness, agitation or unusual excitability.
Ø Loss of appetite, nausea, upset stomach, diarrhoea or constipation.
Ø Headaches
Ø Loss of sexual interest.
Ø Irritability, anger, resentment, apathy or agitation.
Even if you have only one of the above it may be due to STRESS!
START RELIEVING STRESS NOW AND KEEP SMILING FOREVER!
VITAMINS CAN HELP
Vitamins supplements can help: Because many nutrients are crucial to the body natural ability to cope, a daily multivitamin and mineral is especially important during times of stress. Take Vitamin-B complex as well, the extra B Vitamins it supplies promote the health of the nervous and immune systems and can countered fatigue Calving and magnesium are worthy while too, because they can relieve muscle tension and stringiness the heart. Both Siberian and panan ginseng, which bolster the adrenal glands, may also be effective. These stress-fighting herbs are sanctiones called "adaptogens" (because they help the body to adapt to challenges) or "tonics" (because they come the body, making it more resistant. All can safely be taken together.
