Stress can be defined as the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. Even positive life changes such as a promotion, a mortgage, or the birth of a child produce stress.(1)
The human
body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us
alert, motivated, and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous
challenges without relief or relaxation between stressors. As a result, the person becomes overworked, and
stress-related tension builds. The body’s autonomic nervous system has a
built-in stress response that causes physiological changes to allow the body to
combat stressful situations. This stress response, also known as the “fight or
flight response”, is activated in case of an emergency. However, this response
can become chronically activated during prolonged periods of stress. Prolonged
activation of the stress response causes wear and tear on the body – both
physical and emotional.(2)
Stress that
continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress – a negative
stress reaction. Distress can disturb the body’s internal balance or
equilibrium, leading to physical symptoms such as headaches, an upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, sexual dysfunction, and problems sleeping.
Emotional problems can also result from distress. These problems include depression, panic attacks, or other forms of anxiety and worry. Research suggests that
stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases. Stress is
linked to 6 of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung
ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.(3)
Stress also
becomes harmful when people engage in the compulsive use of substances or
behaviors to try to relieve their stress. These substances or behaviors include food,
alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, sex, shopping, and the Internet. Rather than
relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these
substances and compulsive behaviors tend to keep the body in a stressed state
and cause more problems. The distressed person becomes trapped in a vicious
circle.
It may seem
that there’s nothing you can do about your stress level. The bills aren’t going
to stop coming, there will be never be more hours in the day for all you
errands, and your career or family responsibility will always be demanding. But
you have a lot more control that you might think. In fact, managing stress is all about taking
charge of your thoughts, your emotion, your schedule, your environment, and the
way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for
work, relationship, relaxation, and fun plus the resilience to hold up under
pressure and meet challenges head on. (4)
Stress management starts with
identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it
sounds. Your true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it’s all too
easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But
maybe it’s your procrastination, rather that the actual job demands, that leads
to deadline stress.
To identify
your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and
excuses:
Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.
Stress
management strategy #1: Avoid unnecessary stress
Not all
stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to
be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your
life that you can eliminate.
Stress
management strategy #2: Alter the situation
If you
can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Figure out what you can do
to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Often,
this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.
Stress
management strategy #3: Adapt to the stressor
If you can’t change the stressor,
change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of
control by changing your expectations and attitude.
Stress
management strategy #4: Accept the things you can’t change
Some
sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death
of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the
best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be
difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation
you can’t change.
Stress
management strategy #5: Make time for fun and relaxation
Beyond a
take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by
nurturing yourself. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll
be in a better place to handle life’s stressors when they inevitably come.
Healthy ways
to relax and recharge
Don’t get
so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of
your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury.
Stress
management strategy #6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle
You can
increase your resistance to stress by strengthening your physical health.
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