Stress

What is Stress?
Stress is a natural response to an accumulation or piling up of many different kinds of pressures from daily life. The stressors can be positive or negative. The body responds in both a psychological and a physiological way. The psychological response is often feeling overwhelmed. Physiologically, a chemical reaction occurs, leading to the "fight or flight" response. When the chemicals produced are not used up in a physical response, they build up and keep a person in a constant state of "fight or flight." If that state remains "on" for too long, the body will "shut it off" for us - often in unhealthy ways.

What Causes Stress?
People face three major sources of stress.

Stress of Circumstances: Intrusions into our lives we cannot control, such as loss of a job, loss of a loved one, a family member who has a substance abuse concern, or a sudden, serious illness.

Stress of People: Our relationships with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and acquaintances. People let us down or set expectations we cannot achieve.

Stress of Self: Our own attitudes about our world and ourselves. Sometimes our own feelings of insecurity, fear, anxiety, anger, or sadness can create added stress in our lives.

Personality, environment, mental abilities, emotions, and spiritual state can also affect a person's ability to cope with stress.

Signs and Symptoms of Stress
High levels of stress can affect a person physically, emotionally, and behaviorally. Responses can include increased risk for cardiovascular disease, lower back and neck pain, hypertension, depressed immune system, allergies, fatigue, insomnia, gastrointestinal disorders, migraine headaches, depression, anxiety, impulsivity, irritability, crying, increased drug or alcohol use.

Treatment Options
There are a number of treatment options for stress management. Some people find short-term counseling - talking through the stressors and developing a coping strategy - very helpful. Increasing exercise can also be helpful. Our bodies were designed to respond to the "fight or flight" impulse in physical manner. Exercise uses up the 'stress' chemicals and reduces muscle tension. Proper nutrition also helps as does giving our bodies downtime. Other suggestions include relaxation techniques and deep breathing, maintaining perspective, simplifying, learning to say no, talking with a friend, knowing your limitations, spiritual methods, and more.

Information source: Pine Rest TODAY Magazine, "Feeling Frayed? How to Handle Stress." Copyright © Fall 1998.