Stress

By Ann Christine Johnson

Stress is an unavoidable part of life. It occurs when our internal response to external events (called stressors) is one of discomfort or displeasure. When you can learn to accept problems as normal, and respond to them realistically and effectively; when you can accept that life inevitably brings demands and difficulties, you will react more positively when those demands and difficulties occur. Not all stressful situations can be avoided. As you get involved in work and personal relationships, you will inevitably encounter problems and frustrations, so you can expect and anticipate stress. How you deal with these stressors will dictate how much stress you experience throughout your life.

The demands placed on us are not always external demands. You may feel stressed by the many tasks you have to complete at work or home each day, but much of your stress in these situations may more be the result of the demands you place on yourself rather than those placed on you by your employer or family. Often people increase their stress levels by expecting a lot more of themselves than others do. As you work on managing the stressors in your life, make sure that you don’t confuse stress with challenge, excitement or motivation. Although stress in a general sense can be good for us, being over-stressed or distressed can be harmful to our general health and wellbeing.

Chronic patterns of self-hate, guilt and self-criticism raise the body’s stress levels and weaken the immune system. Environmental stressors such as elevated sound levels and over-illumination; daily stress events such as lost keys, heavy traffic and transport delays; life changes such as leaving school, starting work, setting up house, giving up driving, illness and ageing; workplace stressors such as role strain, role confusion and lack of control; can  elicit a stress response in the body such as accelerated breathing and heart rate; elevated blood pressure, dilated pupils, chest pains, muscle cramps, racing pulse, knots in the stomach and sweaty palms, headaches, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness.

This is the brain and body’s alarmed and alert response to a situation that it sees as threatening (to you). Prolonged activation of the stress response system, and subsequent overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones, can deplete both the nutrients and energy resources of the body, creating a state of physical exhaustion. It can disrupt almost all of your body’s processes, increasing the risk of obesity, insomnia, nightmares, digestive problems and memory impairment. It can cause loss of or increased appetite, headaches, cold sores, irritability, moodiness, poor concentration, aches, pains, fatigue, crying spells, panic attacks and depression. It can worsen skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, hives and acne and trigger an asthma attack. It can cause diabetes, hyperglycaemia, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, thyroid malfunction, stomach ulcers or the common cold. Lowering your stress levels will help you to avoid health problems developing and assist your body to remain well.

There’s a significant relationship between the state of the mind and the condition of the body. When you experience considerable stress you are likely to worry and fret more than usual and as a result have an increased risk of physical illness. When you are worn out and rundown you are more likely to over-react to stressful situation than when you are fresh and well rested. Lack of sleep or exercise can cause you to be irritable or upset. When you work continuously without taking time out to relax, tension can build up. You can then explode at some small or insignificant event. The more you over-exert self, sleep erratically, eat unhealthily and exercise irregularly, the more you will find yourself being uptight, irritable and unreasonable, the more you will find yourself over-reacting to stressful situations. If you get into the habit of taking care of your physical health and taking it easy once in awhile, you can reduce your stress levels considerably.

Unfortunately the people who most need to learn to take care of self are usually the ones most likely to resist doing so. You may complain that you feel pressured and over-worked, that you don’t have the time to stop and relax, but the point here is that it is a matter of finding the time to take care of yourself. To do this you need to decide that taking care of yourself is an important priority in your life. In the long run taking care of yourself saves you time rather than costing you time. When you have been busy for an extended period of time you are likely to get tired and lose the level of your efficiency; you are likely to begin to think less clearly, to start to lose concentration, to take longer to do the work, to then worry about your reduced efficiency and attempt to compensate for this by working harder and even less efficiently. When you are feeling weary or unwell you can do considerably less in an hour than when you are refreshed and well rested. If you take the time to relax and become revitalised, when you return to work you will more than make up for ‘lost’ time. When you say you don’t have the time to relax, you are kidding yourself if you believe you can keep up the hectic pace without paying a hefty price.

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Bio:

Ann C. Johnson Assoc MAPS: General Psychologist has worked in helping professions for the past 33 years. In the past few years Ann has published 3 books on personal and spiritual development. She continues to write articles on her favourite topics on a regular basis. Ann can be found on https://www.facebook.com/annjohnson1948