Stress management - ZT

YOUR HEALTH, YOUR WELLNESS

Stress. This one little word carries the weight of the world. And it's responsible for many health complaints in doctor's offices across Canada. But what exactly does this word mean? Stress is the "wear adn tear" your body experiences as you adjust to the continually changing enviornment. It has physical and emotional effects and can cause a variety of feelings.

Stress can be your friend or your enemy. A moderate amount of stress can be stimulating and challenging, pushing you to higher levels of personal achievement. But stress overload can be harmful to your health. Being overwhelmed with too many tasks can create negative emotions, such as frustration and anxiety. You can become tired, inefficient,and less decisive if you continue at a frantic pace over an extended peirod of time. This may lead to exhaustion or illness. Stress can take a terrible toll on your physical and emotional health,as well as on your relationships.

The first step in preventing stress is realizing that it is your response to an event or situation, not the event or situatiion itself that causes these negative feelings. Things that are stressful for some people aren't for others. For example, some people find their morning commute incredibly tiring, letting bad traffic conditions frustrate them. Others look at the time in the car as personal time where they can escape from the chaos of work and family commitments.

THE BODY RESPOND TO STRESS

Stress affects your body by releasing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol that can cause your heart rate and blood pressure to rise, your muscles to tense, and your blood sugar level to increase. The symptoms of stress may include: anxiousness, depression, or irritability; diarrhea; sleep disturbances; appetite changes; muscular tension; frequent minor illness;headaches.

CAUSES OF STRESS

These are two main kinds of stressors; external and internal. Examples of external stressors include:

Physical enviornment: noise, bright lights, heat, and confined spaces

Social interaction: dealing with people who are rude, bossy or aggressive.

Major life events: losing your job, the death of a loved one, a promotion, marriage, divorce, or the birth of a baby.

Daily Hassles: commuting, misplaced keys, and mechanical breakdown.

Examples of internal stressors include

Lifestyle choices: too much caffeine use, not enough sleep, and overloaded schedule.

Negative self-talk: being pessimistic, self-critical, or over-analyzing.

Mind traps: having unrealistic expectations, taking things personally, all-or-nothing thinking, exaggerating, and rigid thinking.

Stressful personality traits: being a perfectionist, workaholic, or people pleaser.

STRATEGIZE FOR STRESS CONTROL

One of the safest and most effective ways to treat stress is to eliminate the things that cause it when you can. For stressful events that you can't change, try to modify your attitude and reaction.

Since no single method of stress management is successful all of the time, you may want to try a variety of approaches. Consider the following list of techniques, and determine which ones might work best for you:

Decrease or discontinue caffeine use: Caffeine is a drug, a strong stimulant that actually generates a stress reaction in the body. Slowly wean yourself from caffeine to wvoid withdral headaches

Physical activity: Regular, moderate exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress. Aerobic exercise - the kind that increases your heart rate, such as running, walking, bicycling, or swimming - is especially good at reducing the harmful effects of stress. Stretching is also a good way to relieve muscle tension.

Discuss your feelings: Social support is a major factor in how people experience stress. Knowing that you are careda for may improve your mental and physical health. Speak with someone you trust. By expressing your feelings, you will be able to understand and cope with them better. Or create a stress log and write for about 10-15 minutes a day about stressful events and how they make you feel.

Laughing and crying: Laughter makes your muscles go limp and release tension, so try to keep a sense of humor. Tears can help cleanse the body of substances that accumulate under stress

Find an activity you enjoy: Choose a hobby or activity that help your relax, such as writing, gardening, crafts, or art.

Time management: Time management skills such as prioritizing, managing commitments, and learnign to say "no" can allow you more time to relax and can help increase your performance and productivity

Lifestyle changes: Some behavior and lifestyle choices affect your stress level by interfering with the way your body seeks relief from stress. Try to eat a balanced diet, limit your intake of alcohol, avoid smoking, get enough sleep, and balance your personal, work, and family needs and obligations.

Relaxation techniques: There are a variety of methods that help many people relax and relieve tension.

Medications: In some case, a doctor may prescribe a medication to help a person get through a particularly stressful time. Your doctor can explain what the options are.

RELAXATION TECHNIQUES

Just wishing away stressful events won't work. You need to deal with the way stressors affect you. The following are some relaxation techniques that can help reduce the physical symptoms of stress and help ease your mind:

Deep breathing: During stress, breathing becomes shallow and rapid. Taking a deep breath from the abdomen, rather than the chest, is an effective technique fro winding down. Try to do 20 minutes of deep breathing every day for good health, not just when you're stressed.

Progressive muscle relaxation: This technique involves relaxing a series of muscles one at a time. First, you raise the tension in a group of muscles,such as in a leg or arm, by tightening the muscles, and then you relax them. Concentrate on letting the tension go in each muscle.

Massage therapy: Massages can help relieve muscle tension.

Aromatherapy: Aroma-producing oils from plants are used to promote relaxation.

Yoga, Tai chi, and Qi gong: These are forms of exercise and meditation. Many local community centers offer classes in these techniques.

Music therapy: Music can alter your mood and help you relax.

Medication: This relaxation technique forcuses your attention on feeling calm and having a clear awareness about your life.

Guided imagery: Also know as visualization, this relaxation method involves lying quietly and picturing yourself in a pleasant and peaceful setting.

This world is a busy place chock full of stressful situations. While you can't always control the events and situations that cause your stress, you can control how your manage your reaction to daily stressors.