STRESS MANAGEMENT!
By: Kent Joe G. Miraflor
Have a stressful day? Here are some tips on how to manage that wrinkle causing, depressing word "stress." First, let us begin with its definition.
*WHO STUDIED "STRESS" FIRST?
Early in the 20th century, Walter Cannon’s research in biological psychology led him to describe the “fight or flight” response of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) to perceived threats to physical or emotional security.
Hans Selye first popularized the concept of “stress” in the 1950s. Selye theorized that all individuals respond to all types of threatening situations in the same manner, and he called this the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). He claimed that, in addition to SNS arousal, other bodily systems such as the adrenal cortex and pituitary gland may be involved in a response to threat. For example, chemicals such as epinephrine (adrenaline) may serve to focus the body’s attention just on immediate self-preservation by inhibiting such functions as digestion, reproduction, tissue repair, and immune responses. Ultimately, as the threat wanes, Selye suggested, body functions return to normal, allowing the body to focus on healing and growth again. But if the threat is prolonged and chronic, the SNS arousal never gets “turned off,” and health can be impaired. With a continuously suppressed immune system, for example, a person would be more vulnerable than usual to infection—which is one explanation of why some individuals get sick so often.
*WHAT DOES “STRESS” MEANS?
Stress is defined as the physical pressure and strain that result from change.
Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. Under stress your body releases chemicals that give you the added strength and energy you need to protect yourself, but it can also shut down your ability to think, feel and act and your body's ability to repair itself. When you feel threatened for any reason – realistic or not—your body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight or flight” response (in rarer, traumatic instances the body may even “freeze”).
These responses are your body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, stress helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, these responses can save your life. For example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.
Stress can also help you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV.
Different Kinds of Stress:
Acute stress
Acute stress is the most common form of stress. It comes from demands and pressures of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. Acute stress is thrilling and exciting in small doses, but too much is exhausting. A fast run down a challenging ski slope, for example, is exhilarating early in the day. That same ski run late in the day is taxing and wearing. Skiing beyond your limits can lead to falls and broken bones. By the same token, overdoing on short-term stress can lead to psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach and other symptoms.
Episodic acute stress
There are those, however, who suffer acute stress frequently, whose lives are so disordered that they are studies in chaos and crisis. They're always in a rush, but always late. If something can go wrong, it does. They take on too much, have too many irons in the fire, and can't organize the slew of self-inflicted demands and pressures clamoring for their attention. They seem perpetually in the clutches of acute stress.
It is common for people with acute stress reactions to be over aroused, short-tempered, irritable, anxious and tense. Often, they describe themselves as having "a lot of nervous energy." Always in a hurry, they tend to be abrupt, and sometimes their irritability comes across as hostility. Interpersonal relationships deteriorate rapidly when others respond with real hostility. The workplace becomes a very stressful place for them.
Chronic stress
While acute stress can be thrilling and exciting, chronic stress is not. This is the grinding stress that wears people away day after day, year after year. Chronic stress destroys bodies, minds and lives. It wreaks havoc through long-term attrition. It's the stress of poverty, of dysfunctional families, of being trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a despised job or career. It's the stress that the never-ending "troubles" have brought to the people of Northern Ireland, the tensions of the Middle East have brought to the Arab and Jew, and the endless ethnic rivalries that have been brought to the people of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Chronic stress comes when a person never sees a way out of a miserable situation. It's the stress of unrelenting demands and pressures for seemingly interminable periods of time. With no hope, the individual gives up searching for solutions.
The three stress emotions:
The three stress emotions:
Anger is an emotion characterized by antagonism toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done you wrong.
Anger can be a good thing. It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems.
But excessive anger can cause problems. Increased blood pressure and other physical changes associated with anger make it difficult to think straight and harm your physical and mental health.
Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.
People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness or a rapid heartbeat.
Depression is more than just sadness. People with depression may experience a lack of interest and pleasure in daily activities, significant weight loss or gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping, lack of energy, inability to concentrate, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
Depression is the most common mental disorder. Fortunately, depression is treatable. A combination of therapy and antidepressant medication can help ensure recovery.
*HOW DOES “STRESS” OCCUR?
Everyone experiences stress. Stress can come from a variety of different situations that can be good
or bad. It can also come from within. The trick to managing stress in your life is to be able to identify stressors and understand if they are from outside sources or if they are self induced.
Stress occurs when you perceive that demands placed on you — such as work, school or relationships — exceed your ability to cope. Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost that provides the drive and energy to help people get through situations like exams or work deadlines. However, an extreme amount of stress can have health consequences, affecting the immune, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine and central nervous systems, and take a severe emotional toll.
New perspective on stress responses:
or bad. It can also come from within. The trick to managing stress in your life is to be able to identify stressors and understand if they are from outside sources or if they are self induced.
Stress occurs when you perceive that demands placed on you — such as work, school or relationships — exceed your ability to cope. Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost that provides the drive and energy to help people get through situations like exams or work deadlines. However, an extreme amount of stress can have health consequences, affecting the immune, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine and central nervous systems, and take a severe emotional toll.
New perspective on stress responses:
Mobilization (fight-or-flight). When we need (or think we need) to either defend ourselves or run away from danger, the body prepares for mobilization. A flood of stress hormones including adrenaline and cortisol are released to rouse the body for emergency action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus—preparing you to either fight or flee from the danger at hand. At the same time, the body functions not needed for fight or flight—such as the digestive and immune systems—stop working and the repair or growth of body tissues slows. In time, your autonomic nervous system then calms the body, slowing heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and winding back down to its normal balance.
Immobilization (freeze). Immobilization is associated with immediate life-threatening danger. People who have had some sort of trauma can find themselves “stuck”—in a reflexively enraged, panic-stricken or otherwise dysfunctional state—and are unable to move on. In life-threatening situations this kind of immobilization can be beneficial. You may faint or lose consciousness, enabling you to survive high levels of physical pain. The immobilization response works well for reptiles but, for humans, can be slow to recover and is especially damaging physically and emotionally.
Social engagement is our nervous systems most evolved way of overriding fight or flight responses. Our vagus nerve connects the brain to sensory receptors in the ear, eye face and heart. Social interaction—making eye contact, listening in an attentive way, talking in a relaxed way, can instantly calm you down and put the brakes on “fight-or-flight.” Only mammals can override threats to safety and security by using the social engagement pathway of the autonomic nervous system.
*WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF “STRESS”?
Untreated chronic stress can result in serious health conditions including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. Research shows that stress can contribute to the development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity.
Signs and symptoms of stress:
Signs and symptoms of stress:
The following table lists some of the common warning signs and symptoms of stress. The more signs and symptoms you notice in yourself, the closer you may be to stress overload.
| Cognitive Symptoms |
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| Emotional Symptoms |
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| Physical Symptoms |
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| Behavioral Symptoms |
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*HOW TO MANAGE “STRESS”?
By finding positive, healthy ways to manage stress as it occurs, many of these negative health consequences can be reduced. Everyone is different, and so are the ways they choose to manage their stress. Some people prefer pursuing hobbies such as gardening, playing music and creating art, while others find relief in more solitary activities: meditation, yoga and walking.
Here are five healthy techniques that psychological research has shown to help reduce stress in the short- and long-term:
Take a break from the stressor
It may seem difficult to get away from a big work project, a crying baby or a growing credit card bill. But when you give yourself permission to step away from it, you let yourself have time to do something else, which can help you have a new perspective or practice techniques to feel less overwhelmed. It’s important to not avoid your stress (those bills have to be paid sometime), but even just 20-minutes to take care of yourself is helpful.
Exercise
The research keeps growing — exercise benefits your mind just as well as your body. We keep hearing about the long-term benefits of a regular exercise routine. But even a 20-minute walk, run, swim or dance session in the midst of a stressful time can give an immediate effect that can last for several hours.
Smile and laugh
Our brains are interconnected with our emotions and facial expressions. When people are stressed, they often hold a lot of the stress in their face. So laughs or smiles can help relieve some of that tension and improve the situation.
Get social support
Call a friend, send an email. When you share your concerns or feelings with another person, it does help relieve stress. But it’s important that the person whom you talk to is someone whom you trust and whom you feel can understand and validate you. If your family is a stressor, for example, it may not alleviate your stress if you share your works woes with one of them.
Meditate
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF MANAGING STRESS:
*Try watching this video that will tell you important things on how to conquer stress!
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