| The World Health Organization calls stress "the | | | | In mastering stress, you have to figure out what |
| health epidemic of the 21st century." Stress | | | | you are doing that contributes to your problem |
| resulting in illness is the causative factor underlying | | | | challenge and change it. The four categories of |
| more than 70% of all visits to the family doctor, | | | | change include: change your behaviour, change |
| medical doctors suggest. What is stress? We all | | | | your thinking, change your lifestyle choices, and/or |
| talk about it but what does 'stress' mean and how | | | | change the situations you are in. Symptoms of |
| does it affect our bodies? | | | | overstress include fatigue, aches and pains, |
| Dr. Hans Selye, who first noted and described the | | | | anxiety, problems sleeping, depression, and lack of |
| concept of stress, defines stress as "the | | | | joy in your life |
| non-specific response of the body to any demand | | | | Practical Steps to Stress Management and |
| made upon it." Stress is neither good nor bad. The | | | | Creating Balance |
| effect of the stress is not determined by the | | | | 1. Make your life regular like 'clock work.' Go to |
| stress itself, rather it is determined by how we | | | | bed and get up at the same time each day. |
| handle the stress. | | | | 2. Give yourself a break today. |
| Effects of Stress | | | | 3. Say 'No' more often when other people want |
| 1. "Emergency Response" The emergency | | | | your time. This includes social engagements, the |
| response mechanism activates with a physiological | | | | family dinner on Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. |
| change when people believe they are in physical | | | | 4. Postpone making any changes in your living |
| or mortal danger. Pupils dilate, blood pressure | | | | environment if you have been coping with undue |
| increases, and the production of stress hormones | | | | stress. Change of any kind is stressful and limiting |
| increase. The body prepares within seconds to | | | | it until later is a good strategy if you are under a |
| respond, which is known as the 'fight or flight' | | | | lot of pressure. |
| syndrome. The adrenal glands pour out adrenaline | | | | 5. Reduce the number of hours you spend at |
| and the production of other hormones is | | | | work or school. If you are a work-a-holic or |
| increased by the quickly reacting | | | | school-a-holic you need to reduce the energy |
| pituitary-adrenal-cortical system of the brain. | | | | drain on your body. TAKE SOME TIME OFF. |
| This is a healthy, adaptive response to immediate | | | | 6. Nutritional eating habits and eating small meals |
| danger but if continually activated, this emergency | | | | helps to keep your blood sugar stabilised. Many |
| response may cause a constantly | | | | people reach for something high in sugar content |
| higher-than-normal level of hormone production | | | | when feeling stressed which compounds the |
| that can eventually cause physical wear-and-tear | | | | problem. Eat more vegetables. |
| on the body. Health problems related to this | | | | 7. Rest your mind, as mind activities alleviate |
| constant high level of response include | | | | stress. These mind activities include reading, |
| hypertension, headaches, ulcers, heart disease, | | | | working on a craft, listening to music, playing a |
| and increased vulnerability to diabetes and colitis. | | | | musical instrument, meditation, self-relaxation, |
| 2. "General Adaptation Syndrome" In studies, | | | | dancing, and biofeedback. |
| Selye came to believe that diseases of adaptation | | | | 8. Have a worry time if you must worry. When |
| such as hypertension could be produced by | | | | you find yourself worrying over a problem, set |
| abnormal or excessive reaction to stress. The | | | | aside a time (I suggest to my students 7:30pm |
| body would increase its supply of hormones in | | | | on Tuesday night) and then put off worrying until |
| order to be ready for action to stress. Over a | | | | that time. Chances are you will not even |
| prolonged period of time, excessive stress leads | | | | remember what you were stressing yourself |
| to distress and the accompanying physical, | | | | about. |
| emotional, mental, and spiritual health problems. | | | | 9. Book time for yourself. In your daily or weekly |
| Contributing factors to distress include a) your | | | | schedule book time first for yourself and then the |
| attitude to life and b) your mood (optimistic or | | | | other activities you are involved in. Don't let |
| pessimistic). Both help to create the atmosphere | | | | anything, except an emergency, usurp your |
| that assists your defence system in repairing | | | | commitment to yourself. |
| small wounds, bruises, and infections. This is also | | | | 10. Have a massage or another form of self-care |
| the system that tries to destroy strange cells | | | | activity. |
| such as those of cancer, including leukaemia. | | | | |