What is Stress and How to Manage Stress
By Valerie Mellema
Stress photo © Daniela Spyropoulos BigStockPhoto
Stress is defined as forces from the outside world impinging on an individual. Stress is a normal part of life, but in excessive amounts can cause significant issues.
Stress can cause a powerful release of neurochemicals and hormones in the body to release. This is typically due to the fact that the body sees the situation as an event in which it needs to fight or fly, also known as the "fight or flight" response. If you do not take some sort of action to cause these chemicals to resolve themselves, then you may begin to experience health problems. There are several forms of dangerous stress including prolonged, unexpected, and unmanageable stress, all of which can cause health issues.
For example, the early separation of a child from their mother can cause a change in how these people deal with stress as well as depression later in life. The stressors of the mother can also cause a fetal stress response. This stress response is thought to perhaps predispose the child to psychiatric illness in life.
Many of our typical methods of dealing with stress include:
- Drugs, both prescription and illegal
- Pain medication
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Eating
These different methods are typically proactive and can cause more harm than good. They tend to increase stress and make you more sensitive to additional stress.
Stress can typically be effectively managed by learning stress relief techniques such as:
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Structured time outs
- Learning stress coping strategies
- Relaxation techniques
The first step in stress management is getting enough exercise. Because stress causes the flight or flight response, the body is always ready for action. Unfortunately, when you're sitting at your desk at work, you can't release that action. Exercise on a regular basis aids in turning down the production of the neurochemicals that come from the stress response. Exercise is able to help avoid damage caused by those chemicals in the body. Studies have also shown exercise to be a sleeping aid as well as antidepressant. Exercise can even help to combat anxiety.
Meditation has been used in stress relief for centuries, particularly through Eastern religious traditions. Western medicine and psychology have also begun to embrace it as a method for stress reduction in a simple and non-spiritual manner. It is estimated that one or two 20-30 minute sessions a day can have beneficial effects on managing and releasing stress.
By creating predictability in your work and home life, you are also able to reduce your stress. Structure is the key to preventing the unexpected from happening and this can go a long way in ensuring that you do not experience the detrimental effects of stress, especially when utilizing stress management techniques.
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