Health & Stress Management
Posted by on Jul 31, 2010
Stress management is not only an urgent need in today’s fast-paced lifestyle, but an important factor in both physical and mental health. It is a psychological approach which teaches people, skills to cope with anxiety and stress.
It is all about understanding where your stress is coming from, and finding ways to alleviate it, and also to manage your life so that it becomes easier and more enjoyable.
Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress. It needs to be practiced regularly is the most effective when practiced regularly.
Managing stress means our ability to maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands on us. It is a key to happiness. It is your ability to effectively manage the pressures you feel at work and at home. It is about knowing your limits.
A complete nutritional approach, combined with proper fitness maintenance and stress management is most important.
Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress.
Here’s why managing your stress is important: stress wears your body out and can kill you.
Workplace stress management is a great way of making sure that you can get through the workday in peace and then go home with little or no stress weighing on your mind.
The key to stress management is to determine the right amount of stress that will give you energy, ambition, and enthusiasm versus the wrong amount which can harm your health and well-being.
One of the first rules of effective stress management is positive thinking and behavior.
Exactly how exercise helps in relaxation and stress management is not clear. At work, stress management is a breeze when you let employees take on tasks that fit their skill and interest.
Another strategy for stress management is to live in the moment. But it is not about putting yourself first at the expense of your family and clients. Fortunately, stress management is largely a learnable skill.
Stress
Stress is your response to any physical, emotional or intellectual demands. Stress management includes following a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and making time for uninterrupted relaxation.
Nutrition is one area where stress can be reduced most effectively, because we eat every day at least 3 times a day, so even the smallest of changes could bring about significant benefits.
Stress is a normal part of life. It is an unavoidable consequence of life and it is not something exclusive of the human beings, because the animals also have it.
Stress is the answer of the body in response to external conditions that are perceived as dangerous, worrying or irritating.
Although we can’t eliminate stress, we can all do a better job in managing it. Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. And some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress.
In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one’s lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and / or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do for themselves.
More recently, however, it has been argued that external circumstances do not have any intrinsic capacity to produce stress, but instead their effect is mediated by the individual’s perceptions, capacities, and understanding.
The model breaks the stressor-stress link by proposing that if stressors are perceived as positive or challenging rather than a threat, and if the stressed person is confident that he/she possesses adequate rather than deficient coping strategies, stress may not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor.
The model conceptualizes stress as a result of how a stressor is appraised and how a person appraises his/her resources to cope with the stressor.
The model proposes that stress can be reduced by helping stressed people change their perceptions of stressors, providing them with strategies to help them cope and improving their confidence in their ability to do so.
Anxiety
Anxiety is stress, tension and strain brought onto one’s body and mind.
Anxiety may be due to feeling that one is not in control. These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger.
We are aware that people that suffer from Anxiety Disorders have problems mixing in social gatherings.
It is found that online chat, forums and even Voice Chat can be an excellent way to deal with Anxieties, because one avoids one of the big things many people with Social Anxiety are afraid of: Meeting people.
Stress-related disorders include a broad array of conditions, including depression, anxiety, dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, aggression, substance abuse, impairment in concentration and memory problems.
Tranquilizers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications account for one fourth of all prescriptions written in the USA.
Exercise can help to relieve stress, tension, and anxiety. By expelling your excess negative emotions and adrenaline through physical activity, you can enter a more relaxed, calm state of being from which to deal with the issues and conflicts that are causing your anxiety.
Exercise is one of the most important coping medium to combat anxiety and stress. Exercise may trigger a neurophysiologic high — a shot of adrenaline or endorphins — that produces an antidepressant effect. In some people it will create an anti anxiety effect, in others, a general sense of “feeling better”.
Frequent exercise is an effective treatment for anxiety and, according to some research, is as effective as psychotherapy in treating mild or moderate depression.
In various studies, researchers have found that exercise can decrease anxiety and depression, improve an individual’s self-image, and buffer people from the effects of stress.
Other researchers have found that light exercise, such as walking or swimming, decreases anxiety just as effectively as vigorous jogging does. (If you suffer from physical symptoms of anxiety such as gastrointestinal problems, sweating, palpitations, pacing back and forth, etc).
On the other hand, if your anxiety is caused by psychological causes such as worrying, difficulty concentrating, or intrusive thoughts, you may find more relief from mental exercises such as meditation, imagery, prayer or other form of mental relaxation.
Exercising too much may lead to a state of fatigue characterized by anxiety or depression, insomnia, and a loss of interest in personal life.
Symptoms
Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. Symptoms of despair and hopelessness may be experienced in Acute Stress Disorder and may be sufficiently severe and persistent to meet criteria for a Major Depressive Episode.
Symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder are experienced during or immediately after the trauma, last for at least 2 days, and either resolve within 4 weeks after the conclusion of the traumatic event or the diagnosis is changed.
These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger.
Some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress. Common physical symptoms of stress include: muscle tension, headaches, low back pain.
If the stress symptoms persist during many days, it is reasonable to go to see a doctor or to request psychological support. Common physical symptoms of stress include: muscle tension, headaches, low back pain, insomnia and high blood pressure.
Lifestyle
Effective stress management is a lifestyle and we must learn to incorporate into our daily lives. A commitment to live a healthier lifestyle should never take a back seat.
In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one’s lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and/or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do, for themselves.
Stress management is vital to being successful at work and living a healthy lifestyle. Stress management is steadily increasing in importance due to today’s busy and demanding lifestyles.
By: Pradeep Mahajan
Pradeep Mahajan: He is an engineer-MBA. He has multiple interests which primarily include health, investments, management & technological topics. Being a health enthusiast, he researches, studies & writes on health topics, often in consultation with medical & health professionals. He keeps track of proven ways for achieving better health & fitness through diet, exercises, stress management & healthy lifestyles. Do you want to learn more about current & other related articles? Visit http://www.health-fitness-wellness.com for practically useful information on health & healthy lifestyles.
This article is available for reprint on your website and/or in your newsletter, provided it is not changed and you include the author’s web-site address.
Author: Pradeep Mahajan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Health & Stress Management
Posted by on Jul 24, 2010
Stress management is not only an urgent need in today’s fast-paced lifestyle, but an important factor in both physical and mental health. It is a psychological approach which teaches people, skills to cope with anxiety and stress.
It is all about understanding where your stress is coming from, and finding ways to alleviate it, and also to manage your life so that it becomes easier and more enjoyable.
Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress. It needs to be practiced regularly is the most effective when practiced regularly.
Managing stress means our ability to maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands on us. It is a key to happiness. It is your ability to effectively manage the pressures you feel at work and at home. It is about knowing your limits.
A complete nutritional approach, combined with proper fitness maintenance and stress management is most important.
Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress.
Here’s why managing your stress is important: stress wears your body out and can kill you.
Workplace stress management is a great way of making sure that you can get through the workday in peace and then go home with little or no stress weighing on your mind.
The key to stress management is to determine the right amount of stress that will give you energy, ambition, and enthusiasm versus the wrong amount which can harm your health and well-being.
One of the first rules of effective stress management is positive thinking and behavior.
Exactly how exercise helps in relaxation and stress management is not clear. At work, stress management is a breeze when you let employees take on tasks that fit their skill and interest.
Another strategy for stress management is to live in the moment. But it is not about putting yourself first at the expense of your family and clients. Fortunately, stress management is largely a learnable skill.
Stress
Stress is your response to any physical, emotional or intellectual demands. Stress management includes following a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and making time for uninterrupted relaxation.
Nutrition is one area where stress can be reduced most effectively, because we eat every day at least 3 times a day, so even the smallest of changes could bring about significant benefits.
Stress is a normal part of life. It is an unavoidable consequence of life and it is not something exclusive of the human beings, because the animals also have it.
Stress is the answer of the body in response to external conditions that are perceived as dangerous, worrying or irritating.
Although we can’t eliminate stress, we can all do a better job in managing it. Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. And some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress.
In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one’s lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and / or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do for themselves.
More recently, however, it has been argued that external circumstances do not have any intrinsic capacity to produce stress, but instead their effect is mediated by the individual’s perceptions, capacities, and understanding.
The model breaks the stressor-stress link by proposing that if stressors are perceived as positive or challenging rather than a threat, and if the stressed person is confident that he/she possesses adequate rather than deficient coping strategies, stress may not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor.
The model conceptualizes stress as a result of how a stressor is appraised and how a person appraises his/her resources to cope with the stressor.
The model proposes that stress can be reduced by helping stressed people change their perceptions of stressors, providing them with strategies to help them cope and improving their confidence in their ability to do so.
Anxiety
Anxiety is stress, tension and strain brought onto one’s body and mind.
Anxiety may be due to feeling that one is not in control. These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger.
We are aware that people that suffer from Anxiety Disorders have problems mixing in social gatherings.
It is found that online chat, forums and even Voice Chat can be an excellent way to deal with Anxieties, because one avoids one of the big things many people with Social Anxiety are afraid of: Meeting people.
Stress-related disorders include a broad array of conditions, including depression, anxiety, dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, aggression, substance abuse, impairment in concentration and memory problems.
Tranquilizers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications account for one fourth of all prescriptions written in the USA.
Exercise can help to relieve stress, tension, and anxiety. By expelling your excess negative emotions and adrenaline through physical activity, you can enter a more relaxed, calm state of being from which to deal with the issues and conflicts that are causing your anxiety.
Exercise is one of the most important coping medium to combat anxiety and stress. Exercise may trigger a neurophysiologic high — a shot of adrenaline or endorphins — that produces an antidepressant effect. In some people it will create an anti anxiety effect, in others, a general sense of “feeling better”.
Frequent exercise is an effective treatment for anxiety and, according to some research, is as effective as psychotherapy in treating mild or moderate depression.
In various studies, researchers have found that exercise can decrease anxiety and depression, improve an individual’s self-image, and buffer people from the effects of stress.
Other researchers have found that light exercise, such as walking or swimming, decreases anxiety just as effectively as vigorous jogging does. (If you suffer from physical symptoms of anxiety such as gastrointestinal problems, sweating, palpitations, pacing back and forth, etc).
On the other hand, if your anxiety is caused by psychological causes such as worrying, difficulty concentrating, or intrusive thoughts, you may find more relief from mental exercises such as meditation, imagery, prayer or other form of mental relaxation.
Exercising too much may lead to a state of fatigue characterized by anxiety or depression, insomnia, and a loss of interest in personal life.
Symptoms
Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. Symptoms of despair and hopelessness may be experienced in Acute Stress Disorder and may be sufficiently severe and persistent to meet criteria for a Major Depressive Episode.
Symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder are experienced during or immediately after the trauma, last for at least 2 days, and either resolve within 4 weeks after the conclusion of the traumatic event or the diagnosis is changed.
These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger.
Some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress. Common physical symptoms of stress include: muscle tension, headaches, low back pain.
If the stress symptoms persist during many days, it is reasonable to go to see a doctor or to request psychological support. Common physical symptoms of stress include: muscle tension, headaches, low back pain, insomnia and high blood pressure.
Lifestyle
Effective stress management is a lifestyle and we must learn to incorporate into our daily lives. A commitment to live a healthier lifestyle should never take a back seat.
In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one’s lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and/or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do, for themselves.
Stress management is vital to being successful at work and living a healthy lifestyle. Stress management is steadily increasing in importance due to today’s busy and demanding lifestyles.
By: Pradeep Mahajan
Pradeep Mahajan: He is an engineer-MBA. He has multiple interests which primarily include health, investments, management & technological topics. Being a health enthusiast, he researches, studies & writes on health topics, often in consultation with medical & health professionals. He keeps track of proven ways for achieving better health & fitness through diet, exercises, stress management & healthy lifestyles. Do you want to learn more about current & other related articles? Visit http://www.health-fitness-wellness.com for practically useful information on health & healthy lifestyles.
This article is available for reprint on your website and/or in your newsletter, provided it is not changed and you include the author’s web-site address.
Author: Pradeep Mahajan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Buy electrical pressure cooker
Health & Stress Management
Posted by on Jul 17, 2010
Stress management is not only an urgent need in today’s fast-paced lifestyle, but an important factor in both physical and mental health. It is a psychological approach which teaches people, skills to cope with anxiety and stress.
It is all about understanding where your stress is coming from, and finding ways to alleviate it, and also to manage your life so that it becomes easier and more enjoyable.
Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress. It needs to be practiced regularly is the most effective when practiced regularly.
Managing stress means our ability to maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands on us. It is a key to happiness. It is your ability to effectively manage the pressures you feel at work and at home. It is about knowing your limits.
A complete nutritional approach, combined with proper fitness maintenance and stress management is most important.
Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress.
Here’s why managing your stress is important: stress wears your body out and can kill you.
Workplace stress management is a great way of making sure that you can get through the workday in peace and then go home with little or no stress weighing on your mind.
The key to stress management is to determine the right amount of stress that will give you energy, ambition, and enthusiasm versus the wrong amount which can harm your health and well-being.
One of the first rules of effective stress management is positive thinking and behavior.
Exactly how exercise helps in relaxation and stress management is not clear. At work, stress management is a breeze when you let employees take on tasks that fit their skill and interest.
Another strategy for stress management is to live in the moment. But it is not about putting yourself first at the expense of your family and clients. Fortunately, stress management is largely a learnable skill.
Stress
Stress is your response to any physical, emotional or intellectual demands. Stress management includes following a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, and making time for uninterrupted relaxation.
Nutrition is one area where stress can be reduced most effectively, because we eat every day at least 3 times a day, so even the smallest of changes could bring about significant benefits.
Stress is a normal part of life. It is an unavoidable consequence of life and it is not something exclusive of the human beings, because the animals also have it.
Stress is the answer of the body in response to external conditions that are perceived as dangerous, worrying or irritating.
Although we can’t eliminate stress, we can all do a better job in managing it. Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. And some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress.
In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one’s lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and / or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do for themselves.
More recently, however, it has been argued that external circumstances do not have any intrinsic capacity to produce stress, but instead their effect is mediated by the individual’s perceptions, capacities, and understanding.
The model breaks the stressor-stress link by proposing that if stressors are perceived as positive or challenging rather than a threat, and if the stressed person is confident that he/she possesses adequate rather than deficient coping strategies, stress may not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor.
The model conceptualizes stress as a result of how a stressor is appraised and how a person appraises his/her resources to cope with the stressor.
The model proposes that stress can be reduced by helping stressed people change their perceptions of stressors, providing them with strategies to help them cope and improving their confidence in their ability to do so.
Anxiety
Anxiety is stress, tension and strain brought onto one’s body and mind.
Anxiety may be due to feeling that one is not in control. These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger.
We are aware that people that suffer from Anxiety Disorders have problems mixing in social gatherings.
It is found that online chat, forums and even Voice Chat can be an excellent way to deal with Anxieties, because one avoids one of the big things many people with Social Anxiety are afraid of: Meeting people.
Stress-related disorders include a broad array of conditions, including depression, anxiety, dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, aggression, substance abuse, impairment in concentration and memory problems.
Tranquilizers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications account for one fourth of all prescriptions written in the USA.
Exercise can help to relieve stress, tension, and anxiety. By expelling your excess negative emotions and adrenaline through physical activity, you can enter a more relaxed, calm state of being from which to deal with the issues and conflicts that are causing your anxiety.
Exercise is one of the most important coping medium to combat anxiety and stress. Exercise may trigger a neurophysiologic high — a shot of adrenaline or endorphins — that produces an antidepressant effect. In some people it will create an anti anxiety effect, in others, a general sense of “feeling better”.
Frequent exercise is an effective treatment for anxiety and, according to some research, is as effective as psychotherapy in treating mild or moderate depression.
In various studies, researchers have found that exercise can decrease anxiety and depression, improve an individual’s self-image, and buffer people from the effects of stress.
Other researchers have found that light exercise, such as walking or swimming, decreases anxiety just as effectively as vigorous jogging does. (If you suffer from physical symptoms of anxiety such as gastrointestinal problems, sweating, palpitations, pacing back and forth, etc).
On the other hand, if your anxiety is caused by psychological causes such as worrying, difficulty concentrating, or intrusive thoughts, you may find more relief from mental exercises such as meditation, imagery, prayer or other form of mental relaxation.
Exercising too much may lead to a state of fatigue characterized by anxiety or depression, insomnia, and a loss of interest in personal life.
Symptoms
Symptoms of stress can be either behavioral or physical. Symptoms of despair and hopelessness may be experienced in Acute Stress Disorder and may be sufficiently severe and persistent to meet criteria for a Major Depressive Episode.
Symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder are experienced during or immediately after the trauma, last for at least 2 days, and either resolve within 4 weeks after the conclusion of the traumatic event or the diagnosis is changed.
These symptoms may manifest themselves psychologically as irritability, anxiety, impaired concentration, mental confusion, poor judgment, frustration and anger.
Some people who have a chronic illness may find that the symptoms of their illness flare up under an overload of stress. Common physical symptoms of stress include: muscle tension, headaches, low back pain.
If the stress symptoms persist during many days, it is reasonable to go to see a doctor or to request psychological support. Common physical symptoms of stress include: muscle tension, headaches, low back pain, insomnia and high blood pressure.
Lifestyle
Effective stress management is a lifestyle and we must learn to incorporate into our daily lives. A commitment to live a healthier lifestyle should never take a back seat.
In the alternative, if stress is more the result of one’s lifestyle, eliminating the stress causing factors and/or gaining healthful insight on how to alleviate stress the right way might just be the best thing for an individual to do, for themselves.
Stress management is vital to being successful at work and living a healthy lifestyle. Stress management is steadily increasing in importance due to today’s busy and demanding lifestyles.
By: Pradeep Mahajan
Pradeep Mahajan: He is an engineer-MBA. He has multiple interests which primarily include health, investments, management & technological topics. Being a health enthusiast, he researches, studies & writes on health topics, often in consultation with medical & health professionals. He keeps track of proven ways for achieving better health & fitness through diet, exercises, stress management & healthy lifestyles. Do you want to learn more about current & other related articles? Visit http://www.health-fitness-wellness.com for practically useful information on health & healthy lifestyles.
This article is available for reprint on your website and/or in your newsletter, provided it is not changed and you include the author’s web-site address.
Author: Pradeep Mahajan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Excise Tax
What is Stress and What Does it Do to Your Health?
Posted by on Jul 10, 2010
You had a fight with your spouse. You have an impossible deadline for a project your boss gave you yesterday. Traffic is stalled and you are late to work again. Your car is making a strange noise and you know you don’t have any money for repairs right now. Mental health professionals have labeled these types of events as stressors.
Some stress is normal and even useful. It can help if you need to work hard or react quickly. For example, it can help you win a rugby game or finish an important project on time. It’s your body’s way of preparing to meet what appear to be difficult situations with focus, increased strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.
Stress causes the release of the hormones cortisol, epinephrine and neoepinephrine from the adrenal glands into the bloodstream. These hormones increase your heart rate, your respiration, your blood pressure, and your metabolism. Your blood vessels open wider to let more blood flow to the large muscle groups, like your legs and back, putting your muscles on alert. Your pupils dilate to improve your vision. Your liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase your body’s energy. Your body produces sweat to cool your body. All of these physical changes prepare you to react quickly and effectively to handle a perceived threat.
This reaction is known as the stress response, which is also so know as the fight or flight response. Working properly, the body’s stress response enhances your ability to perform well under pressure. Unfortunately the stress response can also cause problems when it overreacts, continues to run or fails to reset itself properly.
Good and Bad Stress
There are two categories of stress. The first type, acute stress, is also known as the flight or fight reaction where the brain produces chemicals that tell the body to speed up, making it perform more effectively. This is the type of stress you’ll experience when another car pulls out in front of you causing you to hit your brakes suddenly. This is also known as distress. It is the most commonly-referred to type of stress and affects us negatively by raising our blood pressure, sending all kinds of chemicals through our minds and bodies and, if continued for long periods of time, it can result in anxiety or even depression.
Eustress is a positive form of acute stress. This is the stress you go through during positive events in your life, getting a promotion at work, getting married or buying a new house. These events are desirable but, just like distress, eustress can be equally taxing on the body, and if added together with other stressors can also have negative results on our health.
The second type of stress is known as chronic or long-term stress. This stress is abnormal and long lasting. It occurs when you don’t let go of stress. There is strong evidence that this type of stress actually damages the brain, heart and immune system. Chronic stress causes a constant release of stress hormones causing your body to always be in overdrive, ready to fight that saber tooth tiger or take a beating from your attacker. Studies have shown that these stress hormones can actually kill nerve cells in animals and can probably do the same in humans.
What Causes a Person to be “Stress Out”?
When it comes right down to it, stress can be triggered by how we work or even relax. We don’t have to have some major triggering event to cause us to be “stressed out” we can even be stressed out even when we’re bored!
Although stress at the right moment can be a good thing, stress overload or stress that causes us to remain “stressed out” is not. For example, feeling a little stress about a project you have to complete can motivate you to work hard. Being stressed out about the project or the deadline you are under can paralyze you, making it hard to even figure out what needs to be done.
When the pressure is too intense or when it lasts too long you can feel overloaded by stress. When you try to keep all your troubles to yourself you can feel stress overload.
Things that stress us out can stem from our relationships, family conflicts, break ups, the death of a loved one, problems with co-workers or with work, trying to do too much and not taking time for you. All of these can cause us to be stressed and remained stressed.
Things like natural disasters, car accidents, assaults, fires, shootings, wars, etc can cause what is called post traumatic stress disorder. People who undergo these types of stressful situations often need professional help, which include hypnosis and NLP.
Some people are anxious and overreact to stress. With these people even small difficulties loom like crises. If someone frequently feels tense, upset, worried, or stressed, it could be an indicator of anxiety. This type of anxiety usually requires professional attention. Again, hypnosis and NLP has been proven to help these types of anxiety problems
Signs That a Person is Overloaded by Stress
A person that has stress overload can develop physical symptoms, such as upset stomach, headaches, back and neck aches or sometimes chest constriction. Many people find it hard to sleep. Others experience sadness or even depression.
Some people experience anxiety or panic attacks. A person that experiencing panic attacks can suffer symptoms that include racing heart, hyperventilation or breathing difficulties, as well as chest pain, nausea or dizziness, headaches, shaking and trembling, and much more.
Other symptoms of stress overload can be a feeling of being constantly pressured, harassed and anxious. Some people become irritable or moody.
Since stress can affect the immune system some people experience allergic reactions, such as eczema or asthma. Stress can also make people more susceptible to colds and the flu.
Some people deal with the symptoms of stress by drinking too much, smoking, overeating, or doing drugs. Although these can temporarily eliminate the symptoms, the negative affects of these types of behaviors far outweigh the benefits.
Keep Stress Under Control
Since stress is unavoidable it is important to find ways to decrease and avoid stressful reactions to incidents in our lives. There are many methods, from NLP and hypnosis techniques to proper breathing, meditation, Tai Chi, massage, sound therapy and more that can help you counteract the affects of stress.
For a more in-depth discussion about how to check the affects of stress go to my website.
Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and author of the self development course “Boost your Attitude” as well as the stress relief video course “Overcoming Stress” that you can have at absolutely no charge. Drop by http://www.TotalMindTherapy.net/
Author: Wil Dieck
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Programmable Multi-cooker
7 Steps To Stress Management
Posted by on Jul 3, 2010
Her eyes had deep, dark circles. She told me, “I haven’t slept in weeks.” I asked her why. She told me that was because she “was all stressed out.” It was stress from her job and stress from her kids. She was stressed out from driving an hour each way to work and her boss was “driving her crazy.” You could see that her stress was eating her alive.
People come to me all the time with similar stories, of how stress is negatively affecting their lives. Stress is a killer. It has been linked to everything from headaches and digestive problems to reproductive ailments and even heart disease. Stress has been shown to age us both mentally and physically and over time can kill us.
When you are stressed your body releases stress hormones. These hormones can cause inflammation to your cardiovascular system and, if left unchecked, can affect your immune system, metabolism and other body systems. Bruce McEwen, PhD head of the neuroendocrinology lab at Rockefeller University says, “Normally, in small amounts, these substances help the body adapt, but when they are chronically elevated they cause wear and tear.”
Let’s look at the categories of stress. The first type is acute or short term stress. This is known as the flight or fight reaction where the brain produces chemicals that tell the body to speed up, making it perform more effectively. This is the type of stress you’ll experience when another car pulls out in front of you causing you to hit your brakes suddenly. This is also known as distress.
The positive form of acute stress is known as eustress. This is the stress you experience when you receive a promotion at work, get married or buy a new house. These events are desirable but, just like distress, eustress can be equally taxing on the body, and if added together with other stressors can have negative results on our health.
The second type of stress is chronic or long-term stress. Although it can be triggered by the same type of stressors as acute stress, this type of stress can cause physical problems. Chronic stress occurs when we can’t, or won’t, let go of stress.
So how can we reduce our stress? Here are seven ways to cope with stress.
1. Recognize Some Stress is Good
Some stress is good. The stress an athlete feels right before she bursts off the starting blocks. The stress you feel to make a deadline that will get you that promotion you’ve been wanting. The energy you get when you see an old friend or a lover. This stress gives you that burst of energy that enhances your performance at just the right moment. Used wisely, this kind of stress will allow you to push yourself that little bit harder when it counts most. Make stress your friend!
2. Avoid Stress Infected Individuals
Overly stressed people are infected with stress germs and they spread them around indiscriminately. Soon, before you know it, you are infected too!
If you know that Charlie is always stressed at the first of the month when his reports are due, avoid him! If Sara is constantly complaining about how busy she is and how her kids are driving her crazy, avoid her! Protect yourself by recognizing stress in others and limiting your contact with them. Or if you’ve got the inclination, play stress doctor and teach them how to better manage themselves.
3. Model Calm People
Modeling is a way of making yourself into the type of person you want to be. So model calm people, people who seem to naturally handle stress well. When people around you are losing their head, who keeps calm? What are they doing differently? What is their attitude? What are they saying to others? What are they saying to themselves? Have they been trained in stress management? What experiences have they had? You might watch them or, better yet, sit them down and talk with them. Ask them how they cope with the things that seem to stress everyone else out. Learn from the best and model what they do.
4. Breath, Really Breathe
As a martial arts instructor I can assure you, you can’t stay calm unless you control your breathing. When new students would start to spar (fight in a very controlled manner) they would inevitably hold their breath and soon their faces would be red, they’d be sweating profusely and, within minutes, they’d be out of breath. Does this sound like you under stress? Well the good news is you can trick your body into relaxing simply by using deep breathing techniques. Focus on bringing your breaths into the bottom of your stomach and then push the air out completely. Breathe in slowly for a count of four, hold your breath for five counts and then breathe out for a count of eight. Repeat the 4-5 -8 breathing for a minute or so and your heart rate will slow, your sweaty palms will dry and things will start to feel more normal.
If you would like more information about learning breath control, see a qualified martial arts instructor or yoga teacher. I teach Tai Chi and other breathing arts so if you’re in San Diego give me a call. In addition to helping you with your breathing, these types of activities can definitely help you reduce your stress levels.
5. Cancel Stress Provoking Thoughts
Do you sometimes hear yourself saying, “If this happens, then that might happen and then we’re all up the creek!” Then, when you look back on it all a few days later, you find you stressed yourself for no reason? Sure, we all have. Most of these types of things never happen. So why waste all your energy worrying needlessly?
Now this isn’t saying don’t think problems through. Good planning means thinking about different possibilities and then deciding on the best course of action. But once you’ve made your decision, see it through and trust that if another decision needs to be made you can make it.
These types of thoughts give you F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) If you find yourself being tangled up in a stress knot by these types of thoughts you can gain control. See them for what they are and make the decision to focus on what you want, rather on these types of fears.
Since many of us have been programmed to focus on the negative rather than the positive you might want to try meditation or hypnosis. These types of activities can help you learn to control your focus. If you are in the San Diego area, give me a call. Stress management is one of the things that Total Mind Therapy can definitely help with.
6. Know What Sets You Off
We all have different trigger points. Presentations, interviews, meetings, giving difficult feedback, tight deadlines, tight budget, kids grades, traffic jams. My heart rate is racing just writing these down!
Make your own list of stress trigger points or hot spots. Be specific. Is it only presentations to a certain audience that get you worked up? Is it one project that causes more stress than another? Did you drink too much coffee?
Knowing what causes you stress is powerful information, because once you know what the cause is, you can take action to make it less stressful. Do you need to learn some new skills? Do you need extra resources? Do you need to talk to your kid’s teacher? Do you need to switch to decaf?
7. Take Care of Yourself
Lack of sleep, poor diet and no exercise wreaks havoc on our bodies and minds. If you only get five hours of sleep a night you double your chance of dying of a heart attack. The same goes for eating fast food and forgetting to exercise. Just like you car needs good fuel, you need good food for your body to run properly. Just like your car needs regular maintenance, your body needs exercise to maintain it in good working shape. If you really want to reduce your stress take a good look at your lifestyle because these are things within your control.
So let’s review quickly. First remember that some stress is good for you. Second, stay away from the stress infected. Third, find calm people and model their behaviors. Fourth, learn to breathe, really breathe. Fifth, focus on what you want. Sixth, understand the things that cause you to react and, seventh, take care of yourself. There you are, seven easy ways to help you manage stress.
The bad news is that stress is always among us. The good news is you now have some easy methods to cope with it. You can find inner peace. You just have to recognize what blocks its way and then work on removing those blocks, or if you want a fool proof method, you could move to a mountain cave or a deserted island. The choice is always yours.
Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy, a combination of hypnosis, NLP, breathing techniques from the martial arts visualization used for goal setting. His practice is located in San Diego, California. For more information about Wil and his practice please go to http://www.TotalMindTherapy.net
Author: Wil Dieck
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Understanding Stress
Posted by on Jun 26, 2010
The cold, hard facts
Stress is very expensive and dangerous. Just glance through these studies:
- Stress is recognized as the number one killer today. The American Medical Association has noted that stress was the basic cause of more than 60 percent of all human illness and disease .
- It is estimated that American businesses lose approximately $200-$300 billion dollars per year to stress related productivity loss and the treatment costs.
- Every week, 95 million Americans suffer some kind of stress related symptoms for which they take medication.
- A 20-year study conducted by the University of London concluded that unmanaged reactions to stress were a more dangerous risk factor for cancer and heart disease than either cigarette smoking or high cholesterol foods.
- A survey of 201 U.S. corporations revealed that 60% of all managers felt that stress related illness was pervasive among their workers and decreased productivity at an estimated cost of 16 days of sick leave and $8,000 per person per year.
All these and thousands of similar studies point to the huge negative impact stress has on individuals and the society as a whole. The implications are too real and harsh to be ignored! Stress speeds up the ageing process and produces conditions in younger people that are more commonly associated with growing old. Virtually no part of the body can escape the ravages of stress. It becomes imperative on our part to take positive and effective steps to tackle this silent killer TODAY!
American Journal of Health Promotion published a study by Steffi B et al (1986) where Biofeedback and muscle relaxation training was offered to workers at a public works department in an effort to reduce work-related injuries. In follow up studies, participants of the programme had significantly fewer injuries than non-participants. Since then, many successful business houses have incorporated Stress Management Programmes as an integral part of their employees’ welfare plans.
Most people know what stress is and realize how dangerous it is. But majority goes around non-chalantly doing nothing about it!
This series of articles will define the problem of stress in laymen terms, explore the impact of stress on our body and life, and suggest practical guidelines to tackle the problem at its root.
What Is Stress?
We always tend to think that stress is the outcome of modern fast paced lifestyle. Nothing is far from the truth! Stress has been an integral part of human survival since the beginning of time, right from the time when Eve showed the forbidden apple to Adam. Even now these two (Eve and the forbidden apple) are two important causes of stress :-)!
An optimum amount of stress indeed is a positive force which helps us take up the challenges that life throws at us. But, like everything else in this world, stress, when it passes a certain limit begin to harm our body and mind- slowly but surely ravaging our systems provoking a chain of neuro-immuno-chemical and biological effects on the body and psyche.
Researchers view stress as the psychological and physiological condition that a person experiences when a situation is perceived as threatening, harmful or demanding.
Hans Selye, the father of modern stress research, defined Stress as “any event which may make demands upon the organism, and set in motion a non-specific bodily response which leads to a variety of temporary or permanent physiological or structural changes”.
Confusing? Concentrate on the three important clauses:
- Demands upon the organism: Stress calls for action (response) from us.
- Non Specific Bodily Response: Whether the stress inducing event is negative/harmful (death of a dear friend), or positive/exciting (winning a 1 million lottery), the physiological response of our body will be similar! Meaning, there is no specific response to a particular event. All events evoke the same type of response, though the intensity may vary.
- Temporary or permanent physiological or structural changes: The after effects of stress can cause either temporary or permanent changes in our body.
Our body responds to any stressful stimulus by initiating about 1400 different activities including the dumping of a variety of chemical mediators into our blood stream. Imagine this happening on a regular basis! Stress is indeed a “Proxy Killer” as most of the time stress goes unnoticed and other secondary causes( which had been probably induced, sustained and aggravated by stress) like heart attack, blood pressure or even cancer take the blame for the person’s ill-health and eventual death!
How does our body react to stress?
Psycho-neuro-immunology has grown in leaps and bounds during the last two decades and our knowledge of response of body to stress has also grown with it.
A. The automatic physiological reaction of body to stress is known as the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS):
GAS has three stages:
1. The Stage of Alarm Reaction
2. The Stage of Resistance
3. The Stage of Exhaustion
1.The Stage of Alarm Reaction
This is also known as the ‘fight or flight‘ response. As soon as our body is faced with a stressful situation, our body explodes with a sudden surge of energy with flooding of hundreds of hormones and chemical activators into the blood stream. We become alert and ready to meet any threat.
The main players at this stage are heart, lungs, brain, nervous system and the muscles, all stimulated by the release of hormones. Arousal is initiated by hypothalamus by release of endorphins, the natural painkillers. At the same time, adrenaline is secreted by the adrenal glands. Adrenaline causes palpitations, increased blood pressure and release of vital nutrients. It also causes muscle tension and makes breathing faster and shallower. Nor-adrenaline is also secreted, and is associated with positive ecstatic arousal. Another hormone, Cortisol, converts glycogen stored in the liver into blood sugar, thus stimulating the brain and whole body with instant energy.
In males, the hormone Testosterone is released, and provides the required surge of strength. Thyroxin, released by thyroid gland, stimulates the metabolic system and regulates the oxygen consumption. Our digestive system slows down, as blood is diverted to essential organs required to meet the immediate threat.
2.The Stage Of Resistance
Once the alarm reaction is established and the immediate threat is over, the body moves onto a resistance phase, where the bodily functions put on alert are reverted back to a near normal state. The heart rate, respiratory rate and metabolic activities come down to a maintenance level; the body is still ready and alert. More cortisol, thyroxin etc are released to speed up the tissue repair, which may have been damaged during stress.
3. The Stage Of Exhaustion
Emotions such as anger, anxiety and impatience etc are continuous stress stimulants, and without our knowledge, our body is put in (and stays in!) a ‘fight’ mode. Overdose of adrenaline often causes irritability and uneasiness. Nor-adrenaline excess makes us feel disconnected and high. Too much of cortisol will suppress the immune system, making us vulnerable to a host of diseases. Extra sodium is retained, affecting the cardiovascular and excretory systems adversely.
Thus our body goes into exhaustion and breakdown due to the side effects of continuous, uncontrolled stress. Emotionally, we are depressed, anxious, disoriented, insecure and frustrated. If this situation is allowed to proceed unchecked; family breakdown, mental illness, work absence, alcoholism or drug dependency gradually step in to further complicate the stress condition.
These stages occur on their own, though the intensity may vary depending upon our coping capabilities.
B. At the conscious level, psychologists say we respond to stress in two major levels:
1. Primary appraisal:
- Decide if the situation is threatening
- Evaluate our internal and external resources to deal with the problem
- Choose what to do
Thus we do something to limit the impact of the stress.
2. Secondary appraisal:
- Evaluation of our efforts to deal with the stressful situation: has it worked?
- Continued appraisal till the threat is no longer present or felt.
We are likely to feel less stress if we feel competent to deal with any given situation. We are likely to feel more stress if we feel it over our heads. Illness, tiredness and drug or alcohol addiction can also increase our stress over situations that we might otherwise take in a stride. Next Week:Types of Stress, effect of stress on performance and the important signs and symptoms of stress.
Dr. Hanish Babu, MD is a Dermato-Venereologist, author, stress management trainer and a netpreneur. He has recently released a stress management package “10 Days to Stress Free Life”. To subscribe to his Less Stress News Letter, go to: http://www.lesstress.net For Skin Care Tips, go to: http://www.skin-care-tips-from-dermatologist.com
Author: Dr. Hanish Babu, MD
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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