Stress And Its Management

Title:
Stress and Its Management

Word Count:
884

Summary:
This article introduces us to the difference between a stress and a stress factor. In addition it also gives a brief on how to manage it.


Keywords:
Stress Management


Article Body:
Stress can be defined as the non-specific response of the body to any demands made upon it. In other words is the interaction between the coping skills of the individual and its environment. When talking about stress, the first question that comes to my mind is, what causes stress? Well, there are 2 factors that cause stress. At first, is a stressor, and second is what we call the stress-reactivity. A stressor is any stimulus which has the potential of trigging flight or fight response. Stressors are those, for which our body is evolutionary trained, when there was a threat to our safety, consider the example, the cavemen who saw a lion looking for its next meal, had to react quickly. Cavemen, who were not strong enough or fast enough, didn't have to worry about their next threat. They become meal for the lion, so the flight or fight response was necessary, and its rapidity was vital for survival.

Modern day men and women also react to stressors with the same response, for example, when you step off a curb, not noticing a car coming down the street, you hear the car's horn, you quickly jump back on the curb. Your heart beats faster, breathing changes, you perspire. These are all manifestations of your response to the stressor, which is the threat of being hit by the car. We encounter different types of stressors. There are environmental stressors like heat, cold, toxins. Some psychological stressors like threat to self-esteem, depression. And other sociological stressors like death of a loved one, unemployment and then there are other philosophical stressors like use of time and purpose of life. We encounter stressors everyday and in every walk of life.

The flight or fight response to a stressor is termed as stress reactivity. It includes increase in muscle tension, heart rate, elevated blood pressure, less saliva in mouth, etc. these reactions prepare us for swift response. When we buildup stress products and do not use them, this stress reaction becomes unhealthy.

Some stress is natural and necessary part of life. It is inevitable and also desirable. At low level of stress arousal you are not motivated to try very hard so you don't perform well. At another extreme, too high level of stress arousal disrupts your performance on all your tasks. Hans Selye (a researcher in stress) summarized stress reactivity as a three stage process termed as General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
Phase 1: alarm reaction- the body shows the changes characteristic of the first exposure to the stressor. A burst of energy is made available to you.
Phase 2: stage of resistance- resistance ensues if continued exposure to the stressor is compatible with the adaptation. The bodily signs of alarm reaction have virtually disappeared, and resistance rises above normal.
Phase 3: stage of exhaustion- following long continued exposure to the same stressor, the adaptation energy is exhausted. The similar symptoms of alarm reaction reappear, but now they are irreversible and this could be fatal.

Stress has many effects on our health. If not given proper attention could lead to hypertension, stroke, ulcers, migraine headaches, coronary heart disease, tension headaches, asthma, hay fever to name a few. Have you ever noticed that some people are more prone to stress than other. Some people tend to react to stressors with an all-out physiological reaction that takes a toll on their health. We call these people as hot reactors if you notice people who get angry easily, are often anxious or depressed, urinate frequently, experience constipation or diarrhea more than usual, experience vomiting or nausea, there is a good chance they are hot reactors. People who are perfectionist, obsessive compulsive, etc. are more prone to stress.
The management of the five components of stress in the way to reduce stress:
1) Changing stressors: Identify the regular or predictable stressors in your life. Commonly they are job, relationships, and unreasonable demands. You can change the stressor, quit it, improve it, or tolerate it.
2) Changing your physiological responses: Life style modifications, healthy diet, relaxation, exercise.
3) Changing behavior: An important part of managing stress effectively involves changing your behavior so as to replace old, stress increasing and self defeating behaviors with more successful behaviors.
4) Changing your perception: Interpretation of your situation as a threat makes it a stressor for you. Your expectation whether or not you will be able to cope with it influences your level of stress and your expectations of your not coping also influences your levels of stress.
5) Changing your feelings: How you think is how you feel. Learn to handle your bad feelings. Denying your feelings and pretending they don't exist will only make things worse.

These are just a few suggestions understand and start working on the stressors you feel in your life. Rare is a person who doesn't experience any stress. The first step is to be aware. Observe and introspect to identity the stressors in your life. As a starting point think of all the stressors in your life and the level of stress they bring to you.

BONUS : Title:
Stress And Parenting All Too Often Go Hand In Hand

Word Count:
632

Summary:
There are very few things in life like parenting, and very few things in life that lead to such incredible stress.

It seems stress and parenting all too often go hand in hand. But with a little forethought and planning, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Yes, raising children takes more patience than almost any thing else you will ever encounter in life, but there is no reason that it should be the thing that drives you completely batty! Yes, it is challenging and can ...


Keywords:
stress, depression, anxiety, phobia


Article Body:
There are very few things in life like parenting, and very few things in life that lead to such incredible stress.

It seems stress and parenting all too often go hand in hand. But with a little forethought and planning, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Yes, raising children takes more patience than almost any thing else you will ever encounter in life, but there is no reason that it should be the thing that drives you completely batty! Yes, it is challenging and can at times cause you to wonder how you are going to manage but stress and parenting do not have to be tied at the hip.

Stress is a mental and physical condition that occurs when you try to deal with the issues that must be dealt with and yet you feel incapable of doing so.

It almost describes parenting to a tee! There are many situations that you will encounter as a parent that you know you must undertake and press through, but ones in which you really believe you are truly incapable of doing so in the long term.

Parenting requires long term planning and a long tem commitment to the process. Yes, there are many parental goals that leave you facing a long and time consuming path, but there is simply no need to feel completely overwhelmed and paralyzed by the challenge of parenting.

There are so many resources available to you as a parent that as you work towards learning to be a better parent you can also learn to deal with those stressful situations.

As a parent it is very important that you are a realist. There are going to be plenty of times that you simply do not meet the goal that you want for yourself or your child. This is of course true in life as it is with parenting.

Take a deep breath and think about it…there are really only a very few “absolutes” or even “mandatory requirements” in parenting. This should help you to be able to sleep a bit easier tonight.

Ok, for example, educating your children is mandatory and terribly difficult. But there is not just one school that can provide the education for your child. There are lots of different options for education.

But when you are trying to make a decision about education, which is mandatory, there is no reason to have a melt down over it. Just make a decision, a well educated and well thought out decision.

Making decisions for your children should not lead to stress. While you must take these choices seriously, it you allow the stress to brew, you can experience helplessness, hopelessness, chronic worry, irritability, and even insomnia.

There are very few parenting dilemmas which are as potentially stress-inducing as a child who simply will not listen to you, especially when their behavior is unruly, irritating or even violent. But again, in this situation, as in many others, there are rarely any quick fixes.

But, if you take the time to see the challenge for what it is and learn to deal with the situation before it becomes a stressful situation then you and your family will be better adjusted in the long run. Minimizing stress is a worthwhile goal for which you should strive.

Remember even thought stress and parenting all too often seem to go hand in hand, it just is not necessary. Chronic stress is unhealthy. Make a decision to do something different to manage the stress of parenting.

Search for alternatives and solutions before you decide you have no other choice but to have a stress related meltdown.

Stress and parenting can be a thing of the past if you elect to deal with being a parent in a more constructive method.