Stress and you

It is not stress that kills us; it is our reaction to it ~ Dr. Hans Selye

 

The word ‘stress’ is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "a state of affair involving demand on physical or mental energy". A condition or circumstance (not always adverse), which can disturb the normal physiological and psychological functioning of an individual. In medical parlance ‘stress’  is defined as a perturbation of the body’s homeostasis. Homeostasis is the ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes. This demand on mind-body occurs when it tries to cope with incessant changes in life. There can be many stress factors since different individuals react differently to the same stress conditions. Stress is often termed as a twentieth century syndrome, born out of man’s race towards modern progress and into its complexities. Simple things like managing a teenager at home or getting delayed for a flight are enough to put a person under stress. The brain cannot differentiate between real and imagined stress. It can be real or perceived, but our brain reacts the same way to both causes of stress.

 

Life acts and you react. Our attitude is our reaction to what life hands out to us. Stress can be avoided if we change the way we relate to stressors. Stress is created by what we think happened rather than what actually happened. With better attention to our reaction and what actually happens around us, we will be in better control of stress and our own health. Major events in life, such as, death, unemployment, chronic illness, difficult child, financial worries are potential stressors. Other reasons for stress conditions are relationship demands, traffic snarls, meeting deadlines, pressures at work etc. Children and women are subjected to mental and physical abuse are known to suffer from tremendous stress symptoms. A counsellor has to guide clients how to channel their emotional reactions constructively and create balanced state in their body and mind.

 

The Dynamics of Stress

In a challenging situation the brain prepares the body for defensive action—the fight or flight response by releasing stress hormones, namely, cortisone and adrenaline. These hormones raise the blood pressure and the body prepares to react to the situation. Stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. When people feel stressed by something going on around them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals into the blood. These chemicals give people more energy and strength, which can be a good thing if their stress is caused by physical danger. But this can also be a bad thing, if their stress is in response to something emotional and there is no outlet for this extra energy and strength. With a concrete defensive action (fight response) the stress hormones in the blood get used up, entailing reduced stress effects and symptoms of anxiety. When we fail to counter a stress situation (flight response) the hormones and chemicals remain unreleased in the blood stream for a long period of time. It results in stress related physical symptoms such as tense muscles, unfocused anxiety, dizziness and rapid heartbeats. We all encounter various stressors (causes of stress) in everyday life, which can accumulate, if not released. Subsequently, it compels the mind and body to be in an almost constant alarm-state in preparation to fight or flee. This state of accumulated stress can increase the risk of both acute and chronic psychosomatic illnesses and weaken the immune system. Stress can cause headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, eating disorder, allergies, insomnia, backaches, frequent cold and fatigue to diseases such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, heart ailments and even cancer.

 

Stress can be positive too

The words ‘positive’ and ‘stress’ may not often go together. But, there are innumerable instances of athletes rising to the challenge of stress and achieving the unachievable, scientists stressing themselves out over a point to bring into light the most unthinkable secrets of the phenomenal world, and likewise a painter, a composer or a writer producing the best paintings, the most lilting of tunes or the most appealing piece of writing by pushing themselves to the limit. Psychologists second the opinion that some ‘stress’ situations can actually boost our inner potential and can be creatively helpful. Stress, in moderate doses, are necessary in our life. Stress responses are one of our body’s best defence systems against outer and inner dangers. In a risky situation our body releases stress hormones that instantly make us more alert and our senses become more focused. The body is also prepared to act with increased strength and speed in a pressure situation. It is supposed to keep us sharp and ready for action.

 

Two causes of stress: Survival (the fight or flight) Stress and Internal (worry)  have been discussed above. The other things that can cause stress are fatigue and overworking. This kind of stress builds up over a long time and can take a hard toll on your body. It can be caused by working too much or too hard at your job(s), school, or home. It can also be caused by not knowing how to manage your time well or how to take time out for rest and relaxation. This can be one of the hardest kinds of stress to avoid because many people feel this is out of their control. The other kind is Environmental stress. This is a response to things around you that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family. Identifying these environmental stresses and learning to avoid them or deal with them will help lower your stress level. Please feel free to add in related comments.