Busy days, long hours, noisy offices, unbearable traffic, screaming children, ringing phones... sound familiar? These words describe the day of an average person in America. Stress pervades even the lives of some of the most positive and respected people. Here are some tips to help take the edge off of stress and strengthen the positive results in that day.
What Really Causes Stress?
Stress is different for every person. Experiences that might make one person feel excited or happy could actually cause stress in another. Due to the fact that stress is such an individual experience, it becomes the responsibility of each individual to find their stress triggers. What types of noises, activity, and experiences add up to a feelings of defeat? How many projects does it take to overwhelm an individual? What types of events add up to worry or fear? These are the kind of questions people can ask themselves to pinpoint their own stressors. Once identified, stressors cannot always be removed, but at least some type forewarning can lead to improved stress management skills.
What are the Negative Effects of Stress?
According to the American Institute of Stress, untreated stress can lead to "depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, immune system disturbances that increase susceptibility to infections, a host of viral linked disorders ranging from the common cold and herpes to AIDS and certain cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In addition, stress can have direct effects on the skin (rashes, hives, atopic dermatitis, the gastrointestinal system (GERD, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis) and can contribute to insomnia and degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease." The institute expects that stress will be linked to many more issues as time and studies progress. Also, a recent study in the British Medical Journal published online October 7th found that risk of obesity increases with common mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. They found a positive correlation between the number of incidences of health disorders and the amount of weight gained.
What can be done to combat stress?
- Obviously the first line of defense against stress is to remove or diminish the triggers. Try to lighten the workload by asking for assistance, turn the phone off for a while, carpool to work, or take a day off. Of course these options are not available to everyone but if the effort is made, usually a solution is not far!
- Remember to breathe. It sounds simplistic and idealistic but sometimes a few breaths can be the difference in saying or doing something that cannot be reversed. Breathe deeply into your abdomen and release all the air at least three times before considering a response to a stressor. Breathing calms the body and relieves the mind from its busy preoccupation with the current situation, creating a space in which you can clear the head and repsond appropriately.
- Connect. Call on a friend or community group. One of the keys to long term happiness in life is in our connection to others. Friends can sometimes contribute a new perspective to the limited view that we see. Friends can also help to ground a person when an issue seems to take on a life of its own.
- Help another person. How is helping another person going to alleviate an individual's stress? Helping another person relieves an individual's mind of their own issues and replaces the stress with positive feeling of having contributed to the life of another. Helping another person is an opportunity that could reveal the insignificance of what was once thought to be a monumental problem.
- Exercise and eat properly. Exercising relieves the body of stress energy that can accumulate to create health issues. Yoga is an exercise fit for everyone that includes good breathing techniques that can be used in stress management. A poor diet can also contribute to stress in many ways, possibly causing feeling of fatigue when energy is needed or causing a racing mind when a calm mind is necessary.
Sources: BMJ, online, October 7th; Effects of Stress. American Institute of Stress. www.stress.org
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