Archive for January 2010
The Key To Peventing Stress
We spend loads of money on stress management books and conferences. We learn how to reduce our anxiety with yoga, meditation, soothing music and medication. But, we don't often learn how to prevent it.
When was the last time that you intentionally bought a house that was $100,000 under the amount that you were approved? Or didn't fill up your entire plate with food? Or drove 5 miles under the speed limit — on purpose? We don't do "margins" well. We usually go right to the edge, take up all the space available, schedule every minute, and allocate every dollar.
What You Really Need To Do About Stress
The first step in reducing stress is identifying the events, conditions, people, and beliefs that are associated with stress. Start by making a list of the most obvious, common stressors. Are you experiencing a major change in your life, a chronic illness, marital discord, or financial issues? Next, consider more subtle stressors such as poor sleep, a difficult daily commute, and phobias that interfere with your job or social life. If you have a hard time making your list, read about causes of stress, then examine your life to determine which ones apply to you.
Take Some Time For Yourself
If you really want to move beyond the stresses in your life, then you do need to dedicate some time to yourself. Doing so will allow you to recover from most anything life throws your way.
To reap these rewards, you might think you'd have to spend hours relaxing every single day. But you don't. It can take as little as one hour each week – and if that hour just happens to take place from 1 pm to 2 pm Sunday, that's perfectly fine.
How To Find Hope In The Midst Of A Crisis
Keeping hope alive is vital during a crisis situation. No matter what happens, you need to keep hope, even if it seems like hope has packed its bags and left town to "find itself." Stress and anguish can follow someone through a crisis, and they only get more intense when the person gives up hope.
How can a person assume any control over the situation, when they're devoid of hope? Obviously, it's virtually impossible. And while some believe that it takes a special sort of "gift" to be able to find hope in any situation, it is not a gift. Finding hope amongst the ruins is a skill, and anyone can learn and practice it. What it really takes is an ability to look at a situation and see it objectively.
What Too Much Stress Will Do To your Body
On a biological level, stress signals the release of a cocktail of chemicals and hormones in the brain. This causes your body's heart rate to increase and the blood pressure to rise. In essence, your body is going into "fight or flight" mode because your mind perceives a threat of some sort. Then your lungs and your heart work harder during the times when you are uptight which makes you prone to stroke and heart attack.
Other physical manifestations would include: the feeling of dryness in the mouth which will make it difficult for the person to talk and swallow. It can also cause difficulty in digestion which may cause stomach cramps and nausea.
Your skin is also affected because a hormone called Cortisol is produced in excessive amounts. What this hormone does is it accelerates the skin aging process dramatically. It will make your skin look dull and it may even lead to other skin irritations like rashes, eczema and acne. You may have noticed that when you are anxious out your skin becomes clammy and cold and sometimes it can go the other way around as you may experience hot flashes as well.
Too much tension can also affect your immune system. This means your body is more prone to sickness and disease. And when you do become ill, it takes longer to recover.
Doesn't sound like much fun, does it?
Good Stress vs Bad Stress
Not all stress is bad. In fact we all need a certain amount of stress in order to perform to our best ability. In every kind of stress, you're dealing with a certain level of uncertainty. But with “good stress”, the outcome isn't expected to be "get away or die." It’s more of a feeling of nervousness, anticipation or excitement rather than dread.