Everyone is different with unique perceptions, reactions and events. There is no single level of stress that is optimal for all. Some are more sensitive owing to experiences in childhood, i.e. influence of teachers, parents and religious etc…
Most of the stress we experience is self generated. How we perceive life, whether an event makes us feel threatened or stimulated encouraged or discouraged, happy or sad – depends to a large extent on how we perceive ourselves.
Stress is the “wear and tear”, our minds & bodies expand as we attempt to cope with our continually changing Environment.
Stress feelings are:
- Worry
- Tense
- Tired
- Frightened
- Elated
- Depressed
- Anxious
- Anger
Types of stress:
- Negative stress
- Positive stress
Negative Stress:
It deals with minor conditions such as headaches, digestive problems, skin complaints, insomnia and ulcers.
Excessive, prolonged and unrelieved stress can have a harmful effect on mental, physical and spiritual health.
Positive stress:
It deals with spurring motivation and awareness. It provides the stimulation to cope with challenging situation. Stress also provides the sense of urgency and alertness needed for survival when confronting threatening situations.
Symptoms of stress:
- Physical symptoms
- Mental symptoms
- Behavioral symptoms
- Emotional symptoms
Physical symptoms:
- Sleep patter changes
- Fatigue
- Digestion changes
- Headaches
- Aches & pains
- Infections
- Indigestion
- Fainting
- Sweating & trembling
- Breathlessness
- Missed heart beats.
Mental symptoms:
- Lack of concentration
- Memory lapses
- Difficulty in making decisions
- Confusion
- Disorientation
- Panic attacks
Behavioral symptoms :
- Appetite changes- too much too little intakes
- Eating disorder – bulimia
- Increase intake of alcohol & other drug
- Increased smoking
- Nail biting
- Restlessness
Emotional symptoms:
- Bouts of depression
- Impatience
- Fits of rage
- Tearfulness
- Deterioration of personal hygiene and appearance.
Costs of stress:
80% of all modern disease has their origins in stress
In UK, 40 Million Working days per year are lost directly from stress related illness costs an absenteeism to British industry is estimated at 1.5 billion pounds per year.
Stress management techniques:
- Change your thinking
- Change your behavior
- Change your lifestyle
Change your thinking:
It deals with, Re -framing & position thinking.
Re – Framing:
It is a technique to change the way you look at things in order to feel better about them.
Positive thinking:
- Focus on your strength
- Learn from the stress you are under
- Look for opportunities
- Seek out the positive-make a change
Changes your behavior :
- Be Assertive
- Get organized
- Ventilation
- Humor
- Diversion & Distraction
Be Assertive : Assertiveness helps to mange stressfull situations , and will in times helps to reduce the frequency
Get organized: Plan your daily set of achievable goals, don’t waste time making excuse for not doing something.
Ventilation: A Problem shared is problem halved”. Always try to share the problems with your dear one’s it helps to lessen your stress.
Humor:
- Good stress – Reduce
- Apply at home & work
- Relieves muscular tension
- Improves breathing.
Diversion & Distraction:
- Take time out
- Get away from things that bother you
- Doesn’t solve the problem
- Reduce stress level
- Calm down
- Think logically
Change life style:
- Diet
- Smoking & Alcohol
- Exercise
- Sleep
- Leisure
- Relaxation
In order to balance / Lower your stress always have time to talk to yourself , mediate , exercise , laugh and see things in a positive way.