What is Stress?

 Stress can effect anyone. It is how we react to external pressures or change that we perceive to be to be difficult or uncomfortable, so that we feel threatened and lacking in control. We can experience stress physically in the body eg sweating, breathlessness, racing heart, and it can also manifest emotionally in feelings of anger, worry and frustration.

Of course, some stress can be good for us, it can motivate and spur us on to achieve our goals such as when we have an important piece of work to do, an exam or a performance; a degree of stress can stimulate, keep us alert and help us focus on the task in hand.

But too much stress can be counter productive, and if experienced long term, it diminishes our ability to function properly, and can develop into chronic stress leaving us vulnerable to further illness and disease.

How we respond to stress is highly individual and subjective; what may be stressful for you, may not be stressful for me. Our response to stressful situations is dependant on how we perceive it. And this is something that we can work on changing.

 

What happens to the body when we feel stressed.

The 'fight or flight' response kicks in, so that the body is fully geared up to deal efficiently with a threat or danger. Our bodies have been programmed to respond this way since primitive man need the resources to fight or flee such dangers as the sabre toothed tiger.

While savage beasts are unlikely to cause us much concern these days as we head to work or do the school run, we still utilise this 'emergency response' when, for example, a car unexpectedly pulls in front of us causing us to brake suddenly.

When this happens our brain sends an alarm message to the nervous system to make a series of changes in the body: our heart rate, metabolism, breathing, muscle tension, and blood pressure all increase; sweating increases, blood is diverted from our extremities and the digestive system and into the larger muscles that can help us defend ourselves or run away; the mouth feels dry, more glucose is released into the blood as energy for our muscles, we experience butterflies in the stomach; pupils dilate to sharpen our vision, and our hearing becomes more acute. The human body is in a state of high alert.

When we perceive the danger to be over, our body turns off the stress response and everything returns to its normal level during the 'relaxation response'.

Problems arise when  we experience so much stress, real or imagined, that the body does not have sufficient time to recuperate, which can potentially lead to chronic stress and increase our chances of developing stress related disease.

What causes stress?

Some of the most stressful events are:

moving house

getting married

having a baby

bereavement

serious illness in your self or someone close to you

stress can also be caused by long term difficult circumstances:

unemployment

poverty

relationship problems

difficulties at work

bad housing

How can I tell if I am under too much stress?

 

There are a number of symptoms that suggest you are under stress. The more of the following you experience, the more stressed you are.  

 

 

        How your  body may react     

                                           

fast shallow breathing

headaches

constant tiredness

restlessness

sleeping problems

sweating

nervous twitches

cramps or muscle spasms

pins and needles

high blood pressure

feeling sick or dizzy

constipation or diarrhoea

craving for food

lack of appetite

indigestion or heartburn

sexual difficulties

fainting

chest pain

grinding your teeth at night

 

How you may feel

irritable

aggressive

depressed

fearing failure

dreading the future

a loss of interest in others

taking no interest in life

that there is no one to confide in

a loss of sense of humour

bad or ugly

fearful that you are seriously ill

 

How you may behave

finding it difficult to make decisions

finding it difficult to concentrate

denying there's a problem

avoiding difficult situations

frequently crying

biting your nails

unable to show your true feelings

being very snappy or aggressive

finding difficult to talk to talk to others

 

 

 If you tick off your own reactions, you can get an idea of your personal responses to stress. This can help you recognise signs of stress coming on, in the future.

 

[*from: www.mind.org.uk/ ]

 

If you feel that your stress levels are becoming out of control and seriously undermining your well being, do consult a doctor for advice.

 Coming next: top tips for good stress management.

Namaste