STRESS

We generally use the word "stress" when we feel that everything seems to have
become too much - we are overloaded and wonder whether we really can cope
with the pressures placed upon us.

Anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress. Some stresses
get you going and they are good for you - without any stress at all many say our lives
would be boring and would probably feel pointless. However, when the stresses
undermine both our mental and physical health they are bad. In this text we shall be
focusing on stress that is bad for you.

The difference between "stress" and "a stressor" - a stressor is an agent or stimulus that
causes stress.Stress is the feeling we have when under pressure, while stressors
are the things we respond to in our environment. Examples of stressors are noises,
unpleasant people, a speeding car, or even going out on a first date. Generally (but not
always), the more stressors we experience, the more stressed we feel.

Stress - fight or flight response

The way you respond to a challenge may also be a type of stress. Part of your response
to a challenge is physiological and affects your physical state. When faced with a
challenge or a threat, your body activates resources to protect you - to either get away
as fast as you can, or fight.

If you are upstairs at home and an earthquake starts, the faster you can get yourself
and your family out the more likely you are all to survive. If you need to save
somebody's life during that earthquake, by lifting a heavy weight that has fallen on them,

you will need components in your body to be activated to give you that extra strength that extra push.

Our fight-or-flight response is our body's sympathetic nervous system reacting to a

stressful event. Our body produces larger quantities of the chemicals cortisol,
adrenaline and noradrenaline, which trigger a higher heart rate, heightened muscle
preparedness, sweating, and alertness - all these factors help us protect ourselves in a
dangerous or challenging situation.
Non-essential body functions slow down, such as our digestive and immune systems
when we are in fight-or flight response mode. All resources can then be concentrated on
rapid breathing, blood flow, alertness and muscle use.
When we are stressed the following happens:

Blood pressure rises

Breathing becomes more rapid

Digestive system slows down

Heart rate (pulse) rises

Immune system goes down

Muscles become tense

We do not sleep (heightened state of alertness)

Most of us have varying interpretations of what stress is about and what matters. Some
of us focus on what happens to us, such as breaking a bone or getting a promotion,
while others think more about the event itself. What really matters are our thoughts
about the situations in which we find ourselves.
We are continually sizing up situations that confront us in life. We assess each situation,
deciding whether something is a threat, how we can deal with it and what resources we
can use. If we conclude that the required resources needed to effectively deal with a
situation are beyond what we have available, we say that that situation is stressful - and
we react with a classical stress response. On the other hand, if we decide our available

resources and skills are more than enough to deal with a situation, it is not seen as
stressful to us.

How we respond to stress affects our health

We do not all interpret each situation in the same way.

Because of this, we do not all call on the same resources for each situation

We do not all have the same resources and skills.

Some situations which are not negative ones may still be perceived as stressful. This is
because we think we are not completely prepared to cope with them effectively.
Examples being: having a baby, moving to a nicer house, and being promoted. Having a
baby is usually a wonderful thing, so is being promoted or moving to a nicer house. But,
moving house is a well-known source of stress.

A hectic home life can cause you to feel stressed and exhausted

It is important to learn that what matters more than the event itself is usually our
thoughts about the event when we are trying to manage stress. How you see that
stressful event will be the largest single factor that impacts on your physical and mental
health. Your interpretation of events and challenges in life may decide whether they are
invigorating or harmful for you.
A persistently negative response to challenges will eventually have a negative effect on
your health and happiness. Experts say people who tend to perceive things negatively
need to understand themselves and their reactions to stress-provoking situations better.
Then they can learn to manage stress more successfully.
Perception of stress affects heart attack risk - people who believe their stress is
affecting their health in a big way are twice as likely to have a heart attack ten years
later, researchers at the University of Western Ontario found.
In modern society we lead ever more busy lives

In another study carried out at Pennsylvania State University, the investigators found
that stress was not the problem, but rather how we react to stressors. It appears

that how patients react to stress is a predictor of their health a decade later, regardless
of their present health and stressors.
Lead researcher, Professor David Almeida said "For example, if you have a lot of work
to do today and you are really grumpy because of it, then you are more likely to suffer
negative health consequences 10 years from now than someone who also has a lot of
work to do today, but doesn't let it bother her."

Some of the effects of stress on you

Possible effects of stress on your body:

A tendency to sweat

Back pain

Chest pain

Childhood obesity - researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia published

a report in Pediatrics in October 2012 explaining that a number of stressors from
parents can increase the risk of obesity in their children. Lead researcher, Elizabeth
Prout-Parks, M.D., said "Stress in parents may be an important risk factor for child
obesity and related behaviors. The severity and number of stressors are important."

Examples of stressors include mental health problems, poor physical health, financial
strain, and trying to manage in a single-parent household.
Cramps or muscle spasms

Erectile dysfunction
Fainting spells

Headache
Heart disease

Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Loss of libido

Lower immunity against diseases

Muscular aches

Nail biting

Nervous twitches

Pins and needles

Sleeping difficulties

Stomach upset

Possible effects of stress on your thoughts and feelings:

Anger

Anxiety
Burnout

Depression
Feeling of insecurity

Forgetfulness

Irritability

Problem concentrating

Restlessness

Sadness

Fatigue

Possible effects of stress on your behavior:

Eating too much

Eating too little

Food cravings

Sudden angry outbursts

Drug abuse

Alcohol abuse

Higher tobacco consumption

Social withdrawal

Frequent crying

Relationship problems