Living Well and Healthy, Part 8

Managing Stress.  Stress is practically unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to have a negative impact on your health and well-being.  By learning how to deal with stress in ways that make you feel more in control, you may be able to improve your health, your relationship, your job, and your outlook on life.

But what, precisely, is stress?  Author Kemper, of Healthwise Handbook, explains that stress is the physical, mental, and emotional reactions you experience as the result of changes and demands in your life.  It is part and parcel of common life events, both large and small.

Stress comes with all of life’s daily hassles, traffic jams, long lines, petty arguments, and other relatively small irritations.  It also comes with crises and life-changing events, such as illness, marriage problems or divorce, losing a job, or children leaving home.  All these events may force you to adjust, whether you are ready or not.  Unless you can release the tension that comes with stress, it can greatly increase your risks of physical and mental illness.

Because many major life events are beyond your control, take charge of those aspects of your life that you can manage.

Not all stress is bad.  Positive stress (eustress) is a motivator, challenging you to act in creative and resourceful ways.  Negative stress (distress), on the contrary, can overwhelm you when changes and demands set in.

What does stress do to the body? At the first sign of stress, the pituitary and adrenal glands and the nerve endings automatically trigger these physical reactions to stress:

• Heart rate increases to move blood to the muscles and brain.
• Blood pressure goes up.
• Breathing rate increases.
• Digestion slows down.
• Perspiration increases.
• Pupils dilate.
• You may feel a rush of strength.

Your body is tense, alert, and ready for action.  After the natural “alarm” reaction to a real or perceived threat, our body stays on alert until we feel the danger has passed.  When the stressor is gone, the brain signals an “all clear” sign to the pituitary and adrenal glands.  They stop producing the chemicals that caused the physical reaction, and the body gradually returns to normal.

Problems with stress occur when the brain fails to give the “all clear” signal.  If the alarm state lasts too long, you begin to suffer from the consequences of constant stress which can lead to many health problems.

(Part 9 will explain how to recognize the signs of stress and how to relieve them through different relaxation techniques. – J.P.)