Dangerous Stress-Healthy Stress
Have you experienced the difference?

Stress…the very sound of the word causes unpleasant feelings. Short-term stress can be good, even life saving. Long-term stress is a very different story indeed. A recent study by Sheldon Cohen, PhD, professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, showered that chronically stressed out subjects purposefully exposed to cold viruses had a greater chance of getting sick than those reporting consistently less tress in their lives. Living Fit May 1997

Long-term stress actually diminishes our ability to function on a day-to-day basis. Increased incidences of cancer, heart attacks, anxiety attacks, arteriosclerosis and stroke are just a few of the many life-threatening diseases that a long-term stress response contributes to.

It is very important to recognize stress response. A feeling of being overwhelmed, fatigue, inability to concentrate, lack of sleep, sleeping more, depression, shortness of breath, irritability, headaches or just a general feeling that life is out of control are indications of stress response.

Stress response, also know as the Fight or Flight response, is meant to be a short-term response. One of survival! When we are threatened or perceive a dangerous situation, our nervous system stimulates hormones that are released into the blood stream. Epinephrine, norepinephrine, and flucocortoids are stress hormones that allow the body to respond to stress by increasing our strength, making our senses sharper and increasing our survival rate in case of injury. All the systems .are mobilized, Physiological responses increase our immune response. Eyesight and hearing become sharper, breathing shallow and fast, blood withdraws deep into the body to supply and protect vital organs. The function of organs such as the spleen, liver, and lymph nodes all support the immune system. This wonderful stress response protects us and allows us to respond appropriately. It only becomes dangerous to us when we remain in the stress response long term. The immune system becomes suppressed and fatigued leading to the beginning of various disease processes. The longer the response, the more damage that is done!

Perception
How we perceive stress determines how we react. In a life threatening situation, our stress response is not only desirable, but may be lifesaving. Under these circumstances, we perceive our response to stress as good and marvel at how we reacted. In a sports event such as tennis, we can use the stress of competition to funnel our stress response into stepping up our performance. Our serves may be just a bit faster, returns sharper, movement quicker, as a result our game is more competitive. In the process, we respond to stress in a healthy way and the response is short term. Our perception is that this stress response is good.

Unfortunately, modern day life causes us to respond with a long-term stress response. This is not healthy. Increasingly, science has concluded that learning how to cope with stress and how to use it to our advantage is vital to our health and mental well being.

10 Ways to Cope with STRESS

1) Exercise reduces stress hormones and increases healthy immune activity.

2) Sleep Get eight hours! Make sure it's restful and restorative.

3) Eat a well balanced diet. Include fruits and vegetables to support your immune system.

4) Meditation is a great tool for reducing stress. Research shows that regular meditation reduces illness, increases productivity, and deep breathing.

6) Supportive Communication Surround yourself with friends and family who are supportive and listen. Positive feedback is a must.

7) Massage is a powerful stress reducer. It increases immune response, decreases anxiety, and reduces soreness. Research shows that it relieves pain and increases productivity. All the attention is on you!

8) Relaxation is important. Use your vacation time. Plan three day weekends. Let go and rejuvenate.

9) Have fun, be in the moment.

10) Don't sweat the little stuff. For many of us, it's the small stuff that gets to us and drains our energies.

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Dangerous Stress-Healthy Stress Have you experienced the difference?

10 Ways to Cope with STRESS

Dangerous Stress-Healthy Stress
Have you experienced the difference?