How to reduce Stress ?

Modern life is full of pressure, fears and frustration, that is life is stressful. It is generally thought that feelings of stress come from outside sources, when, in reality, it happens inside us. Stress is a natural reaction to life. Daily events, relationship conflicts, internal pressures and expectations, sudden or major changes are all sources of stress. Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us. Medically the term stress implies a disturbance in the overall balance in the body, that is body homeostasis, as it tries to cope up with stress. For some, a certain amount of stress can be stimulant causing them to meet challenges and achieve goals. Too much takes a mental and physical toll. Coping with stresses in such cases may lead to suffering mental fatigue and physical illness.

There's no way to predict with certainty how any given individual will respond to stress. Research indicates it is not the stressful situation itself that bring negative results but the way the stress is perceived and handled. 

Symptoms of Stress
Symptoms may be categorized as:

Physical- Physical symptoms resulting from or being aggravated by stress are:


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  • sleep disturbances 

  • tension or migraine headaches

  • upset or acid stomach, cramps, heartburn, gas, irritable bowel syndrome 

  • constipation, diarrhoea 

  • weight gain or loss, eating disorders 

  • hair loss 

  • high blood pressure 

  • chest pain 

  • reproductive problems 

  • immune system suppression: more colds, flu, infections 

  • growth inhibition 

  • diabetes

      Emotional- Emotional symptoms may include:

 

  • nervousness, anxiety 

  • depression, moodiness 

  • irritability, frustration 

  • memory problems 

  • lack of concentration 

  • Person under stress may also at times manifest antisocial behaviour such as increased arguments, and be isolated from social activities.

Stress can be short term acute stress or long term chronic stress. Acute stress is the reaction to an immediate threat, and the the human body responds to stressors by activating the nervous system and specific hormones. A cascade of hormones trigger an internal alarm system which causes you to have rapid breathing, increased heart rate, sweaty or dry palms, edginess, digestive problems, blood vessel, and pupil constriction, dry throat and hyper-alertness. These hormones dampen parts of the immune system, so that infection fighters (including important white blood cells) or other immune molecules can be redistributed. In small doses, acute stress may not be too harmful, but too much eventually becomes exhausting and taxing on the body, mind, and spirit. Under most circumstances, once the acute threat has passed, the response becomes inactivated and levels of stress hormones return to normal, a condition called the relaxation response. Stress becomes chronic as one experiences seemingly unrelenting demands and pressures for long periods of time. Studies show that long-term activation of stress symptoms can have a hazardous, even lethal effect on the body. When the signs of stress persist, there is greater risk for many health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and many other life threatening disorders.

As if this weren't enough, stress adversely affects reproduction, sexual behavior, and growth. Stress inhibits the immune system, making one more vulnerable to colds, flu, fatigue and infections. It causes digestive problems and may even lead to suicide. For all these reasons, it is important to recognize the symptoms of stress and learn what to do about them. Fortunately, recent years have brought increased societal awareness and a greater understanding of factors that limit and relieve stress.

Stress Reduction Techniques

We can not remove stress from our life but we can change how we feel about it, how we interpret it and what we do to cope with it. Research indicates it is not the stressful situation itself that bring negative results but the way the stress is perceived and handled. We can improve our self esteem, control our fears and enter into deep states of relaxation to reduce stress.

Identifying the source of stress: The first step to reduce any sort of stress is to try and identify the aspects of life that are causing it. This can help one to cope with in a better way and provide mental and emotional relief.

Adding Stress Reducing Activities: The next step is to attempt to shift the balance from stress-producing to stress-reducing activities. Eliminating stress is rarely practical or feasible, but there are many ways to reduce its impact eg going on vacations or writing down one’s thoughts on a diary.

Keep Perspective and Look for the Positive: Reversing negative ideas and learning to focus on positive outcomes helps reduce tension and achieve goals. Research has shown that humor is a very effective mechanism for coping with acute stress. Keeping a sense of humor during difficult situations is a common recommendation from stress management experts. Laughter not only releases the tension of pent-up feelings and helps keep perspective, but it appears to have actual physical effects that reduce stress hormone levels.
Strengthening or establishing a support network: One good way to remain happy despite stresses, is to have good network of social support. Many studies suggest that having a pet helps reduce medical problems aggravated by stress, including heart disease and high blood pressure.

Relaxation Techniques: Everyone needs to develop methods for invoking the relaxation response, the natural unwinding of the stress response. Relaxation lowers blood pressure, respiration, and pulse rates, releases muscle tension, and eases emotional strains, and promote relaxation, calm and peace within.

Some of the techniques include
• Deep Breathing strongly influences mind, body and moods. By simply focusing the attention on breathing, and without doing anything to change it, one can move in the direction of relaxation.
• Muscle Relaxation techniques, often combined with deep breathing, are simple to learn and very useful for getting to sleep, and produces relaxation much more rapidly.
• For many people, exercise is their main method of reducing stress and promoting relaxation. Exercise alone, sometimes cannot be sufficient to reduce stress, and may be used as a complement to another technique such as breathing, visualization or yoga, for instance. Yoga is an excellent promoter of relaxation. It perfectly complements aerobic exercise.
• Massage therapy appears to slow down the heart and relax the body. There is a great deal of evidence that the state of the mind and nervous system is reflected in the state of the musculature - body work is one route into the unconscious mind.
• Meditation, is now widely accepted in this country as a relaxation technique. The goal of all meditative procedures, is to quiet the mind (essentially, to relax thought). Meditation leads to lowered blood pressure, decreased heart and respiratory rate, increased blood flow, and other measurable signs of the relaxation response.

• Mantram is the practice of repeating over and over in the mind certain syllables, words or phrases that help unify consciousness and counteract negative mental states.
• Hypnotherapy, is currently accepted as a useful method of relaxation.
• Biofeedback systems are tools to aid relaxation. It is a technique that can help a person learn stress reduction skills by providing information (feedback) about muscle tension, skin temperature, brain waves, and other vital signs. Biofeedback works best for people whose tension is expressed in bodily complaints such as migraines, hypertension. For example, a stress response reduces skin temperature because of constriction of blood vessels, changes in the blood flow in the brain during migraine attacks and in the pain-free periods in between. Using biofeedback training, a person can influence the blood flow to the brain and better manage a headache. In general, the effects of biofeedback appear to be comparable to many medications used for chronic headaches, and can be recommended as early treatment for recurrent migraines.
• Medications, such as tranquillisers or anti-depressants, may be used but these do not offer effective, long-term stress management. It's better to seek psychological support and therapy, as well as actually dealing with the cause of stress. Medication, however, may be a good short-term measure.

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Article Contributed By: Shaonli Dasgupta
 

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