Stress Management
The word stress has been used so often in the past two decades that it almost sounds redundant. The formal definition of stress is a situation whereby the person perceives the demands of a situation to be larger than the resources that they possess. In simple words, stress is the feeling that one may not be able to cope with the demands of the situation he/she is facing.
Everyone experiences stress. Whether it is work related, child-care related, financial or relationship related, or a combination of a few, you cannot avoid it. Stress can emerge from either negative or positive experiences. For example, getting fired can be stressful, but so can getting married. Stress comes from 3 basic sources: your body, your mind and the environment. Your body may be a source of stress when it is going through changes, such as adolescence, pregnancy, menopause, because of an accident, illness, lack of exercise or poor nutrition.
The environment can be a source of stress when it requires you to adjust to things like noise, air pollution, extreme weather conditions, time pressure, fatigue, etc. Finally, your thoughts may be a source of pressure, when you constantly try to make sense of your world and interpret it, to know how to react to it. Your mind continuously appraises the different situations you are in and your ability to cope.
This is a survival mechanism, which allows you to know when it is required to engage in a fight or flight response, i.e. to flee a situation or to fight an enemy to survive. Some people tend to appraise situations as stressful or dangerous even when they are not. These people are prone to experiencing The Stress Response, i.e., your body’s automatic reaction to perceived threat, causing you to feel panicky, overwhelmed and have several physical symptoms, such as a racing heart, breathing difficulties and others.
It is important not to dismiss stress just because many of us experience it. Stress, especially when ongoing, has been related to a variety of health problems, such as hypertension, heart conditions, anxiety, reproductive problems, diabetes, and asthma, to name a few. Scientists now believe that stress may also accelerate the aging process. Moreover, feeling stressed out takes away from a sense of well-being.
Help is Available
Stress is a part of life and therapy cannot take away the sources of stress in your life. However, therapy can help you to manage stress better and find islands of calm in the storm. Your physical and mental health can improve and so can your relationships.