How to Reduce its Effects – Stress Management
Stress is a response that includes both physical and mental responses to what we experience in our day to day life. In this context, stress may be defined as the collective physical and mental responses to an unacceptable disparity between personal expectations and actual physical and/or imaginary personal experiences.
Although, stress has been around us since the very beginning of our existence on planet earth, there is probably more stress today than there has ever been in human history. Stress is America’s number one health problem and job stress in particular is widely believed to be the major culprit.
In spite of all the aggravating different disorders caused by stress, it looks like stress is somehow an unavoidable consequence of life and a life without stress is probably not worth living. Stress triggers different biological responses from individual to individual. Winning a football match or a race can be just as stressful as losing one.
In spite of the different stress triggers from one person to another, there are some common warning signs of stress that are shared between many. These may include headache, stomach ache, difficulty concentrating, cold sleep disorders, clammy hands, shaky and strained voice, fatigue, anxiety or panic, hyperactivity, increased perspiration, difficulty in falling asleep or frequent nightmares as well as others.
While these tips are general, it is important to be realistic about judging our abilities while planning our time and setting our goals. Realistic expectations based on our actual abilities are essential for avoiding depression due to unexpected shortcomings, which leads to stress. A wise decision is always an informed decision, so getting all relevant information is equally important for a stress-free outcome.
In many cases, when we look at what someone is depressed about, we think that it is not really worth the stress and panic he or she is making out of it. That is, because, we all have different approaches to the same conflicts of life. The approach largely depends on our accumulated experiences and what we actually have in our subconscious. That, to reasonably good extent, determines how we react to the world events around us.
Recent research has shown that stress can have serious effects on our bodies and lead to devastating long term and short term consequences. It can worsen the situation we are in and make us more likely to fall sick. Thinking positively, sharing our problems, learning to like ourselves, building happy families, making friends and giving ourselves some breaks are just a few of the other stress reducers that we can actually exercise and achieve in a reasonably short period of time. It might not be easy for some, but it is definitely something that is worth the effort.
Stress Causes Many And Varied Effects
You may know that stress has been lined with many health problems and can make existing problems worse. It’s likely that even more consequences of stress will be uncovered as further research is done. Some experts go as far to say that most illnesses are partially if not completely caused by stress. That’s certainly a reason to make us think about ways to manage the stress in our lives.
Some people become very aggressive when dealing with stress, while others bury it inside. Neither response is good for our health or well-being, but it’s good to notice if you’re doing either of these. People, who all of a sudden explode, are the ones who have kept everything bottled up.
People who are more like Type A personalities, on the other hand, tend to lose their tempers, yell or blame others when they feel frustrated. This is a matter of individual temperament, but the best approach is to learn how to reduce the stress rather than keeping it to yourself or lashing out at others.
One area that stress can make itself felt is in muscle tightness, joints and ligaments. Problems such as neck or shoulder stiffness, for instance, can be due to tensing up these parts of the bodies when you feel stress. If the place you hold tension is your lower back, it’s likely that you’ll be one of the numerous people who complains of back problems. This isn’t to say that all muscle problems are due to stress – sometimes you just moved something the wrong way. With chronic muscle and joint problems, however, stress often plays a part. Regardless of the cause, a massage or adjustment at the hands of a chiropractor can help these issues.
What makes people so interesting is how differently they respond to things, especially something like stress. Every situation in life is dealt with entirely differently by people, for example one person might not care, another might quit, and another might be challenged, all by the exact same situation. Two people dealing with the same problem might both get stressed out, but one will carry it for days and the other one will get over it immediately.
Stress happens to all people, but not all people are able to put it away without thinking about it. You can learn to change your responses so that events or situations don’t cause more stress than they have to. Stress can easily bring about many health problems. Erection problems are one such type of disorder that emerges among men. It can come up with a great deal of issues in your family life. Stop distressing and act. Just have a peep into Cialis Tablets.
The consequences of stress are quite numerous, and they often have more of an impact than we realize. The effect stress has on you will depend on your situation and for how long it’s been going on. Stress is a common problem nowadays, so if you’re experiencing it, don’t let it upset you. Sometimes you can deal with stress on your own, and at other times you may have to consult with an expert for help.
Effects of Stress are NOT to be Taken Lightly
The effects of stress are undeniably a part of everyone’s life. Stress is the body’s response to certain situations that gives too much pressure. Each time you experience something that is very difficult to handle, the effects of stress comes right after.
The effects of stress can be seen through physical, emotional, and psychological manifestations. You may think that you are sick each time you get tired, have headaches, or muscle pains but in reality, these are all effects of stress among many others.
The effects of stress vary from each individual. The effects of stress for some people may be fatigue, less productivity at work, or sleep pattern disorders. Other people may experience different effects of stress like chest pain, anxiety, and mood swings.
Effects of stress are there so that you can take action. You must know what symptoms are parts of the effects of stress and what signs belong to an even more serious health condition.
Your attitude towards life, your way of thinking, your behaviour, your relationship with your family and friends, your performance at work, all these can be altered big time due to the effects of stress.
Stress seems to have a mind of its own. The effects of stress start slow and if you ignore it, it will grow and will soon take over your body.
The effects of stress can sometimes become positive or negative. It is positive when it allows you to escape from danger during a minor stressful event which is due to adrenalin surge. The effects of stress become negative if you neglect it and allow it to become worst.
There are times when a person experiences a series of stressful situation and the body no longer has time to rest which further leads to additional effects of stress that are unrelieved. A person will then produce symptoms like blood pressure elevation and increase in heart rate and respiration which leads to more pressure on major body organs like the heart and lungs. If the body’s entire system fails to adjust to the effects of stress, it will eventually breakdown and this is where illnesses appear.
In the event that you become ill, more effects of stress may continue to appear especially when you don’t have a strong support system or a stable job to provide for your needs.
Ways to Handle the Effects of Stress
It is vital that you are aware of the things that you can do in order to battle with the effects of stress. Most of time, not panicking really helps. Take a deep breath and try to think of the situation you are in. You may find a place where you feel more relaxed. Think of the possible outcomes of this situation and then try to devise some solutions to this problem. Try each one out. If one fails to work try the other solutions.
Every problem always have a solution, you’ll just have to find it. The effects of stress can be countered. Don’t give up on finding ways to overcome these effects of stress.
How to Recognize Emotional and Cognitive Effects of Stress?
An individual who becomes vulnerable to stress may exhibit feelings of helplessness, as stress usually has the greatest effect on the emotional aspect. The person would find it difficult to manage the crisis and won’t be able to cope with the situation. And this thought and experience worsens the stress he is suffering from.
Once an individual suffers through emotional problems because of stress and pressure, the person may also manifest physical symptoms. Here are some facts about stress in relation to the emotional aspect of an individual: Stress can intensify a person’s anxiety, frustrations, depression, and feeling of hopelessness. There may be increased feeling of misery and distress.
Some individuals suffer from stress would have difficulty concentrating and often forget important things. They may also have trouble making decisions.
Unresolved stress can cause anger and irritability.
The Emotional Stress Symptoms
Once a person feels three or more of the following symptoms, it can be an indication that the level of his stress is too much and need some help before it becomes worse. To recognize symptoms of emotional stress, the following are some manifestation that one may have:
- Fear of letting other people down or failing
- Becoming sensitive and defensive
- Feelings of isolation
- Episodes of anxiety or panic attacks
- Pessimistic and distrustful
- Feeling of no purpose or direction in life
- Feeling of guilt
- Sudden outbursts of anger
- Irritability
- Nightmares
An individual who experiences three or more of the above manifestations at a time needs to seek help at once and has to manage his emotional stress condition before symptoms worsen.
Cognitive Effects of Stress
In addition to being linked with sleep disorder, headaches, depressed immune system and heart problems, stress can also be associated with cognitive or mental health conditions.
Some evidences show that cognitive functioning is altered when a person is stressed. Though mental performance can be enhanced under acute stress as a “fight or flight” response of the body, constant stress causes damaging effects to one’s cognition. A person’s behaviour, concentration, and memory can be negatively affected.
Symptoms of stress include altered cognition on interpersonal association, misinterpretation of events or situations, and decline of intellectual functioning. These are some of the cognitive effects of stress: Overstressed people can experience inefficient thought processes and difficulty making decisions.
These people often worry too much without concrete basis and feel fearful about losing control. They are observed to be frequently irritated, impatient, and easily distracted.
What are the Causes and Effects of Stress During Pregnancy?
Stress is a part of life, and it is not an exception in situations such as pregnancy. Stress occurs especially among pregnant patients, as they go through rapid hormonal fluctuations.
Ordinary stress affecting a patient’s everyday life will not harm her baby. However, during the early stages, extreme stress can have a negative impact on the development of the baby’s mental and physical functions.
Effects of Stress during Pregnancy
There are many negative effects of extreme stress during pregnancy. These include:
a. Great stress could contribute to having low birth weight babies.
b. It can cause premature deliveries.
c. Extreme stress during pregnancy also contributes to development of chronic anxiety, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure and heart disease for the pregnant patient.
d. Increased stress during pregnancy could also contribute to the baby’s slow mental health development as well as a possibility of developing behavioural problems for children once they are born.
e. Studies show that it can result to babies with ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning problems, and can even lead to schizophrenia later in life for children whose mothers are subjects to extreme stress during pregnancy.
f. Other studies suggested that extreme stress could result to a preterm birth when encountered or experienced six months before conception.
With these concepts, it is important for pregnant women to reduce their stress and anxiety levels as much as possible during pregnancy.
What are The Reasons for Stress During Pregnancy?
Determining the causative factors is the first step in knowing how to avoid stress, anxiety, and its harsh effects. Since pregnancy is a critical period for both pregnant patients and their babies, it is important for them to maintain stress-free lives.
Common Causes of Stress for Pregnant Women Include the Following:
Too much work: Since a lot of women are working, keeping up with a full time job during pregnancy is very common which exposes them to a lot of stress.
Worrying: Pregnant patients worry a lot especially those who have never experienced pregnancy before.
Financial concerns: Visits to the doctors before giving birth and the expenses after birth are very costly, which would give a patient a lot to think about that can lead to even more stress.
Taking care of other children: For mothers who have other children, it is very difficult to prepare other children for the delivery of another sibling.
Taking care of the home
Relationships can be affected since pregnant patients are often subjected to mood swings. If people around do not understand these changes, they can do things which can add more stress to the patient.