Are you stressed out? Everybody feels some stress, but at times the stress can start to have a major impact on life.
The trouble is that after a period of stress, it sometimes almost becomes addictive. We get a stress response, which makes us more sensitive to stress. We then over-respond to new stress and so the whole thing snowballs. The more stressed we are, the more we get stressed.
A friend of mine, at work, is a prime example of somebody who has a really strong stress response. She certainly has some reasons to be stressed. Her father has dementia and is hard to look after. However, she will get worked up about everything. We will have a department meeting about something trivial that does not affect her. But she will nearly always find something to get upset and stressed about during the meeting. I can usually expect her to visit my office afterwards, and stress about something that nobody else care about. Her levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, must be through the roof.
Short term stress is very useful to us, but if it persists then it is bad for us. It can make us irritable, make us tense muscles, make it harder to concentrate, give us insomnia, headaches, increase heart rate, upset our digestive system, and often make us make bad food and drink choices.
How can you reduce stress? Of course, there are a number of drugs out there, but what can you do without drugs?
Exercise is a great stress reducer. Part of stress responses are based on the fight or flight response. Consequently, we are primed by stress for activity. Once we manage to get moving, it will help reduce stress. The hardest part is getting going. Get out and go for a walk.
Something that you have to concentrate on, is good too. Doing yoga is an example. In yoga moving through and holding poses with the correct alignment takes concentration. When you are concentrating on your body, you are letting go of what is stressing you.
Yoga and most forms of meditation are also useful in that you have control and slow your breathing. In addition to the concentration required, the slow breathing has a calming effect. Meditation reduces heart rate, blood pressure and drops the level of cortisol. Meditation is now starting to be used in medical settings for treatment of stress, insomnia and pain management.
Get away from the stress-causing situations. Take a break and go somewhere else. Go to a concert, visit a local attraction, go camping, get a pedicure, or whatever takes your fancy.
Rule your stress. Don’t let it rule your life.
[tags]stress, yoga, meditation, cortisol, breathing, concentrate, insomnia, exercise[/tags]
