What is Stress and How it Effects Our Health

​

What is stress and how it affects our health

Stress is the body's response to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses.

Stress is a normal part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you -- and many things that you do yourself -- put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. 

The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life—giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.

The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV.

· Stress can cause headaches, nausea, psychological problems and even heart-attacks.
· Stress lowers our white blood cell count, making us more susceptible to disease and illness.
· Stress can cause hyperventilation and respiratory problems.
· Stress can cause a variety of digestive issues, including constipation, indigestion and ulcers.
Of course, everyone responds to stress differently, but you can be sure that extreme stress lasting for extended periods of time will eventually wreak havoc on your body.

 how to manage stress

You may feel like the stress in your life is out of your control, but you can always control the way you respond. Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. Stress management involves changing the stressful situation when you can, changing your reaction when you can’t, taking care of yourself, and making time for rest and relaxation.

Remember the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.

• Avoid unnecessary stress. Not all stress can be avoided, but by learning how to say no, distinguishing between “shoulds” and “musts” on your to-do list, and steering clear of people or situations that stress you out, you can eliminate many daily stressors.
• Alter the situation. If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Be more assertive and deal with problems head on. Instead of bottling up your feelings and increasing your stress, respectfully let others know about your concerns. Or be more willing to compromise and try meeting others halfway on an issue.
• Adapt to the stressor. When you can’t change the stressor, try changing yourself. Reframe problems or focus on the positive things in your life. If a task at work has you stressed, focus on the aspects of your job you do enjoy. And always look at the big picture: is this really something worth getting upset about?
• Accept the things you can’t change. There will always be stressors in life that you can’t do anything about. Learn to accept the inevitable rather than rail against a situation and making it even more stressful. Look for the upside in a situation—even the most stressful circumstances can be an opportunity for learning or personal growth. Learn to accept that no one, including you, is ever perfect.

You can also better cope with the symptoms of stress by strengthening your physical and mental health.

And that’s why Meditation is needed.
In order to create and construct your perfect reality, you’ll need a focused and intentful mind. But you can’t reach this state without first removing the chaos that is bouncing around inside your head. I need to pay this bill, I need to stop at the store. Oh, I forgot to call him… Yikes! What time is it? I need to pick her up!
At any given time of the day, most of us are bombarded by an array of unrelated and random thoughts. It is a byproduct of our lifestyle, our multi-tasking, always on the go existence that demands we cram as much as we possibly can into every single second. The result is a constant state of confusion, marked by memory lapses, stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed.
You can’t create in this state of mind for the simple fact that you can’t concentrate on your intentions long enough to get anything done. There’s too many other thoughts flying in, all demanding your attention and pulling you away from the peace you’re so desperately seeking.

C Chitra

​

​