Stress

It seems that life just gets faster and faster. As individuals we are exposed to so much information during the course of day through television, radio, magazines and newspapers, school, university and the rest, that is it often pretty difficult to keep up with it all. In addition of course is the fact that there are more demands and more pressures in the work place, at home and in general.

The result is that Stress, is a growing problem. We have not evolved as a species fast enough to comfortably deal with massive advances in technology and all the advantages and disadvantages that it brings with it.

So the question is: How do we deal with stress?

The answer is of course that we all deal with stress in different ways and some people appear better able to handle it that others. Ability to handle stress depends on a whole lot of factors; mental, physical, situation in life and just how much pressure you are subjected to and for how long. Eventually we will all crack under pressure if we allow stress to build up for too long.

Yet, there are a lot of things that we can do to combat stress. Managing stress also teaches you a lot about yourself, your life and how you do things.

In principle there are several different types of stress but the one that we need to look at is Long Term stress, which has the most decisive effect on our lives.

Symptoms include:

• Exhaustion
• Changes in appetite
• Reduced manual dexterity
• Poor concentration
• Low self esteem
• Poor sleeping patterns
• Increased anxiety
• Negative frame of mind
• Reduced immune system, leading to increased illnesses, leading to time off work, leading to increased anxiety and stress
• Problematic digestion, skin, joint pains
• Behavioural difficulties including:
  • Clumsiness
  • Mood swings
  • Forgetfulness
  • Reduced interest in appearance

Long term is the most common result of a pressurised lifestyle. Often the individual will not be aware that they are suffering from stress at all. This can be a problem as stress is sometimes difficult to recognise.

To try and recognise if you are suffering from stress, you need to ask yourself a few questions:

1. How do I feel when I am at work / school?
2. Do I really eat sensible food, or am I reliant on ready made meals, junk, coffee and cigarettes to get me through the day?
3. What do I do at the end of the day to relax?
4. How do I feel at home?
5. How do I feel in my relationships with partners and friends?

Only you know the answers to these questions but if when you think about the answers (looking back over some time) you find some pretty unpleasant feelings associated with them, then that is probably a good sign that there is stress there somewhere. Remember: If you are suffering from stress, this will affect other parts of your life and is not just confined to the area that is making you stressed. Very soon it becomes pretty confusing to work out.

There are a lot of things that you can do to solve stress related problems:

-exercise

-relaxing

-councelling

-healthy eating

-making changes to how you do things

-finding different interests

A quick fix for when you are feeling stressed is to concentrate on your breathing:

• Breathe at a steady pace
• Avoid slouched/slumped shoulders as this closes the chest area
• Avoid lifting your shoulders or upper chest as you breathe in/inhale
• Relax you stomach as you inhale

Correct breathing is simple to learn and really will help to calm you down immediately. You can monitor your breathing to help you identify areas in your life that are causing you problems.

Try it... breath!