In this urban paradise today, our personal identity has been closely linked to our achievements, status, and wealth. The world has become a competitive arena, whether at home, at work, or in society. The perpetual struggle to keep up creates stress with associated problems. Even children are under stress when parents push them too hard to do well in school and extracurricular activities. They are not allowed any unstructured playtime.
Stress is not inherently bad. A stress-free life would make one lazy, carefree, and uninteresting. If there is not an irritating grain of sand inside an oyster, there would be no pearl. If the coal was not subjected to extreme heat, there would be no diamonds. However, there is a limit to what a human being can endure. Stress overload can damage the mind and body. The inability to cope with difficult situations creates anxiety and tension that interferes with normal functions.
Stressors come in different ways.
• Personal ambition: The unbridled desire to stay ahead in the rat race, to meet set limits, or to reach great heights, can keep a person hooked on attempts. Job stress can be emotionally draining, especially when there is no appreciation or support from employers and no chance for promotion.
• Personal possessions: The desire to acquire gadgets or material things at any price.
• Physiology: There are phases in life when stress is felt most acutely, such as adolescence, menopause, childbearing, old age, or illness. Women are hormonally prone to excessive anxiety and stress premenstrual, postnatal or during menopause.
• Personality: two types of personality have been described. People who belong to type A are ambitious, aggressive and impatient. They must win at all costs. Therefore, they are more prone to stress and related health problems. Those who belong to Type B are less competitive, relaxed and completely satisfied with who and what they are. Stress, therefore, is not a big problem in their lives.
• Assessment of a situation: when there is an imbalance between demands and coping skills, stress increases. This is often seen in mothers who have the responsibility of running a household, taking care of children, and maintaining a busy job. The inability to manage your time efficiently leads to stress and ultimately disables them.
Stress symptoms:
The inability to face situations either at work, at home or in society, generates anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, headaches, rapid pulse or panic attacks, which prevent a person from functioning at full capacity. This is a sign that all is not well. Failure to recognize and remedy the cause of anxiety will lead to loss of emotional control. The person becomes angry, irritated, and succumbs to mood swings. Follow the depression. Personality changes become obvious. The person is disenchanted with life and their priorities change. Friends become enemies and marital relationships fail.
Physically, blood pressure rises and diabetes can appear. You become prone to obesity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and heart attacks.
Deep depression can even lead to suicidal tendencies.
Physiological changes in stress:
When the brain encounters a stressful situation, it activates the endocrine glands. Hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are released into the bloodstream. The sympathetic nervous system is stimulated, causing an increase in blood pressure, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, and release of glucose into the bloodstream. In a normal situation, the parasympathetic nervous system will act at the subconscious level, to counteract the excesses of the sympathetic system. Hormones and chemicals are metabolized quickly.
However, prolonged stress disrupts this response and paralyzes the body’s functions. Blood pressure remains high, heart rate is fast, headaches, insomnia, and mood swings occur. Prolonged stress is also linked to obesity. A neuropeptide Y is released into the bloodstream, which unlocks the Y receptors in fat cells and causes them to swell and multiply. Fat accumulation occurs especially in the abdominal area.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is often seen in people under prolonged stress. Sexual insufficiency is also known to occur.
Eliminate stress to combat stress:
There is no way to totally eliminate stress from our lives. But you can certainly change the way we perceive stress and react to it. In a society of “inextinguishable discontent,” the power of positive thinking is a sure way to combat stress.
• Be in control of yourself. Emerson urged the practice of “serenity,” and Sir William Osler spoke of “equanimity,” which is being perfectly serene, balanced, inwardly controlled, and having a sense of humor.
• Identify and list your strengths. Then locate the cause of your stress and apply your strengths to overcome the problem. Stressful situations should be viewed as a challenge. Set your priorities right and attack the root of the problem. It can be a relationship problem or a greed for wealth or a compulsion to keep up with the neighbors, or a debt.
• Set achievable goals and work toward those goals. Don’t worry too much about the result. If there is a work overload, seek help to get the job done. Learn to delegate responsibilities. Don’t take on more work than you can handle. Download all non-essential items.
• Exercise is a good antidepressant. A brisk walk for 30 to 45 minutes will help you de-stress. Yoga is a good way to de-stress.
• Diet: stress makes you eat too much. With cortisol and insulin in the bloodstream, appetite increases and fat accumulates. Overloading the liver makes it resistant to insulin. As a result, the pancreas secretes more insulin and more food is consumed. It is good to avoid saturated fatty acids, excess salt and sugar, and foods that increase cholesterol. Fish and nuts contain Omega 3 fatty acids that are good for brain activity. Dark chocolate has its advantages. Timely meal breaks will help. Alcohol, smoking, and caffeine should be limited or avoided if possible.
• Take time for yourself. Do what you like to do after hours. Relax, read, listen to music. Learn relaxation techniques.
• Meditation and prayer. Prayer helps us connect with God, who is the source of strength and wisdom. The worry is debilitating. Marco Aurelio advised: “Do not anger your spirit by the course of things. They do not listen to your afflictions.”
• Sleep: the body needs 6 to 8 hours of sleep to recover from the daily stresses of life.
• Make good friends with whom you can talk about your problems. Supportive friends are a treasure.
• Take an annual vacation and get away from the stress scene.
The best stress reliever Dr. Smiley Branton prescribed is “Practice walking calmly. Don’t get mad or upset. Do your best, take it as it comes. You can handle anything if you think you can.”