STRESS and YOU
How do you handle STRESS??
What is stress and how can you get a handle on it?
Stress can be beneficial and it can harmful. Stress is beneficial by helping you develop the skills you need to cope and adapt to new and potentially threatening situations in your life; however, if you don't handle stress well it can cause negative consequences in your life and stress-related illnesses when your body is no longer able to keep up with the demands. Stress can have effects on cognitive function, can lead to cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension due to long-term exposure to catecholamines, and makes you more susceptible to infections.
Learning to manage and adapt to stress is the first step in getting a handle on it.
Some stress management techniques include:
Relaxation
Meditation
Guided Imagery
Biofeedback
Anticipatory Guidance
Some people deal with stress using defense mechanisms which are ways that we protect ourselves from things we do not want to think about or deal with. These could include: aggression, regression, repression, withdrawal, and fixation
Stressors
Your perception of a stressor determines
how much stress is caused
Physiologic
- Pain
- Excessive Noise
- Starvation
- Infection
Psychologic
- Medical Diagnosis
- Death of a loved one
- Caring for a loved one
- Relationship problems
Are you stressed??
Signs and Symptoms of Stress
Cognitive Symptoms
Memory problems
Inability to concentrate
Poor judgment
Seeing only the negative
Anxious or racing thoughts
Constant worrying
Emotional Symptoms
Moodiness
Irritability or short temper
Agitation, inability to relax
Feeling overwhelmed
Sense of loneliness and isolation
Depression or general unhappiness
Physical Symptoms
Aches and pains
Diarrhea or constipation
Nausea, dizziness
Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
Loss of sex drive
Frequent colds
Behavioral Symptoms
Eating more or less
Sleeping too much or too little
Isolating yourself from others
Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
Nervous habits (nail biting, pacing)
Prevention of Stress
Stress prevention comes in three levels.
Primary Prevention of stress is a proactive action taken that aims to prevent illness among individuals by reducing stress exposure
Secondary Prevention of stress aims to modify an individuals response to stressors
Tertiary Prevention of stress aim to minimize the effects of stress related problems once they have occurred.