Stress!

Stress is something people seem to take for granted as just one of the daily facts of living we forget that it can have a real effect upon our lives. It isn’t something that can simply be shrugged off as one of those things it can cause some really damaging symptoms for our bodies and minds. It is however something that we can each do something about. There are many simple changes that can help reduce these harmful aspects of daily stressors.

The symptoms of stress can be divided into four separate areas: Body, Mind, Emotional and Behavioural. If we look at each of these areas in turn we can see that stress isn’t just a feeling it has tangible effects on our physical health, mental health and our ability to do tasks and interact with others.

Body: Headaches Taut Muscles Fatigue
Frequent infections Skin irritations Breathlessness
Increased blood pressure Slowed digestion Increase sweating
Higher heart rate

Mind: Worrying/anxiety Muddled thinking Nightmares
Impaired Judgement Indecisiveness Negativity

Emotional: Depression Loss of confidence Irritability
Apathy Apprehension

Behavioural: Insomnia Loss of appetite Accident Prone
Increased coping behaviours e.g. Smoking or drinking alcohol
Restlessness Loss of sex-drive

As you can see from the above lists there are many negative and harmful effects on our lives from Stress all of which can leave us feeling ill and unable to cope with our daily lives as well. The good news is we don’t have to suffer from these and we can take simple steps to reduce the way we react to the stressors in our lives.

Activities like taking regular outdoor exercise such as walking or running can help, especially if we can take the time while doing these to concentrate on our environment around us. Making a stress reducing relaxation routine part of your day or night can have really positive effects; it can include aspects such as deep breathing, aromatherapy, listening to soothing music or sounds, meditation, yoga or affirmations. Many people also find that massage can also act as a stress reliever. Self massage on hands, arms and face can be done anywhere and only takes a little practice and a few minutes.

Deep breathing is one of the simplest things you can do in times of stress. As seen earlier one of the effects of stress is breathlessness, this reduces the amount of oxygen being taken into the body and increases the feeling of being unwell. Once you start to feel this happening you can halt it by consciously slowing down your breathing and concentrating on each breath. If you try to breathe in for a count of 4, and then hold your breath for the count of 4, and then breathe out for a count of 4 and repeat the process you will start to feel calmer and more able to cope with the situation.

Many people find the natural stress relieving of yoga and meditation works for them. Spending just a few minutes each day focusing on calming the mind and energising your body can really help beat the effects of stress. Combining this with other natural remedies such as herbal treatments and aromatherapy often helps to soothe and reduce stress. There are many guides for yoga, meditation and natural approaches to stress relief on c.d., d.v.d. and book form out there that may help you to learn and then integrate these practices into your arsenal of defences against daily stressors.

Although stress is something that can’t ever be completely removed from our lives we can use the above techniques to help limit its effects on our bodies and minds and help us to lead happier, healthier and more productive lives.