STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress is an inevitable by-product of today's way of life.

Not all stress is harmful though, in fact a little stress is probably an important motivating drive for many of us.

Stress can be harnessed as a positive force to help us achieve our full potential. Only when it becomes excessive, does stress give rise to sickness and affect performance. The goal is not to avoid stress, but to learn to recognize the symptoms and learn to control it when it reaches unacceptable levels.

STRESS: WHAT IS IT?

Stress is the source of energy your body experiences when it needs to deal with potentially dangerous situations. This could be social, occupational, physical or mental.

PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM STRESS MIGHT:

Walk and talk quickly. Do everything at a high pace Frequently feel under time pressure and be disorganised in their approach to tasks Feel tired and fatigued Increase cigarette or alcohol consumption Be more irritable, short tempered and impatient Suffer from headaches and muscular tension Experience a disturbance in their sleep patterns Develop personality changes and mood swings

A combination of these symptoms is a clear signal that stress levels are above an optimal level. If the stress symptoms persist then a person may suffer from energy drain and may eventually become ill. But, what causes it?

STRESS AND WHAT CAUSES IT

Stress can arise from a variety of causes. What is stressful for one person is not necessarily stressful for someone else. The range of situations that might cause stress is infinite.

Traveling to work / traffic congestion Work-related stress, e.g. work overload, long hours or a difficult boss An argument with a partner or domestic problems Financial stress, e.g. mortgage, loans, credit cards Parental responsibility etc...

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Another approach to recognizing stressful situations deals with changes within a person's environment. Life crises such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, serious injury, or even holidays can be stress-producing events. The number of 'lifestyle changes' over a twelve month period can give a good indication of the amount of stress a person is under at any particular time in their life. Lifestyle changes information can help people understand and, whenever possible, control the amount of change in their lives.

Complete our Lifestyle Changes questionaire
to see how much stress you are under.
Click here to go to questionaire

An important area to be aware of when dealing with stress is the interaction between a person and the surrounding environment. Research has identified two main personality traits, Type A and Type B, and these might influence the way in which we react to certain situations.

Type A personality: is the hard working person who sets him or herself high goals. Type A's have a tendency towards being impatient and competitive. They are particularly prone to stress inducing emotions and have an increased risk of poor heart health.

Type B personality: has a tendency to be calm and more relaxed than Type A. They are less prone to stress inducing emotions and have a reduced risk of poor heart health.

In general our personalities are made of a preponderance of one or the other, but all people exhibit some characteristics of both traits.

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Stress depletes levels of vitamins in our bodies too, so we should be aware again of our diet and nutrition. The vitamins and the food groups in which they are found are:

VITAMIN C Citrus fruits, green peppers and tomatoes.

VITAMIN B COMPLEX Lean meat, vegetables and whole grain cereals.

VITAMIN E Whole grain cereals, bread and green leafy vegetables.

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• Take regular physical activity - activities like swimming, walking, cycling. This type of activity should be performed three times per week for a period of 20- 25 minutes.
  
  
• Incorporate more brisk walking into your routine. A brisk walk for 20 minutes after a hard day can help to use up any extra energy that has been produced as a response to stressful situations.
  
  
• Incorporate regular periods of personal relaxation into your weekly routine. Regular periods set aside for either yoga, meditation, deep, slow breathing or a visit to a concert, can help encourage a more relaxed lifestyle.
  
  
• Keep a strong social support group. See friends on a fairly regular basis. Having contact with people whom you can rely upon and confide in can help to control certain stressful situations.
  
  
• Many food types can affect mood and if eaten in excess can increase your stress levels. Junk foods and high calorie snacks can damage age your health, depriving your body of essential nutrients. You will feel this effect most acutely at times of stress; so replace these foods with some of the following healthy alternatives.
  
  
• Eat a low fat diet - reduce your consumption of full fat dairy produce and replace the high fat red meats with fish, chicken and turkey.
  
  
• Increase your intake of high fibre food particularly the complex carbohydrates, wholegrain cereals, bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, fresh fruit and vegetables.
  
  
• Drink adequate amounts of purified water and reduce amounts of stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol.
  
  
• Increase your consumption of vitamins C, B complex and E.

Stress at work, a totally different matter.
Most people report stress as being their number one work problem. But there is a method of categorizing pressure to help deal with stressful situations. Stress at work, how to combat it...

STRESS AT WORK, HOW TO COMBAT IT!
Put simply: it's the ability of the person experiencing a stress problem to keep the stress in perspective. So when pressure builds up he/she steps back and considers where the stress ranks against real life threatening experiences. Sounds easy, but how is this kind of mind game carried out in the work place?

Life is, of course, full of very stressful situations. But broadly speaking they can be categorized into levels of severity. For example: there is a clear, easy to grasp distinction between a life-threatening crisis - like a serious car crash or illness; and a job threatening situation - like failing to do something for your boss.

Now measured against the stress categories above, most work related pressure is really quite minor. A meeting attended late or incomplete project, just can't measure up to real-life threatening problems. And yet the stress levels experienced can be almost identical.

So, combating stress is all about keeping things in perspective. As you feel the pressure grow, step back and rate the likely consequences of failing to meet the deadline or attend that meeting. You might upset some around you; in the worst case you might loose your job. But none of the above is a life-threatening proposition. And once you have this simple fact in perspective, the immediate stress will seem far easier to handle. In fact, you've just combated your stress!

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