- What is it and what can we do about it?
If we asked 10 people to define stress, or explain what causes stress and how that stress affects them personally we would most likely receive 10 different answers. It seems there is no definition of stress on which we all agree.
What is stressful for one person is often pleasurable for others. Stress is not always a synonym for distress. Experiences like sky diving, bungy jumping or driving a car very fast can cause fear and anxiety for some and yet prove highly pleasurable for others.
However today it is widely agreed that Stress is Public Enemy #1.
We all experience stress from several sources. Physical Stress; being the stresses of the body which may come from the physical work or exercise we do, the food we eat, our toxicity levels and general state of health. Psychological Stress; being problem solving type stresses that occur in our work and the daily challenges we face in daily life, and of course Emotional Stress; the stresses we experience from relationships with partners, family members, co-workers or even other drivers on the roads, and yes… even one’s relationship with oneself! All these things come together to generate our personal experiences and levels of stress.
Whilst moderate amounts of stress makes us stronger when our stress levels become overwhelming we can find our physical, psychological and emotional health dangerously compromised. Excessive stress is directly linked to anxiety, depression, heart attack and stroke, hypertension, immune system disturbances, viral disorders like the common cold and herpes to AIDS and cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Stress can have direct effects on the skin like rashes, shingles, dermatitis; the gastrointestinal system like irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and contributes to insomnia and neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease. Stress can even affect our fertility. In fact, it's difficult to name a disease, discomfort or concern in which stress cannot play an aggravating or debilitating role.
However stress can be doubly dangerous!
When we find ourselves responding to stress with worry, anxiety, insomnia, nicotine, marijuana, alcohol, prescription or illicit drugs, gambling, over eating or any other activity that depletes our physical, psychological or emotional resources we are in trouble. It is the way we choose to respond to stress that leads us into addiction, depression and ill health. Stress is Public Enemy #1.
>> How do we best deal with stress?
