IT SEEMS that in every period in his history, man has been subjected to some form of deadly threat or disease. Today, perhaps the greatest challenge to health is not heart disease or cancer or diabetes or AIDS - it's stress!
Stress contributes to such a very long list of disorders, some of them life-threatening, that researchers at Cornell University Medical College in New York called stress "the most debilitating medical condition in the United States". Sadly, we spend a great deal of time and money treating these symptoms while failing to recognise and address the underlying cause.
The word 'stress' is the current buzz word. Everyone complains about it and blames it for everything, from flu and headaches to high blood pressure and cancer. Some authorities claim that 70 - 80 per cent of the patients visiting the doctor are suffering from stress-related disorders.
WHAT IS STRESS?
It is extremely important to understand that stress is not a thing, it is a response!
Stress is the internal response that the individual has to an external stimulus. We humans are very good at finding scapegoats to blame for the way we feel. I am sorry; stress is not your spouse or your financial situation. It is not what is happening on the outside. The external events are called stressors while your internal reaction is the stress. The enemy is within.
This distinction between stress and stressor is very important. Very often we cannot change the external factors (stressors), but we can learn to control our internal response to those stressors. Understanding this simple distinction is crucial to effective stress management.
EFFECTS
Science is becoming more and more aware of how powerfully the mind and its thoughts affect the body. Common manifestations of stress are:
Sleep disorders.
Anxiety and nervousness, headaches, dizziness and various unusual sensations in the head.
Sexual problems, impotence and low libido.
Digestive problems; gas, diarrhoea or constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.
Depression, low energy, emotional and mental disturbances, difficulty in concentration, ringing in the ears, chest pain, backache.
Awareness of heartbeat, high blood pressure, difficulty in breathing, tingling or numbness in the hands or feet.
Menstrual disturbance, infertility and hormone imbalances.
Accident proneness, phobias, poor performance, e.g. examinations.
It is important to realise that stress is not necessarily a bad thing.
Life will always have its stressors. If we can handle them well, they can serve to stimulate us to greater strength and accomplishments.
Good stress management is not simply trying to avoid stressors; that may not be possible or even advisable. The idea is to learn how to handle and deal with it effectively. Just as how the body has a stress reaction - the 'flight or fight response' - so too, there is also a relaxation response, where the body calms and releases its tensions and the brain produces its own tranquillisers (endorphins) in the right amount at the right time and without side effects.
Learning how to elicit this relaxation response is the key to good stress management.
