No Stress Ever

Stress can be very stressful! Bet you giggled or at least smiled as you read that. Well, humor can be a great way to reduce stress. Laughter is very good for the emotional well being and it can actually relieve muscle tension! Many experts even suggest watching a funny movie, or spending time with your funniest friend to relieve stress.

While we all know that running from our problems isn’t the answer, brief escapes can be! Escaping from stressful problems for a short time is a great idea, if you have that luxury. Sometimes what seems like an important matter that starts a heated argument, might not seem as important once you’ve had time to cool down and think about it.

Taking up a hobby is another great way to combat stress. However, choose your hobby carefully, some hobbies such as those that require tedious work will actually increase stress. Many hobbies like photography, bicycling, gardening or even painting can be very relaxing and rewarding.

For centuries Eastern cultures have practiced meditation as a way to get in tune with the body and relieve stress. Meditation literally reduces blood pressure and slows heart rate. It also helps to level out the bodies production of adrenaline and can even reduce skin temperature.

The main goal of practicing meditation techniques is to relax the body by clearing your mind of all outside interference. During meditation you focus completely on a chosen object or sound, blocking out everything else. You have to sit perfectly still and practice the technique in a quite environment, but it has been proven to work.

Massage therapy is the favorite choice of many for relieving stress. We all know that a good massage can relax the entire body, but it also performs many physical changes. Like meditation, it can reduce heart rate and blood pressure. But, massages increases circulation and greatly increases the bodies production of the natural painkiller, endorphins!

Basically anything that you enjoy doing and that can take your mind off of the outside world, can help you control stress. Lose yourself in a good book, listen to your favorite music with headphones, take a long bubble bath, or even just gaze up at the stars!

by Mildred Stewart Copyright 2008 all rights reserved

Popularity: 15% [?]

Most people see any type of stress as bad, nothing could be further from the truth. When your bodies stress reaction kicks in and then resets or turns off as it should, stress can be very helpful and even lifesaving! It can give you the extra push to need to get something accomplished.

There is both good and bad stress, good stress can help you save someone in a life threatening situation or it can just help you meet a deadline at work. Good stress can give you added energy and motivate you to perform better or quicker!

Aside from stress being both good and bad, there are three major categories of stress types, acute stress, chronic stress and episodic stress. Although, these categories have many sub-categories for other types of stress such as mental, physical and emotional stress.

If you’ve ever experienced a near miss auto accident, or a surprise birthday party, then you’ve experienced acute stress! Acute stress is short lived and can be described as a feeling of terror, shock, surprise or excitement. It can be a good feeling if you’ve just won something or a bad feeling if you almost wrecked your car.

Some people don’t even realize that they suffer from episodic stress. It occurs when stress factors are overwhelming and seem to never end. A busy lifestyle that always has you on the go, constantly rushing to get here or there or meet deadlines at work, are just some of the events that lead to episodic stress. It’s when your life is in an uproar constantly.

If you have any type of stress besides chronic stress, then it’s good stress. Chronic stress is the worst of all, it’s the potentially fatal type of stress! The stressors are constant like caring for a loved one that’s dying, being in an abusive relationship, or in a state of poverty and despair.

Chronic stress generally results in strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure problems. It can also lead to mental depression that can result in suicide, or nervous breakdowns that need long term treatment.
Chronic stress can cause sudden fits of anger, you feel constant despair and hopelessness and are completely out of control with your emotions.

If you suspect that you have chronic stress you should see an expert. This type of stress isn’t something that you should try to treat yourself. Medication should be a last resort in coping with stress, but chronic stress sufferers are generally better off on medication than taking the chance of a fatal heart attack!

by Mildred Stewart Copyright 2008 all rights reserved

Popularity: 19% [?]

Most of us have at one point used a tarp to cover something to protect it from the weather. Just as you protect material things with a tarp, TARP can help you protect your emotional and physical well being. TARP is a method of stress management that can help you control how you physically and emotionally react to stressful situations!

The “T” in TARP stands for tune in! To help prevent your stress from getting out of control, tune in to your bodies stress signals. Just like with any other ailment, early detection is very important. With stress early detection is key in preventing a full blown panic attack!

The next step is the “A”, analyze the events or situation that caused the stress to start. While many things are beyond our control, some stressors can be eliminated or at least eased. But, you can’t fix anything if you don’t know what is causing the problem!

For many people stress can be caused by simple things such as loud noise and even getting too hot. Preventing a flare-up of stress could be as simple as finding a quite place or a cooler location. However, no matter how much you analyze the situation, it’s just a simple fact that many factors of stress are out of your control.

Now we move on to the “R”, the way in which you respond to stressful situations is of utmost importance. Some people only use two methods, they either fight their problems head on or try to escape from them. While both methods might work in various situations, neither are a long term solution in most cases.

The “P” is geared toward prevention of stressful situations. Most people that exercise regularly don’t have as many problems with stress. Eating properly and at regular intervals can also help you ward off stress. And, even simpler things such as avoiding caffeine can greatly decrease the effects that stress has on your body and mind.

With practice and early detection, you can actually learn to control how you deal with stress. But, following the simple steps of TARP can give you a good start in preventing or at least minimizing the number of stressful situations that you find yourself in!

Popularity: 11% [?]

In today’s fast paced world there’s not anyone that doesn’t experience stress from time to time. It’s literally almost impossible to live a stress free life, everyone has obstacles and challenges in their every day lives that create some stress. While most everyday situations cause minor stress, major events can quickly push you into a panic attack!

Just like everyone’s bodies and emotional strengths are different, so are their reactions to stress. But, the physical responses are pretty much the same, your muscles begin to tense, you’re breathing harder and your heart will greatly increase to a hard pounding. Your mouth might get dry, palms become sweaty and you may even experience nausea.

Stress leads to insomnia, irritability and can even effect your ability to concentrate. Most people have trouble sleeping when under a lot of stress and others develop full blown insomnia. It can cause you to feel overly tired all the time, which results in even less concentration on even simple daily activities.

Some skin irritations and outbreaks of acne can even be attributed to the stress levels you have. The skins reaction to the increased production of certain types of hormones during stress can go from minor itching to breakouts of red blotches or even welts.

Some people experience dramatic mood changes, going from happy to bursting into tears in just minutes. You may also feel guilt, resentment, confusion or become quickly angered over even minor things. Extended battles with stress can lead you straight into depression!

Most of the symptoms of stress actually cause more stress! And, the damage it does to your body can lead to serious physical problems. Stress is attributed to high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and many more potentially fatal health problems. And, stress is one of the biggest contributing factors in developing ulcers!

Many people cope with stress by developing addictions! Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, smoking or simply turning to food for comfort, addictions seem to be a way to escape the pressure for some people. However, most addictions can lead to even more stress and can cause even greater physical damage to your body.

by Mildred Stewart Copyright 2008 all rights reserved

Popularity: 20% [?]

Stress is actually meant to be a protection mode for the body! It certainly doesn’t feel like that to some people, but it is your bodies way of preparing to face a challenge by giving you more strength, stamina and making you more alert to react quicker!

For most people, low levels of stress do just what they’re meant to do. They help you think quicker, react faster and even give you that added physical strength you need in an emergency. But, for some, any amount of stress can be both emotionally and physically draining.

The events and challenges that cause stress are referred to as stressors. Stressors can literally be anything from fearing for your life to worrying about what your wearing! In response to stressors the body produces certain hormones and activates your nervous system to be on alert.

The adrenal glands start to produce more adrenaline and cortisol which is quickly released into your bloodstream. And, your blood vessels will even become larger to allow more blood to flow to large groups of muscles. Your liver will even release some of the glucose that it has stored to provide you with more energy!

Your body will even react by dilating the pupils so that you your  vision will usually improve! All of these quick changes that the body goes through causes it to generate more heat, so the body reacts by causing you to sweat as a way to cool itself down!

The problems with stress arise when your stress response fails to reset properly or turn off once the stressor is over. Even once the stressor is over, your body continues it’s response. All stressors aren’t short term either, events such as divorce or a death in the family can cause long term stress that can eventually weaken your immune system.

While one person may quickly “crack” under pressure, another is able to perform better, think quicker and have super strength. After an emergency where you’ve had to lift something heavy, you may have wondered how you were able to do it! Now you know that stress caused your body to kick in to provide a more powerful you!

by Mildred Stewart Copyright 2008 all rights reserved

Popularity: 18% [?]