QUICK FACTS ON STRESS

According to the American Institute of Stress, surveys and research reports over the past two decades have revealed that:

1) 43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects due to stress.

2) 75-90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints or disorders.

3) Stress has been linking to all the leading cases of death, including heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis, and suicide.

4) An estimated 1 million workers are absent on an average workday because of stress related complaints. Stress is said to be responsible for more than half of the 550,000,000 workdays lost annually because of absenteeism.

5) A three-year study conducted by a large corporation showed that 60% of employee absences were due to psychological problems such as stress.

6) Nearly half of all American workers suffer from symptoms of burnout, a disabling reaction to stress on the job. Similar studies in Sweden, Canada, and other Westernized countries show similar results.

TWO TYPES OF STRESS

1) Acute Stress: The stress-inducing stimulus appears rapidly and exhausts itself at a similar rate, thereby returning the body to its equilibrium conditions.

2) Chronic Stress: The stress-inducing stimulus appears gradually and tends to increase over time. It does not diminish or disappear which prevents the body from returning to its basic equilibrium.

THREE PHASES OF STRESS-RELATED REACTIONS

1) Alarm Reaction: Once the body has suffered trauma of some sort, it adopts a state of deep shock that is characterized by increased heartbeat, a drop in arterial pressure, a loss of muscle tone, decrease in body temperature and a general depression of the activity of the nervous system.

2) Phase of Resistance: Once the body is exposed to the damaging agents for a prolonged period, it will adapt to the new conditions.

3) Phase of Exhaustion: If the damage-inducing agents continue their action, the body will fail to adapt. In this case, death ensues.

HOW OUR BODY REACTS TO STRESS

When an individual is subjected to a stress-inducing agent, the body responds in several ways. First, the brain (more precisely, the hypothalamus) reacts by producing a hormone (ACTH) which stimulates the adrenal glands. Subsequently, these glands produce adrenaline and nor adrenaline which cause vasoconstriction and an increase in arterial pressure and heartbeat. This condition causes a reduced flow of blood to certain organs and systems (e.g. the skin and digestive system) to counterbalance the greater flow of blood to systems that will defend the body against stress (e.g. muscles, brain and heart).

The adrenal glands also produce a hormone called cortisol which causes a reaction in the liver. It releases glucose into the blood providing the body with a further source of energy. Pulmonary respiration becomes increasingly shallow and rapid and increased perspiration is evident on the surface of the skin. Furthermore, blood flow is increased to the muscles which results in greater tension.

During chronic stress, the body is subjected to the persistent action of a stress-inducing agent. This requires the body to produce and circulate the chemical substances previously mentioned to combat the stress. If the action of these substances on the body's organs is prolonged, the result can be physical exhaustion, illness, or even death.

SYMPTOMS OF STRESS

The human body is capable of fighting stress. However, if a stress-inducing agent persists over a prolonged period of time, the body loses its capacity to resist and ceases to function on a regular basis. The symptoms of stress are varied and numerous because every organ in the human body is a possible target. Nonetheless, we can divide these symptoms into the following 3 categories:

1) Physical Symptoms: Headaches, trembling, shifting muscle pains, inability to relax muscles, spasmodic respiration, general fatigue, palpitations, discomfort in the chest, rapid respiration, inability to inhale deeply, increase in arterial pressure, anorexia, cutaneous eruptions, digestive problems, anxiety, sexual dysfunction.

2) Psychic Symptoms: Irritability, impatience, restlessness, frustration, anger, hostility, fear of non-specific dangers, increased anxiety, general discomfort, apathy and boredom, a sensation of inability to overcome obstacles, depression.

3) Behavioural Symptoms: Loss of control of one's reactions with sudden and explosive episodes of rage for no reason, inability to make decisions, memory loss, inability to concentrate, frequent changes of opinion, anxiety over minor everyday obstacles, loss of sleep, difficulty in completing given tasks.

Stress can also cause other problems which are directly related to tension and frustration. These include an excessive increase in body weight, excessive drinking, smoking and drug use. By reducing your stress level, it is possible to reduce the desire for these substances.

STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

Below is a list of several techniques that can be used to help one cope with and manage stress:

1) Improve your self-image: See yourself as a valuable person who has a right to lead an interesting life. Take pride in the things you have accomplished and try to make the best of your mistakes.

2) Be Positive: Look positively on life and those you work or live with. Stress can be caused by negative opinions of other people.

3) Improve your habits: Especially concerning smoking, diet, rest, physical exercise and general good health. Stress can be the direct result of a lack of attention we give to ourselves.

4) Mix leisure with work: Reduce tensions with a hobby or interests outside your field of professional endeavour.

5) Develop some mutually supportive friendships/relationships: Accentuate your capacity to communicate with others, speaking openly and in a constructive manner.

6) Take responsibility for your behaviour: It is not necessary to blame others or seek excuses for things that happen to us. We must cope with certain levels of stress and learn to combat it by developing self-control and control over the events in our daily lives.

7) Employ one of following simple relaxation techniques:

8) Clenched-Fist Technique: Clench your hands tightly into fists and count to ten contracting the muscles of the rest of the body as well. Then, allow the body to relax completely. The principle underlying this technique is the extreme contrast between total muscular tension and the subsequent muscular relaxation which provides a pleasurable state of relaxation.

9) Deep-Breathing Technique: Sit in a calm, quiet place and concentrate on the rhythms of your breathing, heartbeat and muscular tension. Draw a deep breath and hold it for ten seconds. Exhale rapidly, allowing the body to relax. This technique is related to the clenched-fist technique except with this technique, the body is more relaxed during exhalation.

Note: Most of us breathe correctly and it is only at certain times usually during stressful or anxious periods that we breathe incorrectly. It may be helpful if you do the following to determine if you are breathing correctly. Place one hand on the front wall of the thorax and the other hand on the upper abdomen. You are breathing correctly if both your thorax and upper abdomen expands at the same time.  To ensure proper breathing, it is a good idea to become aware of your breathing patterns. Concentrate on the movements that take place during the act of breathing as explained above. It is important that you feel both the upper part of the abdomen expanding as well as the wall of the thorax. This ensures that air is allowed to penetrate into the lungs and fill them completely. Then we must be aware of a maximum contraction of the diaphragm as the air exits our lungs.

10) Countdown Breathing Technique: While breathing normally, relax your body increasingly with each breath. Count down slowly from ten to zero (a number for each breath). The prime characteristic of this technique is regular respiration and can be performed at any time and anywhere.

11) Warm-Hand Technique: Simply imagine that you are lying in the sun on a tropical beach until you feel your hands warming. This technique produces a relaxed feeling throughout your body based on the principle of suggestion.

Sources:
1) "Stress- America's #1 Health Problem", The American Institute of Stress.. www.stress.org
2) "Stress 101", M.D. Melissa C. Stoppler. stress.about.com