All people have stress

What is it about stress and how to manage it that everyone these days is all over the place? I mean, do we really believe that today's society is more stressed out than it was when people were dying all over the place, being eaten by large animals, starving, being shot with arrows, etc.? I mean, you can't be serious, can you? Well yes and no. The fact is that people who are stressed out by today’s standards have more life limiting diseases such as cancer and heart disease and these are also the same people who aren’t living as long. This is in contrast to the average person, who does not experience any of the aforementioned stresses, and the people of today, who do. So, what exactly is happening? Well, a lot of research has been done on the nature of stress and the mechanisms in our bodies that God designed to deal with it. The fight-or-flight response, which is a major mechanism that has a negative impact on our health and is something that most people are familiar with, turns out to be one. So what has changed? As our ancestors dealt with stress, this mechanism was unquestionably helpful—a process that saved rather than limited their lives. Well it turns out that the kind of stress that we face today turns this system on almost as well as the other more immediate life threats but our bodies don’t absorb it in the same way and so it goes unnaturally unchecked and takes its toll. We therefore need a different type of stress management than we were naturally getting by running away from the large beast that was trying to eat us. Exercise is one obvious type of stress management that helps to use up or absorb some of the sympathetic tone that is the “fight-or-flight” response to job and life stress. It checks our elevated heart rate as well as the high levels of insulin and other hormones in our system. It also gives us natural substances that improve our mood (endorphins) and counteract the stress response. The cognitive response to stress is another aspect that needs to be addressed. Exercise can help with some aspects of emotional and mental health, but it also needs to be addressed in terms of some of the actions we take to dull rather than correct our unhealthy stress response. We need to find correct ways of thinking rather than use substances like alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drugs to mask our low moods. We need to train our minds to think positively. We need to find other ways to express our emotions, like through art and social interaction. We need to eat better and be out side more to get the natural anti-depressants that are found there and are much healthier. Only then will we be approaching stress management in a healthy and life extending way.

I discuss how we must unwind, unwind, and lead stress-free lives in this article. I didn't live my life this way for a long time, and I always worried about what other people thought of me. This was not exactly a happy period in my life and after a lot of hard work and determination, I have managed to turn my life around. I now do not care at all what anyone else thinks of me. I had always wanted to be popular, liked and part of the in crowd. In order to accomplish this, I went to places I didn't want to go and bent over backwards to do so frequently. I definitely gave in to peer pressure, which you shouldn't do. I seemed to have a need to be liked, but I'm not sure why I wanted this attention so much. I was constantly concerned about people laughing at me and talking behind my back. This was how I lived for a long time, and I was often depressed, so I was basically acting foolish. I looked to books, newspapers, and television for inspiration because I needed to break out of a rut. I was now 22 years old and had done very little in life up until that point. In one of the newspapers I read, there was an article in the letters page which had been sent in by a woman who was in her seventies. It was quite a funny letter and she wrote about how she loved being old. She mentioned that she can now stay in bed all day if she wants to and does not care what people think of her. If she is invited to a social occasion which she does not want to attend, she will say no without feeling any sense of guilt. She wrote that for the first time in her life, she doesn't care what other people think of her and does exactly what she wants with her life. She concluded by stating that she had never been happier and that she had felt free for the first time in her life. I thought about what she had written and realised that I also felt trapped. I wanted to be free right away and not wait until I was in my seventies. I had to change my attitude to life and I decided to stop trying so hard. I no longer go to places I do not want to go to. If people call me boring I do not care, I reply, boring but happy. I now feel that I am stronger mentally than I ever have been and I am also happier than ever before. I have looked at myself in the mirror (a bit weird) and have thought about how I live my life. I try to be kind to everyone I meet, I don't cheat, and I work very hard to get where I want to go. I think I'm a decent person. I actually for the first time in my life, quite like myself, therefore if other people choose not to, that is fine by me. In conclusion, worrying about what other people think of you is a waste of time. Make the most of your life, learn to like who you are, and relax. Worrying about something never helps and only makes things worse. I wish you the best of luck as you seek happiness and freedom.

Are you somebody who always seems to be under stress? Do you worry most of the time and feel that you have the weight of the world on your shoulders? For the first twenty-two years of my life, I was constantly down and depressed and used to feel very sorry for myself. This article explains how I was able to get out of my depression and live a relatively stress-free life. Growing up I felt rather hard done by, that life had not dealt me a good hand of cards. These were the reasons I felt sorry for myself: I had a speech impediment, known as a stutter I have a bald patch on my head the size of a ten pence piece I gained weight through comfort eating. I am quite short for a male at five foot four Some of the above you may think are quite trivial issues, however for me especially as a teenager they caused me a lot of stress. Stuttering was the major thorn in my side causing me many problems and traumas. I suffered with this speech impediment for eighteen years before finally managing to beat the problem. I now help other people to achieve fluency. I began reading a lot of books about positive thinking and developing a greater interest in global affairs at the age of twenty-two. This gave me a huge wake up call as it made me realise that I was actually dealt a very good set of cards. There aren't many countries I'd rather have been born in; in comparison to people who live in parts of Africa, for instance, the things I described above are actually quite insignificant. I had stressed so much that by the age of twenty-one my hair had already started to turn grey. A colleague at work was also to have a huge affect on my life without him even knowing it. He was a man (I will call him Peter) who had many of his own issues. Peter had learning difficulties, had what I call the shakes, did not have many friends and did not have a girlfriend in the six years that I knew him. I would meet Peter for lunch on most days and he would always have a beaming smile on his face. One day I thought to myself, what have you got to smile about? I then decided that if he could smile then so could I. I now am very happy with who I am, and if people do not like me, I don’t care. Life is so much easier now!

I wanted to share with everyone what should be done to reduce stress-related illness at work because as officers in an IT company, we have had to deal with the issue of stress management at work. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) recently launched a new campaign aimed at employers to help all employees manage stress at work, which caused panic throughout numerous industry sectors. The concept of stress as the "adverse effect people have to excessive pressure" summed up our expectations regarding workplace stress, which included not only a large number of people becoming ill as a result of stress, but also general practitioners who lacked sufficient knowledge of the symptoms and were prepared to deny patients treatment for weeks on end without providing a complete diagnosis. Employers need to be aware that stress is now classed as an accident at work and should be investigated fully, not just left at the docters letter sitting in the HR in-tray. Your employer should be looking for signs in their employees of stress like anxiety symptoms, heavy drinking has been linked to stress as people cannot deal with the pressure and turn to the bottle. Because personal issues can have a significant impact on your professional life, managers should be approachable and willing to assist in any way they can. Managers have a responsibility, so they should receive training on stress management and how to conduct appropriate and sufficient risk assessments on stress, either in a general format or on an individual basis. Impliment the control measures trained, ensure excessive working times are eliminated, all holiday entitlement is taken, consider job rotation,give the employee scope to control they way they work(reasonable), reporting structure for stress and not feel penalised for this, whistle blowing on bullying & harrassment and even consider confidential external councilling. A solid policy for stress management that is shared with all employees is a good place to start when dealing with this problem. If your employer is not doing the above then they are breaking the law and could be prosecuted.

Stress Reduction 30 Easy Things That You Can Do Stress affects the whole person – body, mind, feelings, and behavior, and just as symptoms can take many forms, so there are many simple actions that you can take to relieve these symptoms. Take Action on Stress. Ask yourself, "Am I in denial or stressed?" Simply making a conscious decision to act upon your situation will bring to you, such a sense of relief that this unpleasant situation is going to change, that you will immediately start to feel some benefit. Chunk Down. Chunking down enables you to identify the issues at hand. It helps you to divide the problems causing you stress into smaller and therefore more manageable parts. You can then look for solutions, options and ways forward. This is a good problem solving technique. Speak to Someone. A problem shared is a problem halved, its good to talk. Talking it over with a friend or someone who is willing to listen, who wont judge or offer advice, can often help to de-clutter the mind and clarify your perspective and help you to take appropriate action to relieve stress. Write it down Let it out. Write a letter to yourself or to someone else, without posting it, but find a means of getting your true thoughts and feelings down on paper. You can then destroy it if you wish, its a form of release, which you can then follow up with a plan to resolve your issues. Ask for Professional Help. Find a hypnotherapist or a DVD to help you refocus on relaxation and stress reduction. Stop putting things off. Eliminate procrastination from your life because procrastination itself is a stressor. Dont put things off until tomorrow. Do them today. Develop a "do it now" mindShare your problems set. Never be afraid to decline. Change the Dynamic of your situation. You will be able to say what you want to say and act how you want to if you can learn to be more assertive. Imagine how much less stressed this will make you feel. Give yourself choices. Change the stress factors that you can and strengthen your ability to cope with ones that you cannot change. Be creative, find compromises, Reframe problems and look for solutions that create win-win outcomes. Take a step back from the situation. Create some distance between yourself and the stressor. Walk away and find a quiet place even if thats sitting in your car or a bathroom. Take a couple of deeper breaths and imagine yourself far, far away from it. See the stressor for what it really is. You'll notice how much calmer you feel when you see it as small and manageable in comparison to the larger picture. Manage your Time – Be Organized. Time management allows you to plan and organize your life to give yourself more space and opportunity. It involves planning, delegating, setting an agenda and not wasting any time doing unnecessary things or worrying about things over which you have no control. Start the day with confidence. Prepare for the coming day, the night before. If this is the case, you won't be rushed in the morning and get a bad start right away. Dont rely on your memory (its the first thing to go when youre stressed). Make lists of appointments, to-dos, routes, and shopping items. Create order out of chaos. Dont be late. Give yourself more time to do things so that you are not pressured. Get up a little earlier, leave a little earlier for appointments. Focus. Focus on the task at hand and ignore everything else; do one thing at a time and do it well. Take a moment. Allow yourself some personal time, everyday, a private moment for peace, quiet and contemplation. Have an optimistic view of the world. Expect things to go right, expect people to be nice. You may find thats exactly what happens! Learn to be Tolerant. Remember that most people are doing the best that they can. Find it within yourself to be tolerant and understanding. People make mistakes. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world. Take Regular Exercise. Exercise combats many of the physical and emotional symptoms of stress and can make you feel better about yourself. Feeling healthy can bring about improvements in self-esteem and self-image and increase confidence. When our confidence and esteem are lifted our perception of ourselves changes completely and becomes much more positive. Make exercise Fun. Dont ignore the mental and emotional aspect of regular exercise. If you're feeling stressed and unsure whether to exercise, simply remind yourself of how you'll feel afterwards. Taking time out to do something fun makes you feel good. Get Outside and Walk it off, Breathe in some Fresh Air. Get some fresh air if you work in an office with air conditioning. Walk about and Fill your lungs with Air. Try some Deep Breathing Techniques, which re-energizes and invigorates your mind and body. This simple exercise also releases hormones that affect your mood, creating a more relaxed and positive frame of mind and releasing physical stress from the body. Treat yourself Have something to look forward to. Even if it's just for a day, get away from everything. Better still, have regular weekend breaks and dont ever take work with you. Make sure that you book a proper holiday each year to recharge your batteries, it doesnt matter where, just do it. Learn to use your bodys Relaxation Response. Imagine having relief on tap – something you could experience whenever you need it, something that would remove all the stress from your body and return the sparkle to your mind. You can use hypnosis to trigger this wonderful natural effect, which will release hormones and neurotransmitters that flood your body and mind with pure, cleansing relaxation. Learn this method because you owe it to yourself to experience instantaneous relief. Make Relaxation part of your daily routine. The following practices will help you to relax and unwind. – Guided relaxation and visualization techniques: obtain a CD or DVD – Meditation: Brings an abundance of calm into your life – Progressive Muscle Relaxation: deeply, physically relaxing – Massage/ Aromatherapy: Go on, pamper yourself – Yoga, which incorporates both gentle movement and stretching with meditation, – Shiatsu; a deeply calming and balancing of the energy. Floatation tanks, Reiki, Indian head massage, Thai Chi, and reflexology are additional treatments and methods. Do your research and try a few things and find the treatment most suitable for you. Eat right: Food is more than just fuel. Take the time to eat well and enjoy your meals when you do. Schedule time for both. Give your digestive system a chance to fight back by eating slowly and taking some time to rest after your meal. Don't just slather the food in and run for the next meeting. (Remember, peptic ulcers arent fun). Be healthy. Look after your health by eating a sensible balanced diet. Eat breakfast to kick-start your day. If you need to, create new good eating habits. Ensure that your lifestyle changes to suit your real needs. Your immunity will become even weaker as a result of poor nutrition, which will also make it easier for other signs of stress to appear. Lay off the coffee and tea. (the caffeine doesnt help you to relax) Take a hot bath. Have a good soak in the evening to relieve the tension in your body before going to bed Ensure that you get enough sleep. This is crucial. Youll wake up feeling refreshed with more energy and able to function better throughout the day. Enjoy the moments. Find something that makes you smile or laugh out loud. Laughter is the answer to stress, because its hard to be stressed and anxious when youre having fun! Always remember to have fun. Make time every day to do something you enjoy. Learn to live one day at a time and take each day as you find it. You only get one life, it's short, and you have to appreciate the good things in it.