How To Recognize Stress And Its Effects Before It Takes You Over

Stress affects different people in different ways, but affect them it does. Whether you recognize it or not, if you are stressed, it is only a matter of time before something has to give - and that something is likely to be you!

So what exactly is stress, and what does it do to you?

Stress is a collective term for a whole series of effects, mental, physical and emotional, that occur as a result of excess. Excess work, excessive partying, excess food, excessive crying by the baby - it doesn't't matter which. By definition, you are doing more to your body than it can cope with and sooner or later, it is going to let you know - usually in a hurry and with little or no warning. What is common to virtually all types of stress is that they result in release of the stress hormone - adrenaline (epinephrine).

Although adrenaline is entirely necessary and has essential functions in the body, it can, like most things, cause problems in excess. As a hormone (definition - a chemical released in one part of the body that has effects on other, distant parts of the body), very small increases in adrenaline have very large effects on the host, a.k.a. YOU. Hormones are incredibly potent by nature and even a small increase can have hugely significant effects. In the case of adrenaline, these effects include increase heart rate, faster breathing, higher blood pressure and reduced digestion.

The easiest way to understand the effects of adrenaline is to think of the "fight or flight" response. We have all experienced that rush you get when faced with a sudden fright or imminent danger - pounding heart, knotted stomach, tingling palms and acute awareness. This is the body's way of preparing either to confront the situation at hand - "fight", or get the hell out of there - "flight", hence the name. In nature it is invariably followed by an intense period of physical activity (either running away or battle) which "burns up" the adrenaline, allowing a return to the normal, resting state. It is when this physical activity does't happen that stress becomes dangerous.

When a period of stress is prolonged, and especially when it is not followed by some form of physical exertion to "relieve the pressure", several things happen. Firstly, all forms of stress are cumulative - that is, they add up on one another, building up more and more pressure on the system and requiring more and more "release" to restore balance. As a result, the levels of adrenaline build up in the body, causing chronic, long-term increases in blood pressure, heart rate etc, which are themselves damaging, requiring more and more repairs by the body to put them right. The result of this is that stores of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, balancing hormones and all sorts of other "goodies" are used up (if you drive with your engine at 6000 revs instead of 2500 you use more fuel, more oil, and your engine wears out faster - the body is no different).

This leaves your body in something of a dilemma. It needs to replace the things you have used up, and fast. However, if you are still stressed, your digestive system is all but shut down, so you can't absorb nutrients. Your body is not interested in that - it needs those nutrients and it needs them NOW, so it has to get them from ANY source possible. This means that those body processes that are not ESSENTIAL to survival right now get reduced or even shut down completely to conserve energy and nutrients. If this isn't enough of itself, additional nutrients have to be found from any possible source. In extreme cases, this means that your body starts to break down existing structures - muscle, bone, connective tissue etc., to extract the nutrients from them for use elsewhere.

Clearly, this is not a good thing long-term, and its results are as predictable as they are damaging. What started as a position of balance and "ease" becomes a position of imbalance and "dis-ease" or disease! This one fact accounts for virtually all chronic disease. What at first perhaps seemed preposterous, now becomes obvious.

Recognizing stress

Recognizing stress comes down to two things. Firstly you must recognize that you are stressed and secondly you need to identify the sources of your stress.

Discovering that you are stressed is not so difficult for most people. If you have chronic disease of any kind, e.g. high blood pressure, heart disease, skin problems, arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis etc, then your body is suffering from at least one major source of stress. ALL chronic disease is a sign of stress on one or more body systems and, as stated by twice Nobel laureate, Linus Pauling, is a sign of a specific nutritional deficiency. Remember that stress can, and does take many forms, not all of which are straightforward or even obvious.

Identifying the specific source (or sources) of your stress is not so simple. Perhaps you get stressed in specific situations, at specific times of day or in response to certain people, events or situations. Maybe it is a certain physical activity that leaves you feeling stressed, some particular dietary element, an environmental factor such as driving, a noisy home or the ring of the 'phone (or baby crying). You may even get palpitations, a throbbing pulse or chronic muscle/other pains caused by being too "tense" or any other variety of symptoms, but that I all they are - symptoms of a greater, and more fundamental problem that if dealt with, will go away by themselves with little or no specific help from you.

Most people will benefit from seeing a suitably qualified alternative medicine practitioner dealing in one of the stress-related fields such as acupuncture, reflexology, massage, reiki, kinesiology etc. Relaxation therapies such as Tai Chi and yoga will help you not just to relax, but to identify where the stresses are in your body in order that you treat them specifically. Medical tests will help to define irregularities in your system that reflect the sources of your stress, therefore helping practitioners identify the best route to resolution and health. Note here, that we are not talking about symptomatic relief, but actually getting rid of the problem once and for all (unless you continue to put yourself under the same stress, in which case, you can expect the problems to return in a hurry!).

Once you have identified your stressors you can take appropriate action to resolve the issue. Your practitioner will advise you accordingly, likely along the lines of The Principles of Stress Relief.(below)

Brian Adamson
Natural Health Information Centre

This article is Copyright 2005 Natural Health Information Centre, but may be freely distributed in its entirity when properly attributed to the source:

The Principles of Stress Relief

Make money by GIVING AWAY our FREE E-book

---

Stress Relief Through Charity

One of the best ways to relieve yourself from the... Read More

Stress Management and Mastery: Frustration or Fascination

"Learn how to turn frustration into fascination. You will learn... Read More

Children Playing - How Play Is Important To Kids And Adults

You can learn a lot by watching children playing. There... Read More

Stress in the Workplace

Why are you so busy? Do you really have too... Read More

How To Avoid Stress By Staying in The Present Moment

The future is nothing but a fantasy or a daydream,... Read More

The Physiology of Stress

In the body, the stress response is mediated by the... Read More

Is Your Workplace Suffering from Contagious Stress?

We wonder how many of you might recognise this scenario?... Read More

The Case Of The Missing Vacation

This is the time for daydreaming about your annual vacation.... Read More

Five Steps to Stress Relief

So, you've recognised that you are suffering from stress and... Read More

Rising to the Top: Overcoming Bad Situations

We've all been there, right? We find ourselves living with... Read More

Getting Rid of Your Frustrations

Punch a pillowScream into a pillowTurn on your favorite music... Read More

Workplace Stress: What to Do During Down Times?

The main problem in a down economy is that workplaces... Read More

Extreme Self-care: Make Time for Yourself

If you've recently experienced loss or are going through a... Read More

The Sixty Second Stress Solution

It is an inescapable fact, we live in a stressful... Read More

Wholistics

I have yet to see a scientist talk about the... Read More

Generalized Anxiety Disorder - Do You Worry All The Time?

Do you worry all the time?Do the following symptoms bother... Read More

Secrets to Aromatherapy II - Psychological Complaints

Aromatherapy is very therapeutic when it comes to healing emotional... Read More

Stress Management: Holding On Vs. Dropping It

One of the dumbest things I have ever done is... Read More

Stress Management and Mastery: The Value of Vitamin NO

What part of no don't you understand? - Bumper stickerThe... Read More

Stress- What Is It?

Whenever we think of 'stress', negative thoughts come into our... Read More

Stress Can Create Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder

Stress can affect virtually any part of the body and... Read More

Alleviate Stress Without Pills!

We all have it; we live with it daily: stress.... Read More

Quiet Mind; A Powerful Tool That Gives You More Time, Creativity, And Productivity And Takes Just 10

The National Center for health statistics reported that in 1997,... Read More

Job Stress Management Tips

Today's workplace produces plenty of stress. Life's little hassles mount... Read More

Put the 80/20 Rule to Work for Your Life!

Perhaps you've heard of the 80/20 rule, but don't know... Read More

Are You Taking Notice? What Are Your Warning Signs Stress Is Building Up?

Many people recognise the warning signs that stress may be... Read More

Control Stress or It Will Control Your Business

When we think about stress in the workplace, we usually... Read More

Reduce Your Stress

If you live in the early part of the twenty-first... Read More

Reduce The Stress!

First, let's make a distinction between pressure and stress. We... Read More

Stress Management: How to Use the Power of Focus

Here's a fun little experiment:Take a few seconds and look... Read More

How to Cope With Stress and Strain

Work related tensions, personal issues and abnormal lifestyles are the... Read More

Do You Have Your Foot On The Pedal? Are You Overwhelmed At Work?

Is your in-tray or inbox full? I don't normally check... Read More

There is no Such Thing as Good Stress

Q: What is Stress?A: Very basically it is the physical,... Read More