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Stress Relief

Stress relief can be as complex as you allow it.

Stress relief can come in many applications. It can be a drug, an exercise, an herb, a ball, a game or even a food supplement. Every option has its own positives and negatives. One technique will work for one person while the same technique will confound another adding to the stress.

Some of the deciding factors of relieving stress is to determine what kind of stress you are dealing with and how long a duration it has been. Is this something that has been there forever or is this a new, out-of-the-blue issue?

The kinds of stress come in three broad categories: physical, nutritional, and emotional. We are going to deal with emotional stress but be aware that physical and nutritional stress can affect the mind, and in turn, cause emotional stress.

Emotional stress is the stress we think about the most when we talk about stress. Stress and stress related disorders are on the rise. Though the number is rising there is no specific stress reliever which can work on all the effects of stress. This is the reason why different stress management programs come up with different kinds of stress reducers.

Some stress management programs are kind and minimal; they make you feel good while you are practicing the stress management technique but in reality they are time wasters when it comes to addressing a correction for the stress.

But if there was one stress reliever you could carry around with you and you could use it anytime you needed, what would it be?

You already have it. It is sitting on top of your shoulders — your mind.

Your mind can cause more stress than you can imagine or can eliminate more stress than you thought possible.

Inside your mind you hold the key to life-long stress management. How it is unlocked and used for your benefit is what a course in the ultimate natural stress management course is all about.

Think for a moment about a point of stress in your life. What kind of reaction do you have? Do you feel a pit in your stomach? Does your head get full of noise? Do you get an impending doom feeling?

The stress you are thinking about is creating an energy in your body. It is a literal energy pocket that is creating chaos inside you. If you could take this energy and re-organize it, your thinking about it would be completely different. It may not even cause a reaction in you at all.

Now, let’s do something about this stress. Take the image of this stress and hold it in your mind’s eye. Look at it and see it clearly. Bring the image into focus. Is that it? Is that the stress in your life?

Now as you hold that image in your mind, take your finger pads of both hands and place them on your forehead an inch above your eyes. These are your emotional centers and you’re going to reset them while holding that image in your mind.

You’re going to hold your finger pads on your emotional centers as you hold the image of your stress in your mind. Hold these two for 30 to 45 seconds completely focusing on your stress.

As you continue the image of your stress will fade and its intensity will drop significantly. You are literally resetting your emotional reaction to this particular stress. How amazing is that?

Whatever stress you have make an image and reset it. This is a technique you can do all the time and you will make incredible changes in your stress and your life.

Run this process and use it for good.

Scientific Definitions of Stress

It is said that you can find every definition and explanation you seek in life. The problem comes when you have to distinguish them and choose the definition that is accurate if you believe accuracy exists in the first place. When it comes to the topic of stress, you will find very many views and perceptions and the main ones are scientific and conservative views. Firstly, scientific and conservative definitions of stress differ greatly and you will be convinced by the explanation that is going to make more sense to you. Background and orientation of various groups of people will affect their view on stress.From a lay mans view, stress is an occurrence that will make an individual loose themselves mentally, physically and psychologically. It is often seen as a culmination of a breakdown where all systems of a person become less motivated to go on. The modern or scientific explanation of stress recognizes stress as a motivating factor which is sometimes necessary to enable human beings to go the extra mile and in the process learn a few life lessons. Stress has been observed to produce some of the greatest achievements in society. This has been evident in people who have risen above the common and uncommon barriers to come up with great discoveries, inventions, ideas and to go through great hurdles under very stressful situations.It has been said that there is a type of stress that is good and there is stress that is harmful. Conservative definitions of stress totally reject the above statement. Their belief is that stress is not good period. Therefore, conservatives are always seeking ways to eradicate stress totally because it is not acceptable to have severe suffering from stress. The scientific definitions of stress will often seem to make a lot of sense and the following statement is a summary of the definition. Stress is what you will have when your resources are not greater than the demands for the same resources in your life.Many people can easily identify with the above definition because it describes the feeling of being pushed into a corner where there is no escape which is stress. Our minds constantly want to have the ability to conceive that everything is under control or that there is something that can be done about a specific situation. This is however contrary to life and as we progress to become more mature, we realize that we cannot always have everything under control. This feeling or knowledge will give rise to a certain kind of frustration which can be defined as stress.Although with many differences, scientific and conservative definitions of stress agree that certain levels of it will cause harm to the body. Although there is no tangible evidence of how exactly stress causes this, the effects and results of stress are only too evident. Remedies for stress today have not been able to totally eradicate it but there is management available that will see a person regain their sense of being. Make sure your are not caught up in the definition debate, in expense of what you can do to solve the problem in your life.

Effective Stress Management

It happens to all of us and sometimes, we feel there is no way out. I’m talking about stress which is one of the leading challenges that the human kind is constantly grappling with trying to understand and deal with it effectively. There might be simple words to describe stress and sometimes it does not need any definition because we all go through it. Experts have been working on effective stress management methods which would seek to remedy all harmful effects that stress is associated with and eradicate it all together. So far, some models have been devised and, they might hold the key to deal with stress and they include the following.The first model in effective stress management is the transactional model. The first thing it seeks to do is to explain what stress is. This model was designed by Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman who defined stress in the following way. According to them, stress is simply an imbalance between the resources that are in possession of a person and the demands that they have to meet every day . Usually, when one has to offer more than they have, the next logical thing that will happen is that they will be drained out. Therefore, the imbalance can be viewed from this perspective. Their explanation of stress, further seeks to suggest that one will not have stress when they have enough resources to cope with the demand.Their perception on stress also implies that stress is not a direct result of a stressor. The traditional view of stress is pretty different because there is a belief that a specific cause or stressor has to be present for stress to be conceived. Therefore, the transactional model has been designed to identify the factors that will predispose a person to shortcomings in regard to their resources. The methods of effective stress management in this model root from the external factors that are unique to each individual and hence the solution to their stress problem will be formulated to act effectively for their case.Finally, in this model, there is a very interesting suggestion which is that if people felt confident enough or resourceful enough to deal and cope with the demand, then the severe stress aspect might be non existent. Therefore, people who constantly choose to feel under pressure will find themselves more stressed. Pressure can therefore act as a stressor although the model creators do not base their model on stressors. The second effective stress management model is the health realization model which is also called innate health model. This model highly banks on the source of a thought and its ability to shape your actions and perceptions.According to this model, stress is only a by product of what an individual chooses to perceive of themselves and others. The thought process when affected by negativity, insecurity and other factors, will obviously produce stress. Therefore, this model will seek to help individuals equip themselves with initial positivity which will also be the outcome, escaping stress. After analyzing the above models, it is clear that there are causes of stress or specific sources whether external or internal and one thing that will help you manage your stress problem, is realizing what the problem is and working towards the betterment of your general well being.

Don’t Stress – Decompress

By: M. Affeld

We live in a chaos filled world with commitments, family and professional pressures, personal challenges and seemingly overwhelming obstacles. Most days we manage. We think, if I can just get through next Thursday, next month or make it through the winter gray days I can get my life together. But time passes, the days race by and suddenly your life is rushing up at you. When the burden feels too heavy, we feel depleted and unable to meet the many demands placed upon us and we experience stress. In moderation, stress is actually a good thing. Stress motivates us to stay focused and alert and increases our productivity. One type of stress, eustress, is actually a necessary part of a balanced, meaningful life. Eustress is the type of stress we experience when falling in love, riding a roller coaster or participating in a risky activity or extreme sport. Eustress adds spice and flavor to our experiences, making us feel vital and alive. Problems arise when life’s demands exceed our limitations and negates our ability to cope. This type of stress is called distress and can become an ominous threat to both our emotional and physical well-being. Stress impacts not only our bodies, but our thoughts, emotions, relationships and behavior. When we feel threatened, whether for our personal safety or our emotional equilibrium, our bodies rapidly respond – we are ready for “flight or fight”. Stress is both a physiological and psychological reaction to events that disturb our personal sense of balance. Alarming experiences, either real or imagined, can trigger a stress reaction. When danger is sensed, the body’s defenses activate automatically with a wave of over 1400 reactions including the dumping of a huge variety of stress hormones, including adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine, into our systems. These chemicals race through our bloodstream, readying us to quickly react to the perceived danger. We have all experienced a response to stress: rapid pounding or fluttering heartbeat, shallow breathing, blood pressure soars, muscles tensing up with anxiety and all our senses on full alert. It isn’t pleasant and is often terrifying. We feel out of control, spiraling downward, bracing for what can only be a dreadful crash. This primal “flight or fight” response is experienced by everyone who encounters stress although the threshold that puts us in distress varies from person to person; what bothers me may not bother you, what frightens me, you may meet with confidence and assurance. For primitive man this response was life saving in that it enhanced his ability to react to danger and physical challenges. In response to stress, heart rate and blood pressure escalate to increase the flow of blood to the brain to improve decision making, clotting occurs more rapidly to prevent blood loss and blood sugar rises to furnish additional fuel for energy. These and many more automatic changes in our bodies persist as long as the threat continues. When the danger passes our bodies return to normal. Modern day stress tends to be insidious, more persistent and pervasive that our ancestors experienced. Contemporary stress most often originates from psychological rather than physical threats; however, our bodies do not recognize the difference. Unfortunately, our bodies respond with the same “flight or fight” response to any situation that upsets our personal balance. If we have a bad day at work, problems in our personal relationships or we are stuck in traffic, we react. Physical responses that are meant to support and protect us, are instead, potentially damaging and injurious to our health and well-being. If you live a fast paced life with a lot of worries, obligations and responsibilities, it is likely that you are running on stress most of the time – escalating into emergency mode with every looming business deadline, family crisis or bill that is due. Repeated or extended activation of the “flight or fight” response is especially dangerous as the more it is activated, the more difficult it is to shut off. Instead of leveling off once a crisis is over, heart rate, blood pressure and stress hormones remain at an elevated level. Continuous or prolonged exposure to stress increases our risk of memory problems, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, heart disease, stroke, infection or reduced immune function as well as obesity and stomach ulcers. Because of the extensive damage stress can cause, it is imperative that we learn how to handle stress in a more positive manner and reduce its corrosive impact on our health. The symptoms of stress often mimic other medical problems. Lack of energy, decreased productivity at work, fatigue, abdominal discomfort, severe headaches, back ache or neck pain as well as chest pain, breathlessness, heart palpitations and cold, clammy skin can all be symptoms of stress. Stress can severely affect our health and well-being and we may not even realize it until the damage is done. If we wish to be pro-active in the pursuit of optimum health, it is important that we understand stress, recognize the symptoms and then take affirmative steps to manage the predictable stress reaction triggers in our daily lives. There are a number of ways to manage and reduce stress. First, try to find a supportive physician. Share with your doctor the emotions you are experiencing and the physical symptoms your body exhibits when you are exposed to stress. This is an important step in getting the help you need. Cognitive therapy, a short-term type of psychotherapy based on the belief that we can change how we feel by changing the way we think about things, is often quite effective. Stress reduction techniques, such as meditation and yoga, can be beneficial. Talking with family, friends or joining a support group can be emotional lifesavers and help offset our feelings of social isolation. A burden shared is lighter than one carried alone. It is imperative to our heath and well-being that we make dealing with stress a priority. When stressed, decompress – it is helpful to withdraw from the situation, evaluate your feeling from a distance and gain perspective. Try to breathe deeply, take a walk, re-focus and attempt to think of something else. This too will pass.

The 7 Ways Stress Effects Your Health

All of us stress out sometimes, but there are times we are so stressed out it effects our health.Unknown to a lot of people, stress is a direct cause of a number of health problems. Many people dismiss stress as a result of overwork, but it is in fact a medical condition that can lead to more serious complications if not treated properly.Stress 101: Everything You Need to KnowFor such a fairly common problem, the public doesn’t really know a lot of information about stress. This is probably why most people just dismiss it instead of seeking treatment for it. In fact, here are a few interesting statistics that may just encourage people to take stress more seriously:

Two Main Types of StressThe first type of stress is a good type of stress. This stress is called eustress. The other type of stress is called distress or chronic stress. This type of stress is the one that is harmful for the body.As serious as Chronic stress can be it is hard to detect. Most times chronic stress will go be undetected until symptoms arise. By then it means that the chronic stress has progressed and at this point it is treatable but is much more difficult than if caught early on. What Could Happen With Prolonged Stress1. Depression Depression is a side effect that is commonly seen in people with chronic stress. Depression is a serious condition that effects not only you physically, but emotionally, and economically. It not only makes your tired, but sad and from being sad it effects your willingness to go to and perform at work.2. AnxietyThis is a condition very similar to depression but also quite different. Physiological effects can be seen in the body when anxiety and depression occur at the same time.3. Heart Conditions Although stress is not a direct cause of heart attacks, it certainly plays a huge part in the process.4. Diabetes This illness is characterized by the unnaturally high levels of sugar in the bloodstream. It has been said that stress is one of the most common reasons for the irregularity in glucose levels in the blood.5. Hair Loss There are times a couple of weeks after a stressful situation occurs that clumps of hair will fall out. Although most of the time hair loss is blamed on genetics, stress is a common cause that is commonly overlooked.6. Excessive Weight Weight gain is extremely common when someone is under a great deal of stress. Stress slow your metabolism and causes people to over-eat to have the endorphins, a chemical in the body to be released when the stomach is full. Endorphins gives you a temporary high that chronically stressed people enjoy. These two factors can be deadly to a healthy physique.7. Loss of Libido Now, if the last 6 steps didn’t convince you stress is a serious problem this will. Libido is diminished when there is severe or prolonged stress in a persons life, and for some reason or another this condition is more commonly found in men than women.Although these conditions are severe there are many more conditions to consider. These are simply the most reported. However these conditions alone should be enough to make you reconsider your options for medical treatment. It is best to catch the problem before it’s too severe to treat.