Stress

Are you ready to get rid of STRESS?
It's O.K. to take on stressful projects, just as long as we dispose of the excess distress that it sometimes leave behind.

What is stress? We are all familiar with the word "stress." Stress is when you are worried about getting laid off your job, or worried about not having enough money to pay your bills, or worried about your mother when the doctor says she may need an operation. In fact, to most of us, stress is synonymous with worry.

Your body, however, has a much broader definition of stress. To your body, stress is synonymous with change. Anything that causes a change in your life causes stress. It doesn't matter if it is a "good" change, or a "bad" change. They are both stressful. Even when you find your dream home and get ready to move, that is stressful. If you break your leg, that is stressful. Good or bad, change is stress as far as your body is concerned.

Even imagined change is stressful. Imagining changes is what we call "worrying". If you fear that you will not have enough money to pay your rent, it is stressful. If you worry that you may get fired, that is stress. Even if you think that you may receive a promotion at work, it is also stressful, although this would be a good change. Whether the event is good or bad, imagining changes in your life is stressful.

Stress is any change that you must adapt to.

You experience stress from four basic sources:

1. Your environment bombards you with demands to adjust. You must endure weather, noise, traffic, and pollution.
2. You also must cope with social stresses such as deadlines, financial problems, job interviews, presentations, disagreements, demands for your tie and attention, and loss of loved ones.
3. A third source of stress is physiological. The rapid growth of adolescence, menopause in women, illness aging, accidents, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, and sleep disturbances all tax the body. Your physiological reaction to environmental and social threats and changes can also result in stressful symptoms such as muscle tension, headaches, stomach upset, and anxiety.
4. The fourth source of stress is your thoughts. Your brain interprets and translates complex changes in your environment and body and determines when to turn on the emergency response.

Here are some overwhelming facts about stress:

· Stress in the workplace is undermining performance and productivity in nine out of ten companies, according to a study conducted by Industrial Society. That's an amazing finding from a British survey. It becomes all the more incredible when you project it to the American workplace.
· America has more than five times more people and easily five times more stress.
· It is also estimated that 40 million working days are lost each year as a result of stress-related illness in Britain alone.
· And up to 60% of all absences from work are caused by stress.
· The World Health Organization calls stress, "A global epidemic."
· 72% of workers report emotional stress is pervasive in the workplace. Changes in workplace dynamics result in employees feeling overwhelmed with work responsibilities.
· The average number of hours spent at work has increased 20% over the past five years, while the amount of leisure time has decreased 30%.
· 80% of patient visits to their physicians are stress related.
· More heart attacks occur on Monday morning between the hours of 8-10 than any other time during the workweek.
· The number of workplace violence episodes is currently two per month. This number is expected to increase to six per month in the next five years.
· According to the American Heart Association, one person dies from coronary heart disease in the United States every 32 seconds.
· According to the American Cancer Society, one out of every three people will get some form of cancer in the course of their lives. Today, a plethora of documented studies reveal the mind-body connection is not a theory, but a fact.
· Meditation, Yoga, and Ti Chi, once part of the counter culture movement, are now accepted as mainstream activities. In fact, the American Heart Association advocates meditation as a means to lower resting blood pressure and heart rate.