Which symptoms do you have?
Stress leads to more stress. The symptoms of stress can cause
more stress.
Physical discomfort can cause anxiety, which causes even more
stress. Emotional discomfort can cause tightening in the body,
which can lead to more stress.
Symptoms of stress
· Anxiety
· Depression
· Powerlessness
· Poor self-esteem
· Hostility
· Anger
· Irritability
· Resentment
· Phobias
· Fears
· Obsessions
· Unwanted thoughts
· Muscular tension
· High blood pressure
· Headaches
· Neck aches
· Backaches
· Indigestion
· Irritable bowel
· Ulcers
· Chronic constipation
· Chronic diarrhea
· Muscle spasms
· Tics
· Tremors
· Fatigue
· Insomnia
· Sleeping Difficulties
· Obesity
· Physical weakness
· Job stress
How many of the symptoms did you count? |
What impact is stress having
on your life?
Here are some events that trigger stress. Any of these events
if not dealt with can cause stress.
Just allow yourself to acknowledge, maybe by counting with
your fingers, how many of these situations you have endured
over the past twelve months.
Stress inducing events
·Trouble with your boss
· Change in sleeping habits
· Change in eating habits
· Change in usual type or amount of recreation
· Change in social activities
· Change in church activities
· Change in family get-togethers
· Change in financial state
· Change in number of arguments with spouse
· Sexual difficulties
· Personal injury or illness
· Death of a close family member
· Death of a spouse
· Death of a close friend
· Gaining a new family member
· Change in health
· Change in residence
· Minor violations of the law
· Marriage
· Divorce
· Marital separation
· Son or daughter leaving home
· Retirement
· Change in working schedule
· Being fired
· Taking out a mortgage
· Vacation
· Changing schools
· Changing line of work
· Pregnancy
How many of these stressful events have you endured? |
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.
