We all handle stress differently. Some of us are seemingly born with the ability to handle high levels of anxiety relatively easily. While others of us seem to get stressed out by the tiniest of things when they go wrong. Fortunately, for those of us that fall in the latter category, stress management is something that can be learned.
Stress begins in the mind, but it directly effects the body. In fact, just thinking about something that stresses you out will cause your blood pressure to rise, your heartbeat to increase, and your breathing to quicken. High anxiety levels can weaken the immune system making you more susceptible to diseases. A constant level of anxiety can even result in a heart attack or stroke. So learning to manage stress is a skill that we all can use, because left alone it can cause harm to your body.
Stress Management is what we call the process of controlling our anxiety levels. It teaches us to take ownership of the things that make us anxious and fearful, and face them head on. In addition, stress management gives us a set of tools to help with the process.
But effective stress management is not necessarily simple. If it were, stress would not be a problem. And, truthfully, in some severe cases, prescription medicines may be required. But even in the severe instances, if you're willing to take time and put what you learn to use, stress management can still play a useful part in helping you to deal with stressful situations.
The first step in learning to handle stress is to identify what your stressors are. A stressor is whatever causes the "fight or flight" response in your nervous system. For example, a stressor that many people have is public speaking. A job interview is a big stressor for lots of us, especially if the job interview is a big one. Some people spend days and weeks locked up in their home because the simple act of walking out of their home is such a stressor for them. They key thing is that everyone has their own set of stressors that cause them anxiety and once you've identified yours, you can begin to work on eliminating them.
A second key to handling stress is sleep - that is, getting enough of it. In some ways the relationship between sleep and stress is the perfect example of a catch22 situation. Studies have proven that stress can cause difficulty in sleeping. Conversely, lack of sleep makes your more susceptible to stresses of all kinds. In addition, lack of sleep, or sleep deprivation, has been implicated in a host of diseases and disorders such as Alzheimers, depression, anxiety, memory loss, and so on.
The few controlled human studies on sleep and stress have indicated a possible alteration in the neuroendocrine stress system. The many tests on animals have shown that chronic sleep restriction gradually changes their neuroendocrine stress responses. In other words, the animals become more stressed and less able to deal with stressful situations in the real world.
Unfortunately, in our fast paced world, it can be hard for many of us to get a full night of restful sleep - even though a major part of a successful stress management program hinges on you managing somehow to get enough sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, you may have to get your physician or health care professional involved. But sleep is an unavoidable and fundamental prerequisite in learning to manage your stress.
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