Handling Stress
We all need a little stress. Life would be dull and boring without it. The
right types of stress and the right attitudes toward stress add flavor and
opportunities for growth, excitement and pleasure.
Too much stress, however, can be harmful to your physical and mental well
being, in addition to accelerating the aging process.
How can we make stress work for us?
Our challenge is to make sure stress does not work against us. Since it is
always with us, our job is to determine which kinds of stresses we like (eustress)
and which kinds create disharmony in our minds and bodies (distress). Because
everybody’s reactions are so personal, you cannot compare your stress to that of
others. Your attitude can make a big difference. The same stress may feel to
some as distress and to others as eustress.
Let’s see how you classify the stresses you experience. Athletic people will
enjoy physical stresses. For some, the heavier the weight they lift, the happier
they feel. Achieving something challenging brings them satisfaction. A muscle
expanding in size just where they want it to can make them feel even joyful.
However, this may not be your source of eustress. Weight lifting may feel like
torture because the muscles become so sore. Athletes, on the other hand,
actually like the sensation of sore muscles, because it means those muscles are
being toned and growing bigger.
For a very busy, “get-up and go" person who thrives on managing many people
and keeping a busy office humming smoothly, going to the beach on a beautiful
day may cause great frustration. Their day seems completely non-productive,
causing great distress. Have you ever been around someone like this? Perhaps you
are somewhat like this person. For you, the stress caused by a busy office is
very rewarding.
What can too much stress do?
Prolonged, unrelieved stresses, especially of the mental/emotional kind
create health problem such as high blood pressure, ulcers or even cardiovascular
disease. These stresses cause cortisol levels to remain elevated for sustained
periods. Cortisol hastens aging.
Physical exercise can also be harmful if done in excess. Exercise causes
oxidation in the cells of your body. Over-oxidation is one of the accelerators
of the aging process.
While too much physical stress can accelerate your aging process at the
cellular level, moderate levels of daily physical stress are beneficial. Aerobic
exercise is an ideal way of getting rid of the excess cortisol built up by
mental stress. That is why a good aerobic exercise program helps you to relax
while providing a good physical foundation to handle your mental stress.
The Anti Aging Effect
As always, early detection of problems is the key to a pro-active anti-aging
program. Detecting the early signs of distress or too much stress alerts you to
do something about it. This can make a significant difference in the quality if
your life and may actually help you live much longer.
The body goes through the following stages in response to stress:
1. alarm
2. resistance
3. exhaustion
Let’s see how these stages work when our body responds to the most common
source of stress - environmental factors. The immune system is designed to
protect us from foreign matter. When an environmental pollutant enters our
system, the body is alarmed. The immune system responds by releasing
antihistamine into the blood stream. The resultant watery eyes, sneezing, mucous
formation and sometimes perspiration are designed to entrap or expel the foreign
material. Again, a little is protective. Too much is harmful.
During the resistance stage, the body is trying to recuperate from the
effects of the alarm stage by repairing the system.
Continuing stress conditions the body to respond to these intermittent
problems as if the attacks would never stop. What eventually develops are
rashes, migraine headaches or even hay fever. People call these responses
“allergy problems”. These can then cause a chain of negative reactions. For
example, people may suffer from insomnia because excess mucous disrupts their
breathing at night. Other people lose productivity because of headaches - either
regular or migraine. Eventually these responses to stress, themselves become a
stress resulting in ulcers and mental exhaustion.
Without doubt, this will cause acceleration of aging or premature aging at
the cellular level.
What is the solution?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Exercise
Relieve the build-up of pressure by doing something physically active.
Many enjoy walking or playing a favorite sport. Others find gardening or
dancing does it for them. These activities help to release the uptight
feeling from mental stress. The result is that both your mind and body
relax. Mind and body working together result in a synergistic response.
Relaxing meditative exercises have also become popular. Tai-chi, Qi-gong,
and Yoga uses your body’s energy to release tightness and balance the mental
and physical stresses.
2. Manage your time
You need a break. Schedule your work at a reasonable pace remembering to
take time for mini-breaks several times during the day. Remember recreation.
If you can just relax and have fun at the end of the week, you can greatly
relieve the stress built up during the workweek. Then you will be refreshed
and ready to handle the challenges of the new week.
3. Use a check list
It is not easy to remember everything that needs to be done. By making a
list of what you need to do each day, you will avoid being overwhelmed by
trying to take care everything at once out of fear you will forget to do
something. You also have the satisfaction of seeing what you have
accomplished as the items are checked off.
A list also helps you to prioritize your jobs, so that you can be sure to
get the most important and pressing items done first.
4. Become involved
Sitting alone doing nothing creates boredom. You need to get out, and
participate in what is happening in your community. You don’t feel so sorry
for yourself when you direct your thoughts away from yourself.
Helping other people is also a successful method for feeling good.
Enjoyable activity and interaction stimulate your brain to release
endorphins - the body’s own morphine. This gives you a natural “high” and
stimulates your body’s ejuvenation processes. The saying is as true for the
mental abilities as it is for physical - “use it or lose it."
5. Sleep so you don’t need an alarm clock
Lack of sleep causes irritability that is difficult to control.
Insufficient sleep intensifies the negative effects of daily stress. Sound,
sufficient sleep rejuvenates your body. It is during the deep stages of
sleep that growth hormone is released. So there is truth to the saying “you
grow while you sleep.” But this is not growing “old”, but growing “better”.
The proper amount of sleep, especially deep sleep, decelerates the aging
process.
6. Learn to accept
Worrying about or trying to change things over which you have no
influence creates stress. Learn to distinguish between the things you can
change, and those you cannot. Then learn to accept the things you cannot
change. If you learn how to do this, you are more likely to recognize the
time when a previously unchangeable situation can now be reshaped. This will
help lower your cortisol levels.
7. Seek help
If you have a serious problem, and you recognize it, don’t wait to seek
help. Find someone who will listen to you, maybe a friend who has resolved a
similar stress to yours. Professionals who are specialists in advising you
on how to handle stress are also very helpful.
Don’t wait until it the problem becomes too serious, for then it may
require medication. Medications always have negative side effects.
8. Use complementary aids
The most popular one in this area is a nutritional supplement that has a
neurothropic effect. Vitamin B6, B12, folic acid, bioflavonoids are known to
have neurothropic effects.
St. John’s Wort, Kava2 and chamomile are herbal, homeopathic products
that have been reported to help alleviate the symptoms of depression and
poor sleep.
Zinc, vitamins A, C and E, L-glutamine, primrose and grape seed extract
contain ingredients that help boost your immune system defending you against
environmental, physical and/or mental stress.
Look for other natural products on the market that provide excellent
subjective benefits to human health as support systems and preventive
measures.
9. Avoid self-medication
Many over-the-counter drugs for excessive stress have side effects with
adverse reactions. Their chemical reactions may cause negative changes in
body chemistry resulting in premature aging and stress at the cellular
level. Also, drugs may be habit forming creating more stress than they take
away.
Use these medications only when you do not have access to natural
products, vitamins or a doctor’s prescription. And then only following your
doctor’s advice and only when you really require them.
If you take natural products that help to prevent or reduce excessive
stress and/or its symptoms, it is unlikely that you will develop
out-of-control distress.
Screening yourself for early “distress “ signals is very important.
The milestones to follow for early prevention and anti-aging action include:
·
Age 18 to 100 -- check your blood pressure
· Women 40 to above -- Breast exam/ mammogram
· Age 05 to 100 -- Cholesterol level
· Women 18 to 100 -- PAP smear
· Age 50 to 100 -- Stool for blood
· Age 50 to 100 -- Sigmoidoscopy-colon
· Age 25 to 100 -- Immunization booster
· Age 30 to 100 -- AQ test (Aging Quotients)
· Age 35-100 -- Anti-aging panel/Hormonal
Last but not least: Treat yourself well.
