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credit: Wikimedia Commons
To do as much as possible and to do it quickly are two goals central to today's lifestyle. How often do we watch and observe others, or ourselves, for that matter, rushing to complete a multitude of task at the same time?
"When will it be done?" "Can't it be done sooner?" "Excuse me but I gotta hurry to catch my flight!" "Damn I'm late again"
"Can't you see my boss project is still unfinished, and I still have a hundred things to do!" "Sorry can't wait, I have only got an hour to finish this."
The supposed need to accomplish a whole bunch of things usually at the same time produces a false sense of urgency, pushing one to work faster and faster. Most people eat in a hurry, speak quickly, move quickly from place to place, travel many kilometres each year at high speeds, change jobs, cars and house often. Unfortunately, at the end of it all, few can say it was worth it.
Much of lifehas been lived without enjoyment and weighed down by stress. Relationships have suffered, physical health has deteriorated and mental as well as spiritual health has suffered the resulting consequences.
SO WHAT DOES THE WORD "STRESS" ACTUALLY MEAN?
I believe the most explicit definition is the state or condition of strain and especially of intense strain.
Stress comes from middle English word "stresse" which was for "distresse" or distress. The verb can be traced to a combination of the middle English word "stressen", the middle English word "destress"(distress) and the middle French word "estrecier" (to constrain or force). The middle french form comes from the Latin word "strictus" which is the past participle of stringere and means to draw tight or press together.
From this analysis, we can see that stress may simply mean being subjected to external forces or pressures and can either be negative or positive depending on the effect of the external force and how people react to it. However the underlying negative meaning associated with distress is often attached to the word. Tying stress to the idea of a constraining force which causes distress or suffering seems much more common.
In our daily usage of the word "stress" we tend to refer only to this negative aspect. You don't hear someone saying I'm under so much stress: isn't is great! Instead stress is used to indicate an emotional state of being so intense that it hinders our ability to function. By observing the changes which a person undergoes when facing stress, we can conclude that stress is a combination of physiological and psychological reactions of the body when it is subject to heavy demands.
We all have our limitations and we must learn to understand them and not to go above them over long periods of time. This self-analysis is vital if we wish to improve both the length and quality of our lives.
PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS
All signals of alarm which are sent to the brain are processed in the hypothalamus, a small organ situated in the center of the brain. The hypothalamus transmits these impulses to the other parts of the body through the nervous and circulatory systems.
The Nervous System
The signals produced by the hypothalamus are sent to the sympathetic nervous system which regulates the organic functions. These stimuli produce alterations in the way that organs function. These nervous signals also reach the core of the adrenal glands (the adrenal medulla) producing an increase in the sensation of adrenaline and noradrenaline. These then pass to the blood and produce changes in the rest of the body.
The Circulatory System
the hypothalamus stimulates the pituitary gland. This secretes various hormones which once in the blood stream, affect the entire body. The most important hormone produced by the pituitary gland when stimulated by the hypothalamus is the adrenocorticotrophin easier known as stress hormones. It makes the outer layer of the adrenal glands pour out a group of hormones which cause a number of changes in bodily functions. Other hormones secreted by the pituitary gland affects the thyroid gland, the testes and the ovaries and have enormous effects on many other organs.
CAUSES OF STRESS
An examination of stress will reveal that. In general, there are two basic sources: First, stress factors can come from circumstances such as environment, job, family or studies. Secondly, w can produce our own stress, our manner of approaching and solving problems, our personality, our temperament and our level of self-control can be source of stress.
External Causes:
When external forces that cause stress are particularly strong, even the best equipped people suffer stress. On the other hand, when someone is psychologically fragile, even the weakest stress factors affect them. From horrific earthquakes to just losing our keys, we find ourselves faced with many incidents which produces stress. Some of them are tragedies, others are simply frustrations. All of them however contribute to our level of stress.
Traumatic Experiences:
Perhaps the most extreme examples of the results of stress are found among people who have lived through traumatic experiences. Whether they are natural catastrophes (earthquakes, hurricane, flood) or human ones (wars, accidents, nuclear disasters, genocide, rape), these incidents initiate high level of stress both during and after the event.
Occupations:
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credit: pexels
The level of stress assigned to varying jobs differs according to authors. There are other jobs such as police inspector or prison guard which are considered as stressful as that of a pilot or physician is. Many other profession also produce high level of stress. Some examples of which are: Businessmen, stock brokers, sales person, high school teachers, high rise construction workers, telephone operators(customer care) and miners.
Stressful Events:
Throughout our lives, we are faced with particularly stressful events. Although not traumatic in nature, some are intense enough to alter our personal balance. Negative events generally bring with them a higher level of stress, positive events such as a promotion to higher paying and more responsible position or the birth of a baby often carry with them notable level of stress. If we are aware of the fact that various situations or events produce more or less stress, we can prepare ourselves to face them when they come our way.
Day to Day Frustration:
Those bitter words which are directed towards us by a colleague or that car that breaks down just when you are in a hurry, or perhaps an interruption at work which forces us to redo something or the letter which you wait for but never arrives. All of these are examples of small frustration which make life seem more difficult.
If these frustration become too numerous and we allow them to affect us, we will soon be faced with an intolerable level of stress as dangerous as if it has come from one grant stress factor.
Physical and Social Environment:
Everything which surrounds us contributes in a greater or lesser way to our levels of stress. A clean and neat environment where there is plenty of space, where the noise is low, where the temperature is right, is the beginning of living with minimal stress. An outside environment which has pure air, clean water and beautiful vegetation, low noise levels and low population density would be a step towards relaxation.
Internal Causes:
Competition (Could also be external) :
Exaggerated competition along with the resulting desire for power and for possession push many people to work beyond their capabilities. The result? Physical and Psychological exhaustion.
Guilt :-
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credit: [ pixabay]
Many people experience stress because they harbor feelings of guilt. For instance children who feel guilty because their parents divorced or people who survived tragedies or accidents that blame themselves for the death of others or parents who feel guilty for giving birth to an abnormal child. Everyone knows cases of criminals who after hiding undercover for years finally turn themselves in because they tried unsuccessfully to live with a guilty conscience.
Mistakes:
Mistakes are source of regret and stress. You were offered two jobs, you chose one and after two years, the company goes bankrupt and you are fired. You begin to regret not choosing the other option even when you know it was not your fault. Or may be your car showed you signs of breakdown and you deliberately ignore them. On your way to a meeting where a contract will be awarded to you, the car breaks down and you missed the meeting. In these situations, the individual is very likely to begin undergoing stages of stress due to mistakes he or she made or think they made.
HOW TO PREVENT STRESS
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credit: [ Wikimedia]
Exercise: Most folks who suffer from stress do not exercise and are unable to sleep. They keep awake all day and night and are caught up in a vicious cycle which is difficult to break. Physical exercise is the best way to break loose. Rest will come automatically if we exercise regularly.
Rest: Daily rest is compulsory if out bodies are to recuperate from the psychological and physiological exhaustion of the day. Physical exercise is related to rest. Sleep comes easily for those who exercise regularly and the sleep is deeper meaning fewer hours are needed to restore energy.
Annual Vacation: Taking a vacation at least once every year gives you time to think more and spend a bit time away from your troubles. If one wishes to overcome stress, in the same way nature rests during a season to provide fruits for another, man needs time of rest to be more fruitful.
A vacation is a way of breaking the routine of day-to-day living
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credit: Pixabay
Conclusion:
Life challenges has made it more stressful than usual. Stress is an integral part of human existence which is inevitable at some point, but managing it is the best option.
References:
- HelpGuide - Stress Management
- HelpGuide - Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes
- Wikipedia - Stress Management
- WebMD - Stress Management - Ways to Relieve Stress
- Stress Management Society - What is Stress?
- Mercola - How to Manage Stress with the Right Foods
This post is really awesome. I believe almost every human are stressed, have been stressed or will be stressed.
The key is just this
We all have our yield limit, knowing that is the key to healthy living. With the listed preventive measures, I think we can be able to live a stress-free life to a large extent.
Nice post
@tormiwah
You are extremely correct sir. Thank you pointing out one Moral Value from the post. We should not over work more than our inbuilt natural engine. Else it will breakdown and repairs is more expensive than maintenance.
Being A SteemStem Member
Nice post
Thank you.
Stress can happen to anyone, while working as well as in the household. Healthy living patterns, socialize with other people as well as with family, exercise regularly and adequate rest then will avoid stress.
You are very correct @nurmidirman. I remember a certain week where I was choked up with a lot of contracts, I didn't even had the time to cook as I was always eating junks. Guess what, that week I almost collapsed as I was working extra time with less food with good quality.
We need to manage create a balance in our life.
Stress is something that is rampant around us. It happens to different reasons.
The above measures need to be used in order to avoid stress and live a happy an fulfilled life.
Thanks for sharing these tips @casweeney
Like I said stress is an integral part of human lives. We can not remove it totally but can manage it. Following the above measures will help greatly @korexe.
reading this post, i can not but laugh at myself because i seem to be "stressed" because i have been sleeping for too long.
can you explain how that got to happen?
That is not stress @rharphelle. May be you don't have the perfect word to describe the feeling. Stress can only lead to sleep and one of the common ways people respond to stress is by sleeping.
Depression, anxiety, stress, and boredom can all contribute to excessive sleepiness and not the other way round.
But oversleeping too has some side effects like headache, over sleeping can also be linked to diabetes and some heart disease.
Thanks for the feedback... Thats enough to keep me on my feet!
Very good sir, you need to be strong.
In the high-stress job position, I'm surprised you missed out on the high-stress job of being a cryptocurrency day trader especially on a bearish market such as we have now :)
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing.
@greenrun thank you for pointing that out. Let me add to it here. I noticed that ever since I joined steemit my stress level has increased, because apart from my daily job and websites I have to build, I will still brain storm for topics and articles to write, do the research associated with it and still monitor the crypto market and also try to socialize with people on the platform.
HMMMM, that's a whole lot of stress on its own and it is a daily routine which makes me to sleep very late.
But notwithstanding, it can also be managed.
Thanks @greenrun for inspiring me to write more...
Well.. I am so stressed sometimes and when i decide to relax i immediately feel like there is something i should be doing or haven't done so i am never resting but taking a break. Also my supervisor has so much frustrated me right now. I feel like I should do away from school at the moment.
All i am trying to say is man never rests till the day he dies we all keep chasing something every time.
This is no true @adetola. Man can rest very well. Have you ever wondered why there is raining season and dry season, the dry season is the resting period for the climate to regain more water in the rain table for a better work during the rainy season.
If you have noticed, any season the it started raining very late, it will also stop raining late.
Same thing is applicable to humans, if you don't rest your organs, they become less productive and when strained to their limit, health issues will set in.
Yes.. It is supposed to be so but what we put ourselves through do not allow us to rest. Every time we are always thinking of how to achieve those goals we set some time ago even when we place our geads to rest our brain isn't resting its processing one thing or the other. I agree most productive tine is when you are well rested but the term rest in recent times is just a fiction.
You own your self and not the activities that owns you, therefore you should be in charge of your life because if anything goes wrong you will bear the pain and cost.
Take charge of your life and create a balance for every area of it.
If you find it difficult to rest your brain, exercising your body will fix that. It automatically puts you in a condition where you must rest.
I quite agree with you i must start taking exercise from now. Thanks for the insight.
That's the least we do for ourselves.
Very excellent post. Detailed much. I’m curious however to know how adrenaline and noradrenaline play roles in relieving stress :) can you throw more light on that please ?
Adrenaline which may also be referred to as the fight or flight hormone is mostly produced by the adrenal gland when it receives a message about the presence of a stressful situation from the brain.
Adrenaline works with norepinephrine, which are responsible for the immediate reaction whenever we are stressed.
When ever you are faced with a dangerous situation which poses some stress, the reason why you are still focused and have more energy to run away from such situation is because of the secretion of adrenaline.
On the other hand, Noradrenaline is the main neurotransmitter of the sympathetic nerves in the cardiovascular system and these sympathetic noradrenergic system is active even when the individual is at rest and maintains tonic levels of cardiovascular performance.
Both Adrenaline and Noradrenaline are referred to as catecholamines and they affect cardiovascular functions by their action on cardiovascular cells in the nervous system.
@kingabesh, I hope this was helpful.
Yes it was. Thank you 🙂
It is the need to accomplish so much in so little time that causes stress in our lives. We work so hard that we neglect the most important person we are working for - ourselves
Have you ever imagined how much you are making from the lots of things you wish to accomplish and how much you will spend if you eventually break down due to the associated stress? Most time we work to prove ourselves reliable but seldom gives regards to our health which is the ultimate source of our reliability.
Thank you @leczy.
I am also guilty of the same thing. I overworked myself until I broke down. Had to rest a bit, and stay offline, now am back in the habit
@leczy it's good you rested. They was a time when i almost collapsed in my work place, because i was over working myself and I don't feed well, it affected my blood pressure which became low.
When I am stressed out I tend to under eat and the only thing that brings me back to normal is usually the opposite of what caused the stress. Great post buddy
In my case I over eat when stressed out sometimes when I am in a hurry, I loose my appetite. When I am stressed I find it difficult to sleep.
Thank you @henrychidiebere
The statement I took note of is thus:
Many times we push ourselves harder beyond what we are built for. It essential people know when to stop rest and start again.
Thanks for the well written article @casweeney.
With that statement alone in one's head, I promise you, that is the beginning living a stress free life.
Thank you @temitayo-pelumi.
I should thank you.
During school days, whenever I'm stressed with studies and all, I try to sleep off. It works like magic lol.
This is an educative post. Thanks for sharing!
@aliyu, sleep is a powerful solution for stress but in cases where your brain activities won't let you sleep, exercise will make your brain need rest and there you go.
Thank you for reading through sir. I still haven't seen you in KD.
I usually feel stressed or get stressed because I get too involved in things around me and when something fails I take it too seriously.
Usually, according to science you need to change the routine. This is why after strokes or severe brain injuries the person changes in a drastic way, because of neuronal reconfiguration. This is also done ( to a less extent) during traveling, during the change of one's habits. Spending time in a different way, moving your desk, changing your furniture or adopting a pet might help in little ways that would sum up to something bigger.
Perhaps it's the root of the expression "I feel like a new person" after doing something different.
Very true sir, thank you very much for your contribution @alexdory. I am grateful.
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Interesting analysis.
I believe that this is more of a condition of our mind and faith and not of science.
I trust the word in: Philippians 4:8 ... Matthew 6:25-34 and proverbs 3:5-6