Stress 101 - The Basics
September 15, 2007
Defining stress
I define stress as the experience of discomfort. This discomfort can be emotional (affecting our feelings), physical (affecting our body), mental (affecting our thoughts) or a combination of all three.
Stress can be caused by external events - events that are outside of us and seem beyond our control. Stress can also be caused by internal events - our own perceptions or expectations. We all experience stress differently depending on our personalities, life experiences and what is happening around us.
Feeling stress is our body's unique way of letting us know that something is wrong and we need to make a change to feel good again. We are fortunate to have this built-in early warning system and, if we listen to it, we can stay healthy and well. In this regard, stress is a positive in our lives.
Unfortunately, in today's crazy-busy world, we often ignore our body's own warning signs. We learn to adapt - or so we think - to a stressful lifestyle rather than taking steps to reduce and control our stress.
The danger of ignoring stress is that it can become chronic or never-ending. Chronic stress causes actual physical changes in our bodies that leave us more vulnerable to depression, poor health and chronic illness.
Managing stress
The best place to start managing your stress is to take the time to understand it. The next time that you begin to feel "stressed out", try taking these steps:
1. Stop yourself from reacting - Take deep breaths or count to ten instead of reacting on the spot.
2. Get away from the stressful situation - Leave the stressful situation for a few minutes. Be creative if you have to - excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, if that's what it takes!
3. Wind down - Stress sets off physical reactions in our bodies. Take time to wind down. Try some more deep breaths or go for a short walk or drive.
4. Take inventory - Once you have calmed down, take a few minutes to think over what happened and why you felt "stressed out." Try to look at the situation as objectively as you can to determine the real cause of your stress. (We humans have a nasty habit of taking either total responsibility for a stressful situation or none at all - though reality is usually somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.)
5. Write it down - If you can, write down a short summary of what happened. This should only take a couple of minutes. Getting things down on paper can help you to understand the issues and to recognize any patterns of stress in your life.
6. Tackle the real problem - Figure out what you can do and how you can change your reactions to avoid the same stressful situation from happening in the future.
Dealing with stress - especially chronic stress - is not always as easy as 1-2-3. However taking these steps will give you a place to start in recognizing and understanding the stress in your life.
Online Resources
What is stress?
How to recognize stress
The stages of stress
How stressed out are you?
What's stressing you out?
What is Take Care?
"Health and wellness" is one of those phrases that, while popular, is becoming a bit of a cliché these days. While overused, "health and wellness" is often misunderstood and can have different meanings for different people.
I like to simplify things. So rather than calling this just a "health and wellness column," I have decided to call it, Take Care. I have chosen Take Care because that is what I will be writing about - how you can take care of yourself.
Don't worry. I won't be throwing facts and statistics at you - although I may occasionally share the title of a great book or the link to an awesome website. Neither do I claim to be a great guru with all of life's answers. What I can offer is the experience that I have gained from 43 years as a human being, 20 years in human services and almost a decade of living with chronic illness.
Let's face it; we live in a crazy world these days. We are constantly barraged by the demands on our time, attention and energy. Many of us are working full-time, managing a home, raising children and taking care of our parents … in some cases even our grandparents (or grandchildren…). We never seem to get away from the ringing of cell phones, the beeping of text messages and the growing pile of email messages in our inboxes - not to mention the old fashioned paper way of communicating.
Just when we think we are on top of it all, we decide to do something crazy like take a vacation … and we have to work twice as hard to get ready before we go away and three times as hard to catch up when we get back.
The body isn't made to be under constant stress. Constant stress leads to physical changes in the body and the mind that can contribute to serious illness. So don't tell me you can't afford the time to take care of yourself because I'll tell you that you can't afford NOT to take care.
Think of "Take Care" as a place to start … a place to start thinking about some very basic ways that you can take better care of yourself.
Why not start by visiting our website each month and reading this column?
Take care,
Kristin
About the author
Kristin has two decades of experience in the not-for-profit and social services sector, ten of those years spent running her own business - KDM Program & Management Services. Through KDM, Kristin provides contract, short-term and recurring program and management support to the not-for-profit sector. Services include - but are not limited to - public relations and marketing, website planning and content development, proposal writing, program evaluation and development, and project management and coordination. To reach Kristin, click here.
Copyright
The column, Take Care, and its contents are copyright, Kristin Duare McKinnon, all rights reserved. You may download, display, print and / or reproduce this material in single, unaltered form only - retaining copyright notice and author information - for your personal, non-commercial use. You must not change any of the material or remove any part of the article or notices that follow. For further information or to use the information contained in any Take Care column outside of the parameters indicated here, please contact Kristin.
Disclaimers
The information provided in the Take Care column is of a general nature only and is not intended as a substitute for professional health advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any personal medical and health questions that you may have. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website or any other website.
We have made reasonable efforts to ensure that the information contained in the Take Care column is accurate and up-to-date. To the extent permitted by law, Kristin Duare McKinnon and Community Living Kawartha Lakes accept no liability for any injury, loss or damage caused by reliance on any part of this information.
Please also read our external website disclaimer.
