Today I am sharing some information from the American Psychological Association (APA). Although we have all heard this message many times, it seems to me that we underestimate it in daily life. We hear that stress is harmful, but few of us actually apply this information to our lives like we really believe it. I don't know many people who would say that stress does not have negative health effects. It is just so easy to get trapped in the drama that is daily life. We have basically three options when it comes to stress: 1) get rid of the things that stress us, 2) create good coping mechanisms for when we find ourselves in temporarily stressful situations we cannot control, and 3) think outside the box about how to create a life for ourselves that includes a low daily stress level.
If a high-paying job is robbing you of your sanity and time with those you love, is it really making you wealthy in the true sense of the word?
Are you living a rich life if you are constantly having heartburn or other stress-related digestive problems?
Are there times when you recognize in hindsight that stress caused you to over-react to a situation, possibly affecting the people you love?
Here are some reminders from the APA about how seriously stress can affect your health:
Understanding chronic stress
Stress is often described as a feeling of being overwhelmed,
worried or run-down. Stress can affect people of all ages, genders and
circumstances and can lead to both physical and psychological health issues. By
definition, stress is any uncomfortable "emotional experience accompanied by
predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioral changes."1 Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost
that provides the drive and energy to help people get through situations like
exams or work deadlines. However, an extreme amount of stress can have health
consequences and adversely affect the immune, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and
central nervous systems.2
How Stress Harms Your Health
In addition, an extreme amount of stress can take a severe
emotional toll. While people can overcome minor episodes of stress by tapping
into their body's natural defenses to adapt to changing situations, excessive
chronic stress, which is constant and persists over an extended period of time,
can be psychologically and physically
debilitating.
Unlike everyday stressors, which can be managed with healthy
stress management behaviors, untreated chronic stress can result in serious
health conditions including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure
and a weakened immune system.3 Research shows that stress can contribute to the
development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and
obesity.4 According to a 2010
survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), health care providers are more likely to advise adults
to reduce their stress levels when they consider their health as fair or poor
than if they rate their health as excellent or good. Some studies have even
suggested that unhealthy chronic stress management, such as over-consuming
"comfort" foods, has contributed to the growing obesity
epidemic.5 The APA survey also found that obese adults were more than
twice as likely as normal-weight adults to have been told by a health
professional to reduce their stress
levels.
The consequences of chronic stress are serious, particularly as
it contributes to anxiety and depression. People who suffer from
depression and anxiety are at a heightened risk for heart disease, with
depression leading to a two-fold increased risk and anxiety a doubling of
increased risk.6 Additionally, people exposed to chronic stress are at a
heightened risk of developing drug addiction.7
Yet many Americans who experience prolonged stress are not
making the lifestyle changes necessary to reduce stress and ultimately prevent
health problems. Research has shown that chronic stress is treatable with
appropriate interventions such as therapy or medication.8
Chronic stress can occur in response to everyday stressors that
are ignored or poorly managed as well as to exposure to traumatic events.
Improving lifestyle and making better behavior choices are essential steps
toward increasing overall health and avoiding chronic stress. If you feel as
though your everyday stress level is impacting your daily routine, reaching out
to a friend and/or relative may help you to work through some of your stressors
and start taking better care of yourself. In addition, eating a healthy diet,
engaging in physical activity and enhancing both the amount and quality of your
sleep may be beneficial.
Managing Your Stress
Studies have illustrated the strong link between insomnia and
chronic stress and, according to APA's
2010 Stress in America survey, more than 40 percent of all adults say they lie awake at night
because of stress. Experts recommend going to bed at a regular time each
night, striving for at least seven to eight hours of sleep and eliminating
distractions such as television and computers from the
bedroom.
The key to managing stress is recognizing and changing the
behaviors that cause it. However, changing the behavior can be challenging.
Taking one small step to reduce your stress and improve your emotional health,
such as going on a daily walk, can have a beneficial effect. Being active is a
small but powerful change you can make to manage stress. Physical activity
increases your body's production of feel-good endorphins, a type of
neurotransmitter in the brain, and helps in treating mild forms of depression
and anxiety. But remember, if a high stress level continues for a long
period of time, it is important to reach out to a licensed mental health
professional who can help you overcome the barriers to living a healthy life and
manage stress effectively. A mental health professional, such as a psychologist,
can help you identify behaviors and situations that are contributing to your
consistently high stress level and assist you in making lasting lifestyle
changes.
Special
thanks to Mary K. Alvord, PhD; Karina W. Davidson, PhD; Jennifer F. Kelly, PhD,
ABPP; and Kevin M. McGuiness, PhD, MS, ABPP-CH, who assisted with this
article.
References
1) Baum, A. (1990). "Stress, Intrusive Imagery, and Chronic
Distress," Health
Psychology, Vol. 6, pp.
653-675.
2) Anderson, N.B. (1998). "Levels of Analysis in Health Science:
A Framework for Integrating Sociobehavioral and Biomedical Research," Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, Vol. 840, pp.
563-576.
3) Baum, A. & Polsusnzy, D. (1999). "Health Psychology:
Mapping Biobehavioral Contributions to Health and Illness." Annual Review of Psychology,
Vol. 50, pp. 137-163.
4) Ibid.
5) Dallman, M. et al. (2003). "Chronic stress and obesity:
A new view of 'comfort food.'" PNAS, Vol. 100, pp.
11696-11701.
6) Anderson, N.B. & Anderson, P.E. (2003). Emotional
Longevity: what really determines how long you live. New York:
Viking.
7) Sinha, R. (2008). "Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and
Vulnerability to Addiction." Annals
of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 1141, pp.
105-130.
8) McEwen, B.S. (2004). "Protection and Damage from Acute and
Chronic Stress: Allostasis and Allostatic Overload and Relevance to the
Pathophysiology of Psychiatric Disorders." Annals
of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 1032, pp.
1-7.
9) Vgontzas, A.N. et al. (1997). "Chronic insomnia and activity
of the stress system: a preliminary study." Journal
of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 45, pp.
21-31.
10) Fox, K.R. (1999). "The influence of physical activity on
mental well-being." Public
Health Nutrition, Vol. 2, pp.
411-418.
Source: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/understanding-chronic-stress.aspx
If you find yourself in a stress cycle, do not give up! There are many tools for managing stress and finding freedom from it. Here are some tips from the APA to help you become more in touch with your stress triggers and learn to gain control over your life (they are quite compatible with Ayurvedic healing philosophy!):
Understand how you stress.
Everyone experiences stress differently. How do you know when you are stressed? How are your thoughts or behaviors different from times when you do not feel stressed?
Identify your sources of stress.
What events or situations trigger stressful feelings? Are they related to your children, family, health, financial decisions, work, relationships or something else?
Learn your own stress signals.
People experience stress in different ways. You may have a hard time concentrating or making decisions, feel angry, irritable or out of control, or experience headaches, muscle tension or a lack of energy. Gauge your stress signals.
Recognize how you deal with stress.
Determine if you are using unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking, drinking alcohol and over/under eating) to cope. Is this a routine behavior, or is it specific to certain events or situations? Do you make unhealthy choices as a result of feeling rushed and overwhelmed?
Find healthy ways to manage stress.
Consider healthy, stress-reducing activities such as meditation, exercising or talking things out with friends or family. Keep in mind that unhealthy behaviors develop over time and can be difficult to change. Don't take on too much at once. Focus on changing only one behavior at a time.
Take care of yourself.
Eat right, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and engage in regular physical activity. Ensure you have a healthy mind and body through activities like yoga, taking a short walk, going to the gym or playing sports that will enhance both your physical and mental health. Take regular vacations or other breaks from work. No matter how hectic life gets, make time for yourself — even
if it's just simple things like reading a good book or listening to your favorite music.
Reach out for support.
Accepting help from supportive friends and family can improve your ability to manage stress. If you continue to feel overwhelmed by stress, you may want to talk to a psychologist, who can help you better manage stress and change unhealthy behaviors.
Information contained in this tip sheet should not be used as a
substitute for professional health and mental health care or consultation.
Individuals who believe they may need or benefit from care should consult a
psychologist or other licensed health/mental health professional. For additional
information on stress and mind/body health, visit the APA Help Center.
Source: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2007/10/stress-tips.aspx
More to come on this topic tomorrow. In the meantime...just breathe.
Thanks for reading.
If a high-paying job is robbing you of your sanity and time with those you love, is it really making you wealthy in the true sense of the word?
Are you living a rich life if you are constantly having heartburn or other stress-related digestive problems?
Are there times when you recognize in hindsight that stress caused you to over-react to a situation, possibly affecting the people you love?
Here are some reminders from the APA about how seriously stress can affect your health:
Understanding chronic stress
Stress is often described as a feeling of being overwhelmed,
worried or run-down. Stress can affect people of all ages, genders and
circumstances and can lead to both physical and psychological health issues. By
definition, stress is any uncomfortable "emotional experience accompanied by
predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioral changes."1 Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost
that provides the drive and energy to help people get through situations like
exams or work deadlines. However, an extreme amount of stress can have health
consequences and adversely affect the immune, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and
central nervous systems.2
How Stress Harms Your Health
In addition, an extreme amount of stress can take a severe
emotional toll. While people can overcome minor episodes of stress by tapping
into their body's natural defenses to adapt to changing situations, excessive
chronic stress, which is constant and persists over an extended period of time,
can be psychologically and physically
debilitating.
Unlike everyday stressors, which can be managed with healthy
stress management behaviors, untreated chronic stress can result in serious
health conditions including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure
and a weakened immune system.3 Research shows that stress can contribute to the
development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and
obesity.4 According to a 2010
survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), health care providers are more likely to advise adults
to reduce their stress levels when they consider their health as fair or poor
than if they rate their health as excellent or good. Some studies have even
suggested that unhealthy chronic stress management, such as over-consuming
"comfort" foods, has contributed to the growing obesity
epidemic.5 The APA survey also found that obese adults were more than
twice as likely as normal-weight adults to have been told by a health
professional to reduce their stress
levels.
The consequences of chronic stress are serious, particularly as
it contributes to anxiety and depression. People who suffer from
depression and anxiety are at a heightened risk for heart disease, with
depression leading to a two-fold increased risk and anxiety a doubling of
increased risk.6 Additionally, people exposed to chronic stress are at a
heightened risk of developing drug addiction.7
Yet many Americans who experience prolonged stress are not
making the lifestyle changes necessary to reduce stress and ultimately prevent
health problems. Research has shown that chronic stress is treatable with
appropriate interventions such as therapy or medication.8
Chronic stress can occur in response to everyday stressors that
are ignored or poorly managed as well as to exposure to traumatic events.
Improving lifestyle and making better behavior choices are essential steps
toward increasing overall health and avoiding chronic stress. If you feel as
though your everyday stress level is impacting your daily routine, reaching out
to a friend and/or relative may help you to work through some of your stressors
and start taking better care of yourself. In addition, eating a healthy diet,
engaging in physical activity and enhancing both the amount and quality of your
sleep may be beneficial.
Managing Your Stress
Studies have illustrated the strong link between insomnia and
chronic stress and, according to APA's
2010 Stress in America survey, more than 40 percent of all adults say they lie awake at night
because of stress. Experts recommend going to bed at a regular time each
night, striving for at least seven to eight hours of sleep and eliminating
distractions such as television and computers from the
bedroom.
The key to managing stress is recognizing and changing the
behaviors that cause it. However, changing the behavior can be challenging.
Taking one small step to reduce your stress and improve your emotional health,
such as going on a daily walk, can have a beneficial effect. Being active is a
small but powerful change you can make to manage stress. Physical activity
increases your body's production of feel-good endorphins, a type of
neurotransmitter in the brain, and helps in treating mild forms of depression
and anxiety. But remember, if a high stress level continues for a long
period of time, it is important to reach out to a licensed mental health
professional who can help you overcome the barriers to living a healthy life and
manage stress effectively. A mental health professional, such as a psychologist,
can help you identify behaviors and situations that are contributing to your
consistently high stress level and assist you in making lasting lifestyle
changes.
Special
thanks to Mary K. Alvord, PhD; Karina W. Davidson, PhD; Jennifer F. Kelly, PhD,
ABPP; and Kevin M. McGuiness, PhD, MS, ABPP-CH, who assisted with this
article.
References
1) Baum, A. (1990). "Stress, Intrusive Imagery, and Chronic
Distress," Health
Psychology, Vol. 6, pp.
653-675.
2) Anderson, N.B. (1998). "Levels of Analysis in Health Science:
A Framework for Integrating Sociobehavioral and Biomedical Research," Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, Vol. 840, pp.
563-576.
3) Baum, A. & Polsusnzy, D. (1999). "Health Psychology:
Mapping Biobehavioral Contributions to Health and Illness." Annual Review of Psychology,
Vol. 50, pp. 137-163.
4) Ibid.
5) Dallman, M. et al. (2003). "Chronic stress and obesity:
A new view of 'comfort food.'" PNAS, Vol. 100, pp.
11696-11701.
6) Anderson, N.B. & Anderson, P.E. (2003). Emotional
Longevity: what really determines how long you live. New York:
Viking.
7) Sinha, R. (2008). "Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and
Vulnerability to Addiction." Annals
of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 1141, pp.
105-130.
8) McEwen, B.S. (2004). "Protection and Damage from Acute and
Chronic Stress: Allostasis and Allostatic Overload and Relevance to the
Pathophysiology of Psychiatric Disorders." Annals
of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 1032, pp.
1-7.
9) Vgontzas, A.N. et al. (1997). "Chronic insomnia and activity
of the stress system: a preliminary study." Journal
of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 45, pp.
21-31.
10) Fox, K.R. (1999). "The influence of physical activity on
mental well-being." Public
Health Nutrition, Vol. 2, pp.
411-418.
Source: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/understanding-chronic-stress.aspx
If you find yourself in a stress cycle, do not give up! There are many tools for managing stress and finding freedom from it. Here are some tips from the APA to help you become more in touch with your stress triggers and learn to gain control over your life (they are quite compatible with Ayurvedic healing philosophy!):
Understand how you stress.
Everyone experiences stress differently. How do you know when you are stressed? How are your thoughts or behaviors different from times when you do not feel stressed?
Identify your sources of stress.
What events or situations trigger stressful feelings? Are they related to your children, family, health, financial decisions, work, relationships or something else?
Learn your own stress signals.
People experience stress in different ways. You may have a hard time concentrating or making decisions, feel angry, irritable or out of control, or experience headaches, muscle tension or a lack of energy. Gauge your stress signals.
Recognize how you deal with stress.
Determine if you are using unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking, drinking alcohol and over/under eating) to cope. Is this a routine behavior, or is it specific to certain events or situations? Do you make unhealthy choices as a result of feeling rushed and overwhelmed?
Find healthy ways to manage stress.
Consider healthy, stress-reducing activities such as meditation, exercising or talking things out with friends or family. Keep in mind that unhealthy behaviors develop over time and can be difficult to change. Don't take on too much at once. Focus on changing only one behavior at a time.
Take care of yourself.
Eat right, get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and engage in regular physical activity. Ensure you have a healthy mind and body through activities like yoga, taking a short walk, going to the gym or playing sports that will enhance both your physical and mental health. Take regular vacations or other breaks from work. No matter how hectic life gets, make time for yourself — even
if it's just simple things like reading a good book or listening to your favorite music.
Reach out for support.
Accepting help from supportive friends and family can improve your ability to manage stress. If you continue to feel overwhelmed by stress, you may want to talk to a psychologist, who can help you better manage stress and change unhealthy behaviors.
Information contained in this tip sheet should not be used as a
substitute for professional health and mental health care or consultation.
Individuals who believe they may need or benefit from care should consult a
psychologist or other licensed health/mental health professional. For additional
information on stress and mind/body health, visit the APA Help Center.
Source: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2007/10/stress-tips.aspx
More to come on this topic tomorrow. In the meantime...just breathe.
Thanks for reading.