What is Stress?

Many surveys have shown that adult Americans are under more stress today than ten to twenty years ago. A recent Prevention magazine survey found that almost 75% of people feel they have "great stress" at least one day a week. While one out of three said they feel this way more than twice a week. In a similar survey done 15 years earlier only 55% of people said they felt under great stress on a weekly basis.
It has been estimated that 75-90 percent of disease in this country is caused by or related to stress. Attacking the weakest part of the body, stress can cause damage to the following:

• Respiratory system
• Gastrointestinal tract
• Immune system
• Cardiovascular system

Coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, sudden cardiac death and heart attacks can be directly related to a person's level of stress and how their body handles the stress.

The body's response to stress is somewhat like a jet getting ready for take-off. Almost all bodily systems (the immune system, the lungs, the blood vessels and heart, the digestive system, the sensory organs, and brain) go through changes to prepare for the stressful event.

External and Internal Stressors

People can experience either external or internal stress.

• External stressors include physical conditions (such as pain or hot and cold temperatures) or stressful environments (such as poor working conditions or abusive relationships).
• Internal stressors can also be physical (infections, inflammation) or psychological. An example of an internal psychological stressor is intense worry about a harmful event that may or may not occur.

Acute or Chronic Stress

Stress can be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic). Acute stress is the reaction to an immediate threat, also known as the fight or flight response. First, the stress hormone adrenaline is released. Then the heart beats faster, the breath quickens and blood pressure rises. The average American can experience this fight or flight stress response an average of 30-60 times per day.

This constant state of alarm causes blood sugar and blood pressure levels to rise. Over time high levels of blood sugar and high blood pressure can cause the inner linings of the arteries to weaken, which can lead to the development of heart and vascular disease.
Some studies have also shown a correlation between increased stress levels and increased cholesterol levels.

Acute Stressors

Examples: Noise, crowding, isolation, hunger, danger, infection, imagining a threat, and remembering an emotional event.

Often times when an acute threat has passed the response becomes inactivated and levels of stress hormones return to normal. This is called the relaxation response. At other times when the threat is on-going and the urge to act (to fight or to flee) must be suppressed. Stress, then, becomes chronic.

Chronic Stressors

Examples: On-going high pressured work, long-term relationship problems, loneliness, and persistent worries.

The word stress often refers to outside events. Actually stress is not the event itself, but the response to it. This is why it is important to understand how stress affects the body and the best ways to deal with it.

Everyone has some stress in their lives. Some people tend to have more stress than others. Being cut off in traffic, missing a deadline, and slow lines at the grocery store are all examples of daily stressors. Studies have shown that it is important to spend at least 10-15 minutes each day doing something that is enjoyable and relaxing to help reduce stress levels. Some examples include 10-15 minutes of:

• Reading
• Walking
• Doing crossword puzzles
• Listening to music
• Exercising
• Working on a favorite hobby
• Deep Breathing
• Guided Imagery (i.e., picturing yourself relaxing in the sun on a deserted tropical island)

Choose something that you enjoy and helps you to relax.

6/23/2008