Stressors seems to be increasing in today’s fast-paced society. When we think of stressors, life events such as financial pressure, death of a close relative, family conflicts or work deadlines come to mind. Actually, a stressor may be almost anything which adversely affects us: Exposure to heat or cold, environmental toxins, caffein, alcohol or drug use, certain foods, lack of exercise, conflict ted relationships, as well as strong emotional reactions. Stressors can compel individual to smoke, drink, take drugs, and overeat. They can induce back problems, skin disorders, respiratory infections, and circulation problems. Stress lowers resistance to illness and weakens the immune system (Dacher, 1991). Our response to stress is as individualized as our fingerprints. For some, a constant stream of minor hassles - traffic tie ups, spilled coffee, or misunderstanding with coworkers - take their toll. Others can ignore these little things but are incapacitated by major stressors like the breakup of a relationship or the onset of a medical illness.” Many people may experience physiological (muscle tension, headaches, stomach problems, chest pains), emotional (irritability, sadness, poor concentration, anxiety), and behavioural (social withdrawal, procrastination, slow work performance) symptoms indicating that they need to “slow down and de-stress”. Sperry and Carlson recommends ten strategies for managing stress.
1. Mindfulness and Relaxation: “Relaxation techniques counteract the negative effects of stress by inducing its opposite reaction, relaxation. When a state of relaxation is achieved the body is calmed: heart rate and blood pressure is reduced, the heart beats more effectively, and breathing decreases as oxygen demand is reduced. Chronic distraction is an early warning sign that you are overstressed. Present moment awareness - also called mindfulness - is the opposite of distraction. The state of relaxation and mindfulness can be achieved by practicing the following strategies on regular, daily basis.”
2. Breathing as a Stress Breaker: “You might be surprised to learn that although we each breathe about 20,000 times each day, most of us halt our breathing for several seconds or ore at the start of and during a stressful situation. Dacher (1991) reports that this reduces oxygen to the brain and can result in feelings of anxiety, anger, pain and a general sense of loss of control. Yet, evening non-stressful moments most of us breathe inefficiently and unhealthily. We engage in shallow, upper chest breathing. Such inefficient breathing results in fatigue, diminished brain power, and weakened health.” We can improve the way we breathe with abdominal or diaphragm or belly breathing, so learn this deep breathing technique.
3. Stress-Free Sleeping: “Research report that many of us are suffering from chronic sleep deprivation. We either don’t get enough sleep, o r we sleep poorly. Poor sleep causes irritability, anger, job errors, slower healing and lowered immunity.” To achieve quality and restful sleep, the following can be helpful: (1) create a regular sleep pattern by going to bed and getting waking up at the same time, (2) regular exercise, (3) wise eating including avoidance of alcohol and caffeine three hours prior to bedtime, (4) use your bed for sleeping only with no watching of television, (5) before sleeping engage in relaxation by engaging in relaxation exercises, and (6) create an optimal sleep space with a firm mattress, good room temperature, quiet and dark which is ideal for sleeping.
4. Stress-Free Diet: “The fact is that the food - and food additives and preservatives - we eat over a lifetime has a major influence on our health and wellbeing.” Therefore, it is important to have healthy nutrition: (1) eat a diet with variety (grains, vegetables, fruits, protein, dairy), (2) eat small portions (small meals and light snacks 5 to 6 times per day), (3) limit fat intake (remove excess fat, read the label), (4) reduce cholesterol (limit foods high in saturated and trans fat , leaner meats, plant-based options), (5) eat your meals slowly and in a relaxed way (avoid eating on the run and stressful eating), and (6) drink water (suggested 6 to 8 glasses a day because dehydration can decrease cognitive and mental functioning, cause tiredness).
5. One-Second Emergency De-Stressor: “In the Performance Edge, Dr. Robert Cooper (1991) describes a simple stress-breaking strategy called the Instant Calming Sequence (ICS) which can effectively neutralize negative stress in less than one second. This five-step strategy will help keep you calm and in control of your thoughts, feelings and actions in the midst of most any stressor of high pressure situation. The calming sequence reverses these responses: Uninterrupted deep breathing inlace of the halting shallow breaths, a positive, slight smile in stead of the worrisome look, full balanced posture and a wave of relaxation in place of the tensed slouch, and mental control replacing your negative or fearful thoughts.”
6. An Optimistic Outlook: the impact of stress in our lives also depends on our perception of the stressor and do we have a pessimistic or optimistic view. “Pessimists blame themselves for negative stressors, believing the negative will last along time and affect many aspects of their lives. Optimists on the other hand, tend not to blame themselves or if they do see negative stressors as having only short-term impact and limited consequences. Martin Seligman (1991) research notes that “individuals with highly pessimistic views have increased susceptibility for depression, illness and premature death, while meow optimistic individuals appear to be more protected or stress-proofed against these susceptibilities.” He indicates that two ways to address pessimistic beliefs is to engage in distraction and disputing them.
7. Expand Support System: “Research has repeatedly demonstrated the link between the strength of positive personal relationships - called social support system - and our emotional and physical resilience under severe stress. In fact, when stress levels are high, people without psychological support suffer up to ten times the incidence of physical and emotional illness as those who have a strong social support system.” People can expand their social support network by nurturing current relationships (stay connected, quality time), build new connections (join a group, volunteer), and discontinue relationships that add stress to your life.
8. Positive Relationship Skills: “Poor relationship skills probably account for more distress and dissatisfaction in marital and other close relationships than any other cause. Dinkmeyer and Carlson (1989) list several relational skills that are necessary for effective, harmonious relationships. These include: developing honest, congruent communication, developing a process for resolving conflicts.” It is important to engage in “effective communication which is the ability to share your feelings and understand the other’s feelings.”
9. Increased Job Control: “Job related stressors may affect your more than you realize. This is largely due to the increasing influence work has on our lives today. We usually identify ourselves with what we do - ‘I’m a teacher.’ We are likely to spend more hours in our work than any other activity, including sleep. Most of our friendships may be at work. Furthermore, nearly 80 percent of all couples are dual-earner or dual-career families. Job strain is a term used to describe the particular stressors of a given job. The most job strain occurs in jobs which have high demand and low control. Karasek and Theorell (1990) review the health effects of job control”, and they noted that “workers with low job control were five times more likely to develop heart disease and three times more likely to develop hypertension than those with high job control.” It is suggested that ways of enhancing job control can include speaking with your employer about performance standards, flexible working hours, decision making, and redesigning the job; but, if there is little change, consider a career or job change.
10. Rest-Breaks to De-Stress: “A normal part of everyone’s 24 hour Sleep-Wake cycle is a series of rest activity cycles of approximately 90-120 minutes. During the first hour or so of each cycle we experience heightened physical and mental alertness and energy in which our skills, memory and learning abilities are heightened (“peaks”). For the next 15-20 minutes our performance drops to low levels “troughs” during which we may yawn, become easily distracted and feel like napping. It is during this down period that body-mind revitalization can occur, if we allow it. Unfortunately, most of us override this signal for rejuvenation setting the stage for stress ranging from fatigue to psychosomatic problems. Rossi’s (1991) research shows that even heeding this signal for a few minutes during the down phase of our ten or more daily Rest-Activity cycles greatly enhances physical and mental well being and will increase your resistance to stress.” Try taking a 3-minute stress break (i.e., take a couple of deep refreshing breaths, be in the moment, stretching exercises, drink a glass of water).
Reference
Sperry, L. & Carlson, J. (1993). The basics of stress management. CMTI Press, Bowling Green, KY.