Stress: Defined and Managed

Stress is a part of everyone's life, and in this fast paced world it's beginning to take over our health. How we manage our stress determines it's effect on our health.  Stress is our body's physical and mental response to the changes and challenges of our lives.  The key to managing stress is to determine the stressor, break it down, and move on.  This correlates to acute stress and chronic stress.  Acute stress can be categorized as daily stress or short-term stress like the weather, running late, or stubbing your toe.  Chronic stress is long term stress like living with disease, grief, or post traumatic stress disorder.  Chronic stress should be discussed with a health professional (doctor/therapist) or support group for proper management.

Symptoms of stress can be physical, mental, or emotional.

Physical	Mental	Emotional
Tightness in chest	Difficulty making decisions	Tense
Trouble sleeping	Forgetfulness	Grump
Upset stomach	Trouble concentrating	Impatient
Constipation	Making errors	Hopelessness
Exhaustion	Repetitive thoughts	Hostile
Backache	Desire to “run away”	Easily upset
Accidents or injuries	Continued boredom	Lonely
Unexpected tears	Confusion	Feeling sad

So what happens in the body to trigger these symptoms? When the body goes into fight or flight mode, the adrenal glands produce cortisol.  Cortisol is the stress hormone.  High cortisol levels contribute to rapid aging, sleep deprivation, abdomen weight gain, loss of libido, anxiety, and weakening of the immune system leading to disease.

Stress will occur in everyone's life, but there is a healthy way to manage it.  First break it down with the 5 W's.  Who, What, When, Where, Why? Defining the stressor will help you to break down the stress. Once you understand what is stressing you out, you will be able to see it for what it is and deal with it.

Act, don't react.  Take a deep breath and pause before responding to stress.  Tell yourself "Everything is fine. I can handle this."  Believing you are ok will aid in preventing the body from engaging in the fight or flight response.

Think positive.  Accept that change is natural in life.  Try not to worry about the unknown.  Eliminate unnecessary obligations and stay organized by using a planner.

Mediate.  Sit with your eyes closed and focus on nothing.  Keep your mind still for 10 minutes a day.  Create your mantra word and say it to yourself to refocus if your mind drifts.  Meditation conditions the mind to remain still through out the day, thus minimizing racing thoughts and stress.

Don't forget about you.  Make "me time" a priority.  Whether it's watching your favorite show, having a piece of dark chocolate, drinking a glass of wine, or taking a bubble bath.

We are all trying to do our best in life, but life is stressful.  I hope this article has helped you to understand what stress is and that it can be managed.  At Blendah Babes we believe health is happiness, and managing stress is a huge part of this equation.