Stress

[sweetnpetite]

(Some information that may help somebody here, that's all)

Six Myths About Stress
Six myths surround stress. Dispelling them enables us to understand our problems and then take action against them. Let's look at these myths.

Myth 1: Stress is the same for everybody.

Completely wrong. Stress is different for each of us. What is stressful for one person may or may not be stressful for another; each of us responds to stress in an entirely different way.

Myth 2: Stress is always bad for you.

According to this view, zero stress makes us happy and healthy. Wrong. Stress is to the human condition what tension is to the violin string: too little and the music is dull and raspy; too much and the music is shrill or the string snaps. Stress can be the kiss of death or the spice of life. The issue, really, is how to manage it. Managed stress makes us productive and happy; mismanaged stress hurts and even kills us.

Myth 3: Stress is everywhere, so you can't do anything about it.

Not so. You can plan your life so that stress does not overwhelm you. Effective planning involves setting priorities and working on simple problems first, solving them, and then going on to more complex difficulties. When stress is mismanaged, it's difficult to prioritize. All your problems seem to be equal and stress seems to be everywhere.

Myth 4: The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the best ones.

Again, not so. No universally effective stress reduction techniques exist. We are all different, our lives are different, our situations are different, and our reactions are different. Only a comprehensive program tailored to the individual works.

Myth 5: No symptoms, no stress.

Absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of stress. In fact, camouflaging symptoms with medication may deprive you of the signals you need for reducing the strain on your physiological and psychological systems.

Myth 6: Only major symptoms of stress require attention.

This myth assumes that the "minor" symptoms, such as headaches or stomach acid, may be safely ignored. Minor symptoms of stress are the early warnings that your life is getting out of hand and that you need to do a better job of managing stress.

Adapted from The Stress Solution by Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D., and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.

http://www.apa.org/topics/topic_stress.html

 

[sweetnpetite]

The Different Kinds of Stress
Stress management can be complicated and confusing because there are different types of stress--acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress -- each with its own characteristics, symptoms, duration, and treatment approaches. Let's look at each one.

Acute Stress

Acute stress is the most common form of stress. It comes from demands and pressures of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. Acute stress is thrilling and exciting in small doses, but too much is exhausting. A fast run down a challenging ski slope, for example, is exhilarating early in the day. That same ski run late in the day is taxing and wearing. Skiing beyond your limits can lead to falls and broken bones. By the same token, overdoing on short-term stress can lead to psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach, and other symptoms.

Fortunately, acute stress symptoms are recognized by most people. It's a laundry list of what has gone awry in their lives: the auto accident that crumpled the car fender, the loss of an important contract, a deadline they're rushing to meet, their child's occasional problems at school, and so on.

Because it is short term, acute stress doesn't have enough time to do the extensive damage associated with long-term stress. The most common symptoms are:
ï emotional distress--some combination of anger or irritability, anxiety, and depression, the three stress emotions;
ï muscular problems including tension headache, back pain, jaw pain, and the muscular tensions that lead to pulled muscles and tendon and ligament problems;
ï stomach, gut and bowel problems such as heartburn, acid stomach, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome;
ï transient over arousal leads to elevation in blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, heart palpitations, dizziness, migraine headaches, cold hands or feet, shortness of breath, and chest pain.
Acute stress can crop up in anyone's life, and it is highly treatable and manageable.

Episodic Acute Stress

There are those, however, who suffer acute stress frequently, whose lives are so disordered that they are studies in chaos and crisis. They're always in a rush, but always late. If something can go wrong, it does. They take on too much, have too many irons in the fire, and can't organize the slew of self-inflicted demands and pressures clamoring for their attention. They seem perpetually in the clutches of acute stress.

It is common for people with acute stress reactions to be over aroused, short-tempered, irritable, anxious, and tense. Often, they describe themselves as having "a lot of nervous energy." Always in a hurry, they tend to be abrupt, and sometimes their irritability comes across as hostility. Interpersonal relationships deteriorate rapidly when others respond with real hostility. The work becomes a very stressful place for them.

The cardiac prone, "Type A" personality described by cardiologists, Meter Friedman and Ray Rosenman, is similar to an extreme case of episodic acute stress. Type A's have an "excessive competitive drive, aggressiveness, impatience, and a harrying sense of time urgency." In addition there is a "free-floating, but well-rationalized form of hostility, and almost always a deep-seated insecurity." Such personality characteristics would seem to create frequent episodes of acute stress for the Type A individual. Friedman and Rosenman found Type A's to be much more likely to develop coronary heat disease than Type B's, who show an opposite pattern of behavior.

Another form of episodic acute stress comes from ceaseless worry. "Worry warts" see disaster around every corner and pessimistically forecast catastrophe in every situation. The world is a dangerous, unrewarding, punitive place where something awful is always about to happen. These "awfulizers" also tend to be over aroused and tense, but are more anxious and depressed than angry and hostile.

The symptoms of episodic acute stress are the symptoms of extended over arousal: persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain, and heart disease. Treating episodic acute stress requires intervention on a number of levels, generally requiring professional help, which may take many months.

Often, lifestyle and personality issues are so ingrained and habitual with these individuals that they see nothing wrong with the way they conduct their lives. They blame their woes on other people and external events. Frequently, they see their lifestyle, their patterns of interacting with others, and their ways of perceiving the world as part and parcel of who and what they are.

Sufferers can be fiercely resistant to change. Only the promise of relief from pain and discomfort of their symptoms can keep them in treatment and on track in their recovery program.

Chronic Stress

While acute stress can be thrilling and exciting, chronic stress is not. This is the grinding stress that wears people away day after day, year after year. Chronic stress destroys bodies, minds and lives. It wreaks havoc through long-term attrition. It's the stress of poverty, of dysfunctional families, of being trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a despised job or career. It's the stress that the never-ending "troubles" have brought to the people of Northern Ireland, the tensions of the Middle East have brought to the Arab and Jew, and the endless ethnic rivalries that have been brought to the people of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Chronic stress comes when a person never sees a way out of a miserable situation. It's the stress of unrelenting demands and pressures for seemingly interminable periods of time. With no hope, the individual gives up searching for solutions.

Some chronic stresses stem from traumatic, early childhood experiences that become internalized and remain forever painful and present. Some experiences profoundly affect personality. A view of the world, or a belief system, is created that causes unending stress for the individual (e.g., the world is a threatening place, people will find out you are a pretender, you must be perfect at all times). When personality or deep-seated convictions and beliefs must be reformulated, recovery requires active self-examination, often with professional help.

The worst aspect of chronic stress is that people get used to it. They forget it's there. People are immediately aware of acute stress because it is new; they ignore chronic stress because it is old, familiar, and sometimes, almost comfortable.

Chronic stress kills through suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke, and, perhaps, even cancer. People wear down to a final, fatal breakdown. Because physical and mental resources are depleted through long-term attrition, the symptoms of chronic stress are difficult to treat and may require extended medical as well as behavioral treatment and stress management.

Adapted from The Stress Solution by Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D., and Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.

 

[sweetnpetite]

Stress: When and How to Get Help
In the workplace and at home, stress and other difficult situations are at an all-time high for many Americans. Being constantly worried about being laid off, or doing the job of two people, can cause serious problems for workers. On the home front, going through a divorce, caring for elderly parents, or dealing with a life-threatening illness are some of the difficult situations that can test a family's coping abilities.

When is it time to ask for help? Here are a few indicators:
ï You feel trapped, like there's nowhere to turn
ï You worry excessively and can't concentrate
ï The way you feel affects your sleep, your eating habits, your job, your relationships, your everyday life

Licensed, qualified mental health professionals can help people address the causes of their distress and teach them effective ways to deal with those causes. Early detection and treatment can head off serious consequences.

 

[rgraham666]

I know all about chronic stress.

I found a solution though. Stay away from most of the human species.

 

[sweetnpetite]

easier said than done.

 

[impressive]

Try This!

Best Stress Management Technique:

1. Picture yourself near a pristine mountain stream.

2. The weather is sunny & warm, with a light breeze.

3. Birds are softly chirping in the mountain air.

4. No one but you knows your secret place.

5. You are in total seclusion from the hectic place called "the world."

6. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air.

7. The water is crystal clear.

8. You can easily make out the face of the person you're holding underwater.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

Re: Try This!

Best Stress Management Technique:

1. Picture yourself near a pristine mountain stream.

2. The weather is sunny & warm, with a light breeze.

3. Birds are softly chirping in the mountain air.

4. No one but you knows your secret place.

5. You are in total seclusion from the hectic place called "the world."

6. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air.

7. The water is crystal clear.

8. You can easily make out the face of the person you're holding underwater.

I love you.

 

[impressive]

Re: Re: Try This!

I love you.

 

[matriarch]

I am passing this on to you because it has definitely worked for me...and we all could use a little calm!!!

By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found inner peace.........

The article read:

"The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started."

So I looked around the house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished.... and before leaving the house this morning I finished ............... a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white, the Bailey's, Kahlua and Wild Turkey, the Prozac, some Valium, some cheesecake and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how good I feel....

You may pass this on to those you feel are in need of Inner peace...

 

[rgraham666]

I am passing this on to you because it has definitely worked for me...and we all could use a little calm!!!

By following the simple advice I read in an article, I have finally found inner peace.........

The article read:

"The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started."

So I looked around the house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished.... and before leaving the house this morning I finished ............... a bottle of red wine, a bottle of white, the Bailey's, Kahlua and Wild Turkey, the Prozac, some Valium, some cheesecake and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how good I feel....

You may pass this on to those you feel are in need of Inner peace...

You may no longer be stressed mat, but your liver and pancreas are not very happy.

 

[SensualCealy]

Impressive,

Your thought process works, I do the same, specially when trying to fall asleep after a stressfilled day.

Friends of ours have a cottage on a lake, all along the front of the cottage are wild flowers. On the bank there is a boat house which has been changed into a very small apartment cottage. Beside it is the dock.

Everytime I need peace, I think of waking up really early to the loons on the lake, sitting on the dock with a coffee and my favourite person. No one talking, just sitting listening to the call of the loons. Pristine beauty and the sound of silents is all the mind needs at times.

I just wanted you to know I copied your post to use at a later date when I may need 'help'!
Thanks Hun
Cealy

ps, I read through your list too quick the first time, didnt see number 8!!! Now that I love~

 

[doormouse]

Impressive,

Your thought process works, I do the same, specially when trying to fall asleep after a stressfilled day.

Friends of ours have a cottage on a lake, all along the front of the cottage are wild flowers. On the bank there is a boat house which has been changed into a very small apartment cottage. Beside it is the dock.

Everytime I need peace, I think of waking up really early to the loons on the lake, sitting on the dock with a coffee and my favourite person. No one talking, just sitting listening to the call of the loons. Pristine beauty and the sound of silents is all the mind needs at times.

I just wanted you to know I copied your post to use at a later date when I may need 'help'!
Thanks Hun
Cealy

ps, I read through your list too quick the first time, didnt see number 8!!! Now that I love~

LMFAO@ your AV!!!!!!!



LOL

 

[SensualCealy]

LOL you are the only one that said anything about it, then I go and change it!

Oh well such is life!
C