Stress is any factor that threatens our physical or mental well being. Such factors can be imagined worry about the furure or real financial problems. It is not the factor itself that is damaging but the response to it. 

Two Types of Stress

Some people have very stressful lives but manage stress so that it does not affect them whereas for others even the slightest worry can have damaging consequences.

Positive- This is nessecary for some people because it helps them perform to the best of their abilities. It helps them to concentrate and focus on the important tasks ahead

Negative- This causes us to respond by worring, panicking or losing our concentration

The body has always had to respond to stress. Historically its known as Fight or Flight. This is when serval systems shut down and the body works to conserve energy to enable movement and escape. Adrenaline rushes into the body to warn of impeding danger and the heart rate increases, the blood vessels contract, increasing blood pressure for the digestive functions shut down and the muscles contract. If the perceived danger is then either removed or escaped from the stress response has achieved its aim and the body relaxes. However, usually, it is not easy to get away from the cause of the stress. Most stress factors are no longer responded to with activity. It is very hard for an office worker to run away from an annoying problem or collegue. As a result the body remains tense and cannot relax. It is this unusual response mechanism which is damaging.

​If a person continues to feel stress in response to external factors but does nothing to either remove the cause or to respond to it differently the stress reaction can be damaging. The body remains in a state of alert and eventually this will have a physical effect on the systems concerned. 

There are many symptoms of stress some of which include

Headaches, insomnia, Racing or palpitation, trembling, sweating, recurrent infections, butterflies, diarheora, and constipation. Some of the long term effects of stress are depression, cancer, stroke, general deterioration in health, angina and heart disease. 

​Stress cannot be cured because threats to our well being will always be around us

If stress is managed it is no longer damaging

Lets say someone is stuck in traffic. One driver may become enraged whereas another will accept it as a normal situation in a busy area.

The first driver is responding to stress the second is managing it. However the factor itself is still the same.

Learn to respond in a healthier way!

Use relaxation techniques

We cannot just tell ourselves to relax, we have to learn via relaxing activities

Walking 

Seeing friends

Going to the cinema

Specific breathing exercises

Visualization

Massage