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| Path: Main Street > Resources/Library > Research Articles > Feature Article |
Stress 101 - The Basics
By Kristin Duare McKinnon, HBSW, MSW
October 22, 2007Defining stress I define stress as the experience of discomfort. This discomfort can be emotional (affecting our feelings), physical (affecting our body), mental (affecting our thoughts) or a combination of all three.
Stress can be caused by external events - events that are outside of us and seem beyond our control. Stress can also be caused by internal events - our own perceptions or expectations. We all experience stress differently depending on our personalities, life experiences and what is happening around us.
Feeling stress is our body's unique way of letting us know that something is wrong and we need to make a change to feel good again. We are fortunate to have this built-in early warning system and, if we listen to it, we can stay healthy and well. In this regard, stress is a positive in our lives.
Unfortunately, in today's crazy-busy world, we often ignore our body's own warning signs. We learn to adapt - or so we think - to a stressful lifestyle rather than taking steps to reduce and control our stress.
The danger of ignoring stress is that it can become chronic or neverending. Chronic stress causes actual physical changes in our bodies that leave us more vulnerable to depression, poor health and chronic illness.
Managing stress
The best place to start managing your stress is to take the time to understand it. The next time that you begin to feel "stressed out", try taking these steps:1. Stop yourself from reacting - Take deep breaths or count to ten instead of reacting on the spot.
2. Get away from the stressful situation - Leave the stressful situation for a few minutes. Be creative if you have to - excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, if that's what it takes!
3. Wind down - Stress sets off physical reactions in our bodies. Take time to wind down. Try some more deep breaths or go for a short walk or drive.
4. Take inventory - Once you have calmed down, take a few minutes to think over what happened and why you felt "stressed out." Try to look at the situation as objectively as you can to determine the real cause of your stress. (We humans have a nasty habit of taking either total responsibility for a stressful situation or none at all - though reality is usually somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.)
5. Write it down - If you can, write down a short summary of what happened. This should only take a couple of minutes. Getting things down on paper can help you to understand the issues and to recognize any patterns of stress in your life.
6. Tackle the real problem - Figure out what you can do and how you can change your reactions to avoid the same stressful situation from happening in the future. Dealing with stress - especially chronic stress - is not always as easy as 1-2-3. However, taking these steps will give you a place to start in recognizing and understanding the stress in your life.
Online Resources
What is stress?Kristin writes for Community Living Kawartha Lakes; for more of her articles visit the Community Living website at www.communitylivingkl.ca.
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