Stress:
Anxiety and Stress II
Definition of Stress
II
Stress Article II
Emotional Stress
II More Stress II
Teen Stress
Anxiety and Stress-Travelers Together
By Coty D. Miranda
Anxiety and stress. Stress and Anxiety. A case of which came
first, the chicken or the egg.
And like that proverbial conundrum, if you really think about it,
what does it matter which came first because they are both very
tangible. Very there. Veritable hand in hand travelers in time.
Okay, forget the chicken and the egg. Let’s settle on what really
counts right now - anxiety and stress often do show up in our
daily lives with related results; and dealing with them requires
our attention. Often anxiety precedes stress, though it isn’t
always the case.
I have found various definitions of anxiety to be very revealing.
Funk and Wagnalls defines anxiety as “disturbance of mind
regarding some uncertain event; misgiving, worry.” Websters says
anxiety is a “ painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind, usually
over an impending or anticipated ill.”
So anxiety is our fear or fears of what will occur. That in turn
prompts our familiar friend stress to kick it up a notch, with
apologies to Emeril.
Of course we all know of times in our own lives, or in the lives
of others, when stress amped the anxiety quotient, prompting fears
of an event or ill that might or might not materialize.
Ah, being human is an interesting journey, is it not?
Now let’s take a look at some stress definitions, though in our
warp speed world, we hardly need it defined because we know it so
well, usually on a daily basis. In his book, “Psychological Stress
and the Coping Process” psychologist/author Richard Lazarus says,
“Stress arises when individuals perceive that they cannot
adequately cope with the demands being made or them or with
threats to their well being.”
British psychologist Stephen Palmer, who is also the Director for
the Centre of Stress Management in London, says stress occurs
“”when pressure exceeds your perceived ability to cope”.
But what are we to do when anxiety and/or stress threaten us? We
must take action, because studies have shown again and again that
to ignore the symptoms of stress/anxiety may lead to further
physical and emotional problems such as headaches, high blood
pressure, heart disease, insominia, ulcers, rashes and stroke.
Here a few suggestions to help you with coping skills;
Exercise. Recent research reported by the American Psychological
Association into the effect on neurochemicals involved in the
body’s stress response show exercise may improve our mental health
by helping our brain better cope with stress.
“Preliminary evidence suggests that physically-active people have
lower rates of anxiety and deptression than sedentary people” said
a recent APA report. “Biologically, exercise seems to give the
body a chance to practice with dealing with stress. It forces the
body’s physiological systems, all of which are involved in the
stress response, to communicate much more closely than usual.”
And it would seem, exercise opens up this communication system in
very interesting ways.
“The cardiovascular system communicates with the renal system,
which communicates with the muscular system. And all of these are
controlled by the central and sympathetic nervous systems (cq),
which must also communicate with each other,” says an article
drawn from studies by Rod K. Dishman, University of Georgia and
Mark Sothmann, Indiana University’s School of Medicine. “The
workout of the body’s communication system may be the true vale of
exercise the more sedentary we get, the less efficient our bodies
in responding to stress.”
Pretty interesting observations! I know when I first read these
reports, I knew my daily walking regimen was helping me get
through my day – physically and mentally.
And I believe if you exercise while doing something you enjoy, it
is even more beneficial.
We
also recommend
Extress,
a homeopathic and nutrition supplement that is exceptionally
effective in providing the body with the nutritional requirements
which aid the body during periods of stress, tension, anxiety,
minor phobic reactions and complaints of generalized patterns of
anxious discomfort.
The natural ingredients in Extress complement the body's natural powers
to reduce stress and anxiety. The specific doctor-formulated Extress
formula naturally diminishes emotional sensitivity and mood
swings, calms and focuses attention, relaxes muscles and reduces the possibility of stress-induced head pain and muscle aches.
Extress also helps diminish hyperactivity, aggression and anger
outbursts.
