How To Cope With Stress Everyday?

8 July, 2009 No Comment

Stress seems to have become an inevitable aspect of our lives and is undoubtedly the biggest adversary of good health. It is identified as the individual response of your body to various stressors or demands placed by environmental, biological and social factors.

Different individuals respond differently towards these so-called stressors that include negative as well as positive situations that require adjustment. Thus, one can experience eustress or positive stress or distress also known as negative stress.

Negative effects of stress:
Stress is considered to be the biggest hurdle that prohibits you from living a healthy and happy life. It exerts immense pressure on one’s coping skills and can be extremely damaging for an individual’s mental as well as physical health.

Research tells us that stress is a high risk factor for various ailments such as depression, anxiety, sexual dysfunction, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and even cancer. It can result in a great deal of psychological and physical problems and can cause frustration, conflicts and irritability. The severity of stress can be analyzed by the degree to which it disrupts the normal functioning of a person.

Stress can destroy your Immune System:
Research tells us that stress can negatively impact your immune system through the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal glands and can result in a severe endocrine imbalance that can crush the body’s immunity.

This can make you prone to diseases to which you would normally be immune. This suppression of the immune system under persistent stress can have long term health complications.

Stress Prevention and Reduction on a day to day basis:
Most of us are gripped by stress to such an extent that we tend to overlook its presence. We might be working late at night or stretching ourselves on more than one occasion, but we need to stop and think… the worst thing we can do to ourselves is toy with our own health and stressful lifestyles are our gateway to shorter lives. If you are looking to beat stress everyday, you need to chalk out a practical stress management program and stick to it religiously.

Try meditation or deep breathing exercises. They help alleviate stress effectively and can be performed in your office as well as at home. Try to get rid of all the negative thoughts and be positive. This helps combat stress and enables you to cope more efficiently under stressful situations.

Another effective way of managing stress is joining a recreational activity or a social group wherein you can interact with others. Talking to a close friend or a loved one after work also helps deal with stress. Indulging in a relaxing bath before hitting the bed and practicing guided imagery is also a great way of combating stress.

You must also learn to identify the various stressors and prepare yourself to handle them accordingly. Learn to prioritize in life. This will help you go a long way in dealing with different situations and will evable you to complete your tasks with ease.