Stress Part 2

Virtually everything that happens to us has the potential to be a stressor. Some common causes of chronic stress include:

1. Time, 2. Responsibilities, 3. Personal problems, 4. Work, 5. Lack of sleep, 6. Bottled up emotions, and 7. Pressure of finances.

What makes an enormous difference is the management of these sources of stress. By management, I mean how one internalizes what happens to us. Internalization of stress is a process and the process is shaped by our attitudes. Some of these attitudes can lead to an increase in stress and include:

1. Worrying about situations we can’t control

2. Not seeing choices that are available to us to manage difficulties

3. Inability to successfully access the importance of certain outcomes

4. Unrealistic expectations

5. Being overly self-critical

6. Ignoring positive feedback from friends, partners, loved ones

7. Expecting a neat and easy solution

8. An all or nothing approach

Bearing these in mind, at PsychotherapyWorks our model of treatment includes a  number of important interventions that, once practiced and rehearsed over time, can replace stress management strategies that are not working.  Such strategies include:

1. Refuting irrational beliefs of all kinds

2. Practicing positive self talk

3. Limiting comittments so that one is not overworked

4. Learning to relax

5. Using exercise to release tension

6. Learning appropriate time management

7. Learning how not to over-magnify events.

8. Learning the value of play for everyday success and happiness

Some reminders along the way:

1. Don’t sweat the small stuff

2. When managed well, it’s all small stuff

In the final analysis, too little stress makes for a boring, frustrating and basically unproductive life. Too much stress can leave us overwhlmed, irritable, exhausted and sometimes even sick. Just enough stress helps us feel motivated, excited, creative, energized, and vital.

Stress effects everybody, young children, children, adolesecents, young adults, and adults, couples, and the elderly. At PsychotherapyWorks we have used original and well researched methods to treat stress in all these populations. Check out our web site and let us know what you think.

Stress Management 101/Part 1: What is stress?

Recently I gave a talk on Stress for local professionals in the Northern Virginia area and since it was so well received it seemed a natural progression to make the data all the more available through this blog.

Its true that in my work as a psychologist I am every day working on the fundamentals of stress management. It’s not uncommon for me to say when life gives you lemons make lemonade, and then to help clients learn the simple ways in which they can shift their attitudes and behaviors about events, and experience real change in their experience of stress.

So, let’s define stress. First, stress is the body’s effort to cope with danger in life. At the most basic level, the physiology of stress is the body’s reaction to danger, change, boredom, frustration, anger, and fear. Overall, whatever is outside of the normal patterns of our daily experience, whatever tends to intrude into our lives in ways that shake things up, can be the cause of stress.

During the experience of stress, the muscular system prepares for one of two things: fight or flight. Not properly managed over the long term, stress can result in back pain, headaches, arthritis, and other muscular difficulties.

To manage the intensity of the fight or flight response, the Glandular System helps us by providing adrenaline, epinephrine, and other hormones so that we can rise to the occasion and meet the challenges implied in the stressor. However, if we don’t really manage stress well enough, what we find is that over time gastric problems, ulcers, and other intestinal difficulties can occur.

Another physiological phenomena associated with stress is related to the Autonomic Nervous System. This system regulates the parts of our bodies that work automatically: the heart beats faster, breathing becomes shallow, digestion slows, and as these processes occur, the body prepares for fight or flight. Because autonomic responses are implied in the stress reaction, the failure to handle stress appropriately can result in a variety of cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, and nervous conditions, all of which can effect the quality and quantity of life.

Overall, stress is more than anything a fact of life and thus we are required to work on developing methods of managing stress that work for the preservation of the best quality of life possible (not only for ourselves, but also for our families). So, the central concept for managing stress is maintaining a deliberate and constant focus on the quality of life, ensuring that one is, in fact, pursuing work, love, and recreation that is satisfying, challenging, and fulfilling.

Thus, when it comes to stress, one cannot totally control events. And the good news is that you don’t have to. Rather, it’s important to know that the key to stress management is not controlling events, but controlling ones reaction to events and the stress that is produced. That said, there’s a basic stress equation. Stress is the byproduct of two things: an event and a reaction to the event. So the equation reads this way: An event + A reaction = Stress. The take home message is that stress is not simply something that happens to us. The cause or event may actually be neutral. It is one’s reaction to an event that creates the stress.

In this posting we have examined some of the physiological attributes of stress and explored the stress equation in order to answer the question: What is stress? Next week, we will look at the causes of stress specifically and ways to strategically manage stress.