STRESS MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATION

Stress is simply a pressure or a strain that tends to distort a body. Most stress used to be physical and short-term. Now in modern times, stress is usually emotional and long-term. What does this mean?

All living creatures experience short-term, physical stress almost continuously. Finding food, adapting to weather changes, reproducing, and growth are examples of common, short-term stress situations. As soon as we find our food, or adapt to the season, or reproduce, then the physical stress brought on by these states is eliminated—it was temporary and for a short-term. This type of stress is normal, natural, and perhaps even beneficial. Without a certain amount of stress, no change, progress, or growth would ever take place. We would be in continuous state of stagnation unless we experienced temporary feelings of stress.

When these stressful situations become long-term, however, then harm results. Also, when the stress becomes more emotional or mental and less physical, we have a harder time of dealing with it. Why? Because the responses to physical stress, such as intense hunger, are already learned. The body has its own way of handling physical stress, and it knows how to best compensate for the temporary demands placed on it.

On the other hand, emotional stress brought about by uncertainties, or feelings of helplessness are difficult to handle. We haven’t learned yet how to deal with the type of stress produced by overdue bills or individual shortcomings. And, unlike physical stress, these long-term, stressful emotional states and fears can last for weeks, months, or even years.

The Effects of Stress

You already know how stress affects you personally, perhaps it makes you feel tired, fatigued, nervous, or depressed. Stress may make you feel as if the weight of the world was on your shoulders. Emotionally, stress may make us prone to anger, irritability, or even tears. No matter how you personally react to stress, however, the physiological effects of stress are the same for all living creatures. What happens to your body when you experience stress? What are the physiological responses by the body to physical stress:

• An increase in arterial pressure.

• An increased blood flow to the muscles with a decreased blood flow to the organs.

• An increased rate of cellular metabolism throughout the body.

• An increase in blood glucose.

• An increase in glycolysis in the muscles.

• Increased muscular strength.

• Increased mental activity.

The overall effect of these responses is to let you perform far more strenuous physical activity than would otherwise be possible. Why is this? Because if a stressful, threatening, situation is present, then you would probably need to flee from it or fight it. This is called the "fight or flight" reaction because an animal in a physically stress-state decides almost instantly to stand and fight or to run.

So far, stress doesn’t seem to have that destructive an effect, and it doesn’t—if it is short-term physical stress. When stress becomes prolonged and internalized, however, it has decidedly negative results upon the person’s health.

What Is the Stress Reaction?

It is amazing that almost any type of stress can cause the same reaction in the body. Scientists often refer to two kinds of stress: physical and neurogenic (caused/affected by the nervous system).

An example of physical stress is being exposed to extreme cold. An example of neurogenic stress is the worry that you won’t be able to pay your winter heating bill. A vital body can quickly adapt to physical stress. Neurogenic stress, worry or tension, however, may take their toll.

Regardless if the stress is in the body or in the mind, the same physiological reaction takes place in the body. The most noticeable effect of any type of stress is a marked increase of hormone secretion in the body.

The hormone known as ACTH (or adrenocorticotropic hormone) is released in large quantities whenever stress is present. This ACTH substance activates the secretion of cortisol. Cortisol, in turn, enhances the production of adrenal androgens in the adrenal cortex. The net effect of all these secretions caused by stress is to provide a sharp and immediate stimulus to the adrenal glands.

The adrenal glands sit right above the kidneys, and control many functions. Perhaps you’ve heard of athletes or other people speak of the “adrenalin rush.” Adrenalin is the most powerful stimulant known. Stress causes adrenalin to be released, and we consequently feel “stimulated.” If we are constantly overstimulated by stress, we become burnt-out and incapable of responding to true stress situations.

When some people drive in heavy city traffic or experience other intensely stressful situations, their adrenal glands may actually “ache” or hurt from the constant stimulation being received. An older gentleman who complained of lower backaches while commuting in rush-hour traffic believed he had kidney problems. In reality, his adrenal glands were just being overworked by the stress of commuter traffic.

This is the danger in the stress reaction. You can be under stress or overstimulated almost continuously. No one can run on “high’ speed all the time, and the body eventually suffers.

The type of stress that can provoke this adrenal reaction is widely varied. Researchers have discovered, however, that the following situations are sufficiently “stressful” to spark a high ACTH release, which means the body becomes highly stimulated.

The Types of Stress That Cause Physiological Reactions:

1. Intense heat or cold.

2. Injections of any sort.

3. Surgical operations.

4. Trauma of any type (physical or emotional).

5. Pain

6. Any debilitating body crisis.

7. Emotional outbursts or anxiety attacks.

It seems as if stress is all around us, and its sustained effects can wear us down and make us vulnerable to negative thoughts and poor living habits. But there is hope. Natural health, which is based entirely upon our natural adaptations, provides the correct basis for living that allows us to withstand stress far better than if we transgress our own biological requirements and nature. The natural health approach to stress management, even long-term and emotional stress, is three-fold: Exercise, Proper Diet, and Relaxation. These are three of the essentials of health and well-being.

Exercise

Stress causes the sympathetic nervous system to prepare for immediate physical action. The muscles become charged with fuel and the entire metabolism quickens. Unless this excess energy is released through exercise, it can overload and “burn out” the body’s nervous system.

If stress becomes habitual and no exercise is taken, then the excess energy is internalized as tension within the muscles. When this occurs, the muscles and tendons themselves shorten and thicken. Excessive connective tissue is deposited, and a general consolidation of all the tissues occur. In other words, holding in the stress and tension has destructive effects on the muscles of the body.

When you exercise vigorously, you dispel this muscular energy in a natural and beneficial way. After all, stress produces the “fight-or-flight” reaction. If we can quite literally “run away” from stress by jogging or other forms of exercise, then we use the energy created by stress in a constructive manner.

Diet

Diet and nutrition play an important role in stress management. By simply avoiding destructive foods and following a wholesome diet, you can withstand normal stressful situations in a cheerful and optimistic fashion. A junk food diet, on the other hand, can make us crumble under the slightest bit of tension. Why is this?

A strong and healthy nervous system is our first defense line against stress. Good nerves and a steady disposition allow you to shake away stress and handle tension effectively.

Why do people use food as a refuge from stress? Food is a very reassuring substance. Our earliest memory of security go back to being fed by our mother. Feeding or eating, then represents a way back to security.

Food or digestion, is also used to deaden the feelings of stress. When the body is loaded down with a mess of food to digest, the mind becomes cloudy, dull, and desensitized. Food is used as a drug to obliterate feelings of tension, obsession, despondency, or stress.

Eating while under stress is actually one of the worst things you can do. Under any type of stress—physical or mental—the digestive faculties are inhibited and digestion ways suspended. What this means is that if you eat when suffering from stress, indigestion will surely result. A favorite quote from Dr. Herbert M. Shelton is: “Whenever you are uncomfortable in body or mind, skip the next meal.” A fast allows the body to rebuild itself and strengthen the nervous system. The result of proper diet and occasional fasting is you receive immediate “stress relief”.

A proper diet, coupled with exercise can be your best partner in stress management. But there is another important factor in effective stress management, and that is: relaxation.

Relaxation

Some people have so much stress in their daily lives that the only way they can release it is by grinding their teeth in their sleep. Some patients have to wear plastic in their mouth when they go to bed so they won’t grind the teeth down to the bone. Worry, strain, and stress exhaust the nervous system more rapidly than physical activity, producing such danger signals as tension, irritability, and a tendency to worry over trifles. If we neglect the necessity for adequate relaxation and repose, we have no chance to replenish our energies or repair our worn tissues.

But how can we relax if we are feeling stress? The trick is to relax before stress develops and tension sets in. After all, doesn’t it make more sense to use relaxation as a preventive treatment for stress instead of as a “curative?”

Just like regular exercise and a sustained good diet, relaxation and rest should be a normal daily activity that you engage in—whether you need it or not! Modern life can sometimes fool us that we have no time or no need to relax. We feel that we can handle anything, and we take on more projects, more work, and more responsibility. Eventually, the body that has been continually deprived of rest, and relaxation will rebel, and illness may result.

As far as stress reduction goes, it makes absolutely no difference which relaxation method you use. The important thing is that the relaxation be total: both body and mind must be free from tension and stress.

Consciousness about your diet, daily exercise, and a relaxing outside interest is all that is needed to turn a person's stress-filled life around.

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