Feeling Stressed?
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Fee ling Stressed?
Here are some tips to relieve the pressure of everyday life
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
SUNDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) — You just missed a deadline at work,
you’re supposed to chaperone your son’s school field trip, and your mechanic
called to tell you your car’s transmission is shot.
Stressed to the max?
Everyone experiences stress. And many people are stressed every day. But,
stress isn’t always as obvious as in the example above. In fact, some people
don’t even realize how much stress they’re under until they suffer serious
physical consequences of that stress.
Psychologist Anie Kalayjian, professor of psychology at Fordham University,
said she’s had patients end up in the emergency room, convinced they were
having a heart attack, but instead, it was just the body’s extreme response to
stress.
"If you’re a person running around with high energy or nervous energy, you
may not realize that you’re stressed until you collapse!" said Kalayjian.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, some possible signs
that you’re under too much stress are: Anxiety, back pain, stiff neck,
depression, fatigue, trouble sleeping, unexpected weight changes, headaches,
relationship troubles and high blood pressure.
"People need to start proactively trying to prevent episodes before they
have extreme reactions," recommended Kalayjian.
But that doesn’t mean you should make managing stress just another item on
your "to-do" list, cautioned Gail Elliott Evo, the integrative medicine
coordinator at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.
"We talk so much about stress now. It’s to the point that people are now
feeling judgmental when they experience stress and can’t eliminate it. But,
unless you’re a guru sitting in a temple in Tibet, I don’t think you can avoid
stress. There will be periods where you’ll have stress," she said.
Still, managing stress or reducing it as much as you can is a smart idea,
because constant stress leaves your body flooded with stress hormones, which
can increase your risk of heart attack and other serious health problems.
"Stress causes physical and psychological reactions. It can alter your
sleep. It leaves you constantly in fighting-mode and leaves your immune system
suppressed. You may get sick a lot," Kalayjian said.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to managing stress.
"Some things will be right for one person but not for another. Be open, and
try things. Give something a try, and if it’s not right for you, move on to
something else. You’ll eventually find something that’s right for you," said
Evo.
Some of the approaches she recommends include: Massage, healing touch, yoga,
tai chi, walking, meditation and guided imagery.
Kalayjian said a good place to start de-stressing is with deep breathing.
"One minute per each hour of the day, you need to sit and do nothing but
focus on breathing. No phones, no lists, no responsibilities. It’s almost like
how you recharge your battery for your mobile phone. We need to recharge,
too," she said.
She also recommends exercise. "Don’t wait to feel stressed. Get at least a
half an hour of exercise every day. It gets a lot of the toxins and stressout
of our bodies," Kalayjian said.
Kalayjian also advocates something she calls "journaling."
"It helps to put things on paper and outside of yourself. You don’t have to
store it in your heart, body or mind. When we journal, we let go of things
and that acts as a release," she said.
She also suggests getting organized. "Many people waste 20 percent of their
time looking for things. Try to be organized. Label things. Have organizers.
It seems very mundane, but helps tremendously in saving your energy,"
Kalayjian said.
Evo said many people use a combination of techniques to relieve their
stress.
"Be playful with it. Try different things," she said.
Kalayjian agreed, adding that people need to "learn how to have a sense of
humor, to laugh and make others laugh, too."
Finally, Kalayjian advised that if you try several different methods to
"de-stress" and just can’t seem to relax, you could probably benefit from seeing
a psychotherapist.
More information
The National Mental Health Association offers _tips on coping with stress_
( .cfm) .
SOURCES: Gail Elliott Evo, integrative medicine coordinator, Beaumont
Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich.; Anie Kalayjian, Ph.D., professor of
psychology, Fordham University, New York City; American Academy of
Family Physician’s FamilyDoctor.org Web site
Last Updated: Oct. 9, 2006
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