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Thousands of articles have been written about stress. The concept of stress is so central to good mental health that the word appears in our name: the St. Vincent Stress Centers.
Stress is synonymous with modern day life. It is the rare individual who cannot point to one or two areas of stress in his or her life.
We all tolerate stress in different ways. For some of us, a major challenge on the job just makes work more interesting. For others, it’s a reason to stay home in bed. Some of us roll with the punches. Some of us just feel beaten up.
Some stress appears to spur us on to function at our best. A good example is an athlete competing for the Olympics. Some athletes transcend the stress and use it to produce peak performances. Stress is, quite literally, any challenge – and challenges may be positive or overwhelming.
How you adapt to stress is, in part, dependent on how much stress you have had to absorb over time. If you are in good physical and mental shape, a crisis may not seem to bad. If the crisis comes after your car blows up, your suffered your third bout of the flu and have problems at work, one more crisis may seem like one crisis too many.
Short-term stress may trigger anxiety, anger, frustration and impatience. Long-term stress may trigger fatigue, irritability, distractibility and physical symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain or tightness.
Long-term stress, if it is not managed, can seriously affect our physical health. It can precipitate changes in blood pressure, coordination, memory, immune system response, heart function and metabolic rate. Again, response to stress is highly individual. Some of us have "thick skins;" our bodies can take a lot of punishment. Others may have intense physical responses to stress: upset stomachs, bad headaches, increased asthma problems, more colds and flu.
Frequently, we hear that, to minimize stress, we should eat well, get plenty of rest and exercise regularly. However, most of us find it difficult to do those things – even though they make sense and seem relatively simple. When was the last time you had all three of those factors under control? We hear that we should avoid jobs that have lots of responsibility and little control over results. When was the last time you felt could just walk out of a job with those characteristics?
Behavior change -- real, lasting behavior change -- is actually quite difficult. Reading may be a great help. There are many excellent self-help books available on reducing your stress level and changing your habits. If you can "de-stress" yourself on your own, you should do so. Conduct a review of your current stress level and make some changes -- one change at a time -- to lower your stress level.
If you are unable to make changes on your own, consider a stress management class. Sometimes focusing on stress in an organized way gives you an extra boost and supports your efforts. Since your physician, hospital and health plan are interested in your stress level, they are often knowledgeable about community sponsored stress workshops.
If you think that stress is impairing your health or there is so much going on in your life that you can’t don’t know where to begin, you may want to start with some individual therapy. Sometimes we get so swamped that we don’t know where to start or so tired that we give it up as a lost cause. This has nothing to do with your mental strength or worth as a person. Ask the man caring for his wife who has Alzheimer’s or the senior level manager who just lost his job in a merger. It can happen to any of us. An individual therapist will help you organize your thoughts, focus on next steps, and examine any factors that repeatedly "get in the way" of change.
If you think you are suffering from excessive stress, or you have a friend or relative who is suffering from excessive stress, you can discuss treatment options by calling the Stressline at (317) 338-4800.
Disclaimer: This material is intended for the purpose of general education. It is not comprehensive. It will not substitute for the evaluation and intervention of a mental health professional. |
