General Stress
Stress has become one of those buzzwords typical
of the modern times we live in. It is typically seen as being
a negative conjuring up images of difficulty, chaos etc. Stress
in actual fact is the body’s response to any situation
that necessitates change of one form or another, both negative
and positive. It is the trigger or motivator to move forward,
act or react to a given set of circumstances. Without stress
our lives would stagnate. So if we
need stress in order to progress in life, why the focus on
the negative impact of stress on our lives?
When in a situation requiring change, our
body prepares itself for what is known as a fight or flight
response. A common example used in stress management is that
of facing a lion. If one were to see a lion in the jungle,
your immediate reaction would be of impending danger necessitating
a decision to stay and fight or to run for your life. The
same is true for any situation requiring change, you need
to decide how to continue or respond to the given facts presenting
themselves to you.
The body reads each new situation as impending
danger and thus sets up a hormonal response to ensure that
your body will be in a state ready to react quickly, to be
alert and obtain the result necessary to keep you out of danger.
This includes an outpouring of adrenaline, a stimulant hormone,
into the blood stream. This begins a chain reaction within
your body, together with certain other stress hormones, which
are intended to be protective. the changes include an increase
in heart rate and blood pressure (to get more blood to the
muscles, brain and heart), faster breathing (to take in more
oxygen needed by the brain and muscles for quick reactions),
tensing of muscles (preparation for action), increased mental
alertness and sensitivity of sense organs (to assess the situation
and act quickly), increased blood flow to the brain, heart
and muscles (the organs that are most important in dealing
with danger) and less blood to the skin, digestive tract,
kidneys and liver (where it is least needed in times of crisis).
In addition, there is an increase in blood sugar, fats and
cholesterol (for extra energy) and a rise in platelets and
blood clotting factors (to prevent hemorrhage in case of injury).
Utilizing these changes within your system
at the correct time for the desired response is positive.
For example fleeing from impending danger. More positive examples
include giving a lecture, a presentation, getting married,
moving etc.
When looking at the physiological changes
that occur in the body in response to the body’s concept
of danger or the stress or, it makes sense why repeated stress
will lead to physical changes which if occurring over an extended
period of time results in illness.
The physical changes or symptoms resulting
from stress include but are not limited to: increased heart
rate; pounding heart; elevated blood pressure; sweaty palms;
tightness of the chest, neck, jaw and back muscles; headache;
diarrhea; constipation; urinary hesitancy; trembling, twitching;
stuttering and other speech difficulties; nausea; vomiting;
sleep disturbances; fatigue; shallow breathing; dryness of
the mouth or throat; susceptibility to minor illness, cold
hands, itching; being easily startled; chronic pain and dysponesis.
Emotional signs and symptoms of stress, including
but not limited to: irritability, angry outbursts, hostility,
depression, jealously, restlessness, withdrawal, anxiousness,
diminished initiative, feelings of unreality or over alertness,
reduction of personal involvement with others, lack of interest,
tendency to cry, being critical of others, self-deprecation,
nightmares, impatience, decreased perception of positive experience
opportunities, narrowed focus, obsessive rumination, reduced
self-esteem, insomnia, changes in eating habits and weakened
positive emotional response reflexes.
Cognitive/perceptual signs and symptoms of
stress, including but not limited to: forgetfulness, preoccupation,
blocking, blurred vision, errors in judging distance, diminished
or exaggerated fantasy life, reduced creativity, lack of concentration,
diminished productivity, lack of attention to detail, orientation
to the past, decreased psychomotor reactivity and coordination,
attention deficit, disorganization of thought, negative self-esteem,
diminished sense of meaning in life, lack of control/need
for too much control, negative self-statements and negative
evaluation of experiences.
Behavioral signs and symptoms of stress, including
but not limited to: increased smoking, aggressive behaviors
(such as driving), increased alcohol or drug use, carelessness,
under-eating, over-eating, withdrawal, listlessness, hostility,
accident-proneness, nervous laughter, compulsive behavior
and impatience.
From the above lists doctors have now found
a link between continued stress or stress symptoms and illness
or diseases e.g. heart disease, diabetes, asthma, mental problems,
lack of sleep, loss of resistance to illness, and even allergies,
amongst others. For this reason it is important to learn to
manage our stress and to reduce our stress symptoms.
Some of the methods or reducing stress and
the effects it has on our health include: relaxation, exercise,
diet, forming a healthy sleep pattern, developing good communication
and inter personal relationships, balanced lifestyle, amongst
others.
The bath salts and mud packs offer wonderful
relief of the symptoms by increasing circulation and detoxification
necessary to remove the by products from the stress cycle
thereby freeing your cells from these toxins. They also moisturize
the skin and enhance relaxation of the body, which in turn
enables one to obtain adequate sleep, necessary for regeneration
of the body.
Products to help with Stress Relief Technique
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