It has been said that, "The difference between a smart person and a wise one is that a smart person can work his or her way out of a difficulty that a wise person will not get into in the first place." This blog post should somewhat help you to be wise, that is to prevent stress in the first place-but recognizing that stress is unavoidable- it can also help you to be smart that is, cope better with the stress you have encountered.
Let's first gain some knowledge on Stress. Look at the different definitions and theories...
What Is Stress?
Some vocabulary...
General definition- A psychological and physical response of the body that occurs whenever we must adapt to changing conditions, whether those conditions be real or perceived, positive or negative.
Although everyone has stress in their lives, people respond to stress
in different ways. Some people seem to be severely affected while others
seem calm, cool, and collected all the time.
Regardless, we all have
it.
So, There are different kinds of stress. Keep in note, There are the bad stressors and the good stressors. There is 'eustress', when good things to which one has to adapt and that could lead to a stress reaction. Like a job promotion. Then there is the bad stressor, 'distress', when bad things which one has to adapt and that could lead to a stress reaction. For an example, the death of a loved one.
Then there is the very common one, 'Fight-or-flight response', the bodies stress reaction that includes an increase of heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol.
Then you have, 'General Adaption Syndrome', which contains the three stages of stress reaction, described by Hans selye, As seen as below...
1. Alarm phase: The person becomes aware of the stressor/threat and, as a result, physiological arousal occurs (increased heart rate, muscle tension, increased blood pressure, etc).
2. Resistant phase: The person attempts to respond to the stressor/threat.
3. Exhaustion phase: Long-term exposure and response to the stressor/ threat result in the depletion of adaptation energy.
Theories
Life- Events Theory
Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives
that "demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is
able to mobilize." In less formal terms, we feel stressed when we feel
that "things are out of control."
Our ability to cope with the demands upon us is key to our experience
of stress. For example, starting a new job might be a wholly exciting
experience if everything else in your life is stable and positive. But
if you start a new job when you've just moved into a new house, or your
partner is ill, or you're experiencing money problems, you might find it
very hard to cope.
How much of this does it take to push you "over the edge"? Not all
unusual events are equally hard to deal with. For example, compare the
stress of divorce with that of a change in responsibilities at work.
Because of this, you need to be able to rate and measure your total
stress score appropriately.
The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), more commonly known as
the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, was created to do just that. This tool
helps us measure the stress load we carry, and think about what we
should do about it.
The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale
In 1967, psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe decided to
study whether or not stress contributes to illness. They surveyed more
than 5,000 medical patients and asked them to say whether they had
experience any of a series of 43 life events in the previous two years.
Each event, called a Life Change Unit (LCU), had a different "weight"
for stress. The more events the patient added up, the higher the score.
The higher the score, and the larger the weight of each event, the more
likely the patient was to become ill.
The Stress Scale
To score your stress levels, simply check the box in the right hand
column next to all the events that have happened to you in the last
year. Your score will automatically update.
This table is taken from "The Social Readjustment Rating Scale", Thomas H. Holmes and Richard H. Rahe, Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
Volume 11, Issue 2, August 1967, Pages 213-218, Copyright © 1967
Published by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to
reproduce granted by the publisher.
This scale must not be used in any way to cause harm to an individual's professional career.
Note: If you experienced the same event more than
once, then to gain a more accurate total, add the score again for each
extra occurrence of the event.
Score Interpretation
| Score |
Comment |
| 300+ |
You have a high or very high risk of becoming ill in the near future. |
| 150-299 |
You have a moderate to high chance of becoming ill in the near future. |
| <150 |
You have only a low to moderate chance of becoming ill in the near future. |
What You Can Do About This
If you find that you are at a moderate or high level of risk, then an
obvious first thing to do is to try to avoid future life crises.
While this is clearly easier said than done, you can usually avoid
moving house, for example, close to when you retire, or when one of your
children goes off to college; you can learn
conflict resolution skills
to minimize conflict with other people; you can avoid taking on new
obligations or engaging with new programs of study; and you can take
things easy, and look after yourself.
Hardiness Theory
The hardiness theory of
stress underscores that individuals react to stress differently.
Suzanne C. Kobasa et al. (1985) believes that hardiness, that is,
perceiving stressful life events as challenges than
threats,
serve as buffer to stress. For example, one person may perceive of
being fired from job as a major stressful problem, while another may see
it as an opportunity to get a vacation and find better pastures. This
theory, therefore, adds a third element in the stimulus-response
interaction – the perceptive buffer – besides stressors and stress
reactivity.
Social Support Theory
The social support theory of stress underscores that besides the perceptive buffer, stressed individuals can turn to available
social support
systems and resources to reduce the impact of stressors and avoid being
stressed. J.C. Overholser, W.H. Norman and I.W. Miller (1990) believe
that stress occurs only when social support systems and resources are
not enough to dissolve the threat of stressors. For example, only those
students who are not ready in their class experience stress over a pop
quiz, or that scholars are stressed more over an average grade than
non-scholars.
Statistics
How Americans Experience stress
Following are the most causes of stress in our society along with the effects of stressors.
Which ones impact you the most?
What causes Stress?
Money: 81%
The economy: 80%
Family Health problems: 67%
Family Responsibilities: 64%
Housing costs: 62%
relationships: 62%
Personal health concerns: 61%
job stability: 56%
Personal Safety: 48%
What are the effects of stress?
Genral Effects:
Irritability or anger: 60%
fatigue: 53%
Lying awake at night:52%
Physical Effects:
Headache: 47%
Upset Stomach: 35%
Muscular tension: 34%
Change in sex drive: 19%
Teeth grinding: 17%
tightness in chest: 16%
feeling dizzy: 15%
change in menstrual cycle: 10%
Erectile dysfunction: 10%
Psychological effects:
Lack of interest/motivation: 49%
Feeling nervous or anxious: 49%
Feeling depressed or sad: 48%
Feeling like crying: 40%
Nutrition Vs Stress
First off we know that certain food substances can produce a stress like response, that other provided by foods can be depleated by stress and that certain stress related illness can be exacerbated by dietry habits. We also know that feelings of stress can lead to poor nutritional habits. People who have low self esteem in particular, those who feel badly about their physical selves-may take darastic measures to imporve their bodies some of these measeures lead to anorexia nervosa and bulimia and cause stress in and out of themselves.
Anorexia Nervosa- An eating disorder in which a person takes in so few calories as to potentially sttarve him or herself.
Bulimia- An eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging food such as including vomiting or ingesting a laxative
Recognize that they sometimes result when a person feels distressed about his or her body.
Nutrition is very important, and to be nutritionally healthy, you must have a balanced diet. Ingesting too much or too little of particular nutrients can lead to illness that in and of themselves can cause a great deal of stress.
Here is a picture of the food Pyramid...
Also, here is a picture of your BMI table (Body Mass Index). This shows you the healthy weight you should be at. Use it as if it were a multiplication table. Being overweight or underweight is a very common stressor.
Behavorial Principles of weight loss that you should follow.
1. Stimulus control
A. Shopping
1. shop for food after eating
2.shop from a list
3.avoid ready-to-eat foods
4. Don't carry more cash than needed for items on shopping list.
B. Plans
1. Plan to limit food intake
2. subsitute exercise for snacking
3. Eat meals and snack at schduled times
4. Don't accept food offered by others
C. Plans
1. Store food out of sight
2. Eat all food in the same place
3. Remove food from inappropriate areas in the house.
4. Keep serving dishes off of the table
5. Use smaller dishes and utensils
6. Avoid being the food server
7.Leave the table immediately immediately after eating.
8.Don't save leftovers
D. Holidays and parties
1. Drink fewer alcoholic beverages
2. Plan eating habits before parties
3. Eat a low-calorie snack before parties
4. Practice polite ways to decline food
5. Don't get discouraged by an occasional setback.
2. Eating Behavior
1. Put fork down between mouthfuls
2. Chew thoroughly before swallowing
3. Prepare foods one portion at a time
4. Leave some food on the plate
5. Pause in the middle of the meal
6. Don't get discouraged by an occasional setback
3. Reward
1. Solicit help from family and friends
2. Help family and friends provide this help in the form of praise and material rewards
3. Utilize self-monitoring records as basis for rewards
4. Plan specific rewards for specific behaviors (Behavioral contracts).
4. Self Monitoring
(Keep diet diary that includes)
1. Time and place of eating
2. Type and amount of food
3. Who is present/how you feel.
5. Nutrition education
1. Use diet diary to identify problem areas
2. Make small changes that you can continue
3. Learn nutritional values of foods
4. Decrease fat intake; increase complex carbohydrates
6. Physical Activity
A. Routine Activity
1. Increase routine activity
2. Increase us of stairs
3. Keep a record of distance walked each day
B. Exercise
1. Begin a very mild exercise program
2. Keep a record of daily exercise
3. Increase the exercise very gradually
7. Cognitive Restructuring
1. Avoid setting unreasonable goals
2. Think about progress, not shortcomings
3. Avoid imperatives such as "always" and "never"
4. Counter negative thoughts with rational statements
5. Set weight goals
Noise Vs Stress
Anyone whom has roomed with a noisy person, worked in a noisy office, or tried to study with a party going on in the next room can attest to the effect of noise on ones level of stress. Noise can raise blood sugar, increase heart rate, and lead to muscle tension. Noise has been found to be related to job dissatisfaction and result in irritation and anxiety. Noise can result in sleep disturbance, headaches, and hypertension. Most disturbing is noise that constantly changes in pitch, intensity, or frequency. We may become used to more common and stable noise and almost ignore it. People who live near airports, for example, seem not to hear the air planes after a while. However, just because you have become accustomed to a noise or are able to tune it out doesn't mean you are not being affected by it. Noise is measured in decibles. At 85 decibels, stress responses usually develop, and prolonged exposure to sound above 90 decibels can result in hearing damage. Of course, depending on ones level of concentration and the task being performed, even low levels of noise can be bothersome. To reduce noise level, you can...
1. Use cotton or ear plugs if your job requires exposure to loud noises.
2. Sit as far away from the performers at loud rock, symphony, or band concerts.
3. Learn to enjoy music at home at a moderate volume
4. Put drapes over the windows to reduce street noise
5. Choose acoustical tile for ceilings and walls when building a house or adding a room
6.Use carpeting or select an apartment with carpeting in all rooms adjacent to other units
7. Keep noise-making appliances away from bedrooms, den and living room.
8. Select home sites or apartments away from truck routes, airports, business, and industrial areas.
How Loud Is Too Loud?
Decibels Common Sounds
150 Firecracker
120 Ambulance Siren
110 Chainsaw, rock concert
105 Personal stereo systems at maximum level
100 Wood shop, snowmobile
95 motorcycle
90 power mower
85 Heavy city traffic
60 Normal Conversation
40 Refrigerator humming
30 Whispered voice
Well everyone that's it for now, I will post more about stress as soon as possible. Hope this has helped!!!
Yours truly,
Krista Clingenpeel
