Stress & Health
What is Stress?
Stress is an event that creates a feeling that you are being threatened. This does not have to be a life or death experience. It could be something as seemingly harmless as waiting in line at the grocery store when you are overdue for an appointment. You perceived that something uncertain is happening and there may be a negative consequence associated with it.
The American Heritage Dictionary's definition of stress is, "A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences...."
We are bombarded by stressful events every day of our lives. Stressful events occurring on a regular basis are considered chronic. More and more the daily course of our lives leads us into chronic stress.
Examples of Chronic Stress
- Too little time to meet all of our demands
- Conflicts with childcare and work
- Conflicts with parent care and work
- Financial strains
- Career challenges and changes
- Disputes with co-workers
- Daily overload and over stimulation
- Traffic
- Deadlines
Think about the chronic stress that impacts your life. You could probably add a few things to this list.
Everyone is different in how they emotionally perceive an event. Often our perception is influenced by other factors. One person who is held up in traffic and has no pressing commitments may be unaffected by the delay. While another person, who is running late, may have a very negative emotional response to the event. It is not necessarily the event but more how we react to it.
There are also events in our lives that are that are more sever in nature and hopefully occur a lot less frequently. These are considered acute stresses.
Examples of Acute Stress
- Loss of a job
- Marital/relationship difficulties
- Financial strains
- Illness of yourself or a loved one
- Death of a loved one
Road Rage
We have all heard about it and we have probably all been the victims of it and we have likely been the perpetrators at one time or another. What is it? Road Rage!
Road Rage has been talked about on the national news, written about in foreign newspapers, and has been subject matter for dinner conversation on many evenings as one recounts their experiences on the road.
What is happening that is causing otherwise mild-mannered people to go crazy on the highways and bi-ways of the world. Stress! It is the effects of stress.
It is not just the stress of driving on roads that are more and more crowded every day or that may be continually under construction or experiencing one type of delay or another, but compound stress.
Our bodies respond to a stress stimulus by physically preparing to either fight or flee. This is not something that we even realize that we do. A very long time ago this was a necessary response for survival, but today, in our over stimulated world, it is a tremendous drain on our emotional and physical beings. Please see our Stress and your Health page for more information.
Carma is a convenient vehicle that allows people to utilize their drive time to reduce stress and its effects and it is an antidote for road rage. Carma's audio program guides you through stress reduction exercises. Each exercise is accompanied by a beautiful piece of music to soothe your mind and body. The whole experience is brought together with our soothing aromatherapy.
Tips if you are the victim of road rage:
Don't add fuel to an already hot fire. Even if provoked don't antagonize the perpetrator.
Don't get out of your car to confront the perpetrator.
If you have access to a phone in your car, call and report the incident. If the police are in the area they will respond. If not you may have to contact your motor vehicle regulating agency. Every state and country is different in how they respond to these actions.
If you are being followed, drive to the closest police station.
If the perpetrator is in front of you drive a little slower to allow them to get away from you.
If you are interested in learning more about road rage try the following sites:
Related Web Sites:
www.drivers.com
- An organization promoting highway safety, training and education
www.nhtsadot.gov
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
How our bodies
respond to stress
A person responds to a stress stimulus by physically preparing
to either fight or flee. This is not something that we even realize
that we do. A very long time ago this was a necessary response
for survival, but today, in our over stimulated world, it is a
tremendous drain on our emotional and physical beings.
When the body responds to stress, known as the stress response,
there are fundamental physiological changes that take place. Your
digestive process slows down, blood pressure rises, muscle tension
increases, heart rate increases, and several other changes take
place. Over the course of time the effects of these changes can
lead to many health problems such as ulcers, a decreased immune
system, headaches, heart disease, cancer, etc.
"Research now indicates that between 70 and 80 percent of all
disease and illness is stress-related, most notably coronary heart
disease, cancer, the common cold, migraine head-aches, some cases
of female infertility, ulcers, insomnia, hypertension and the
list goes on." Chronic stress can also lead to irritability, depression,
and anxiety disorders.
Coping with stress
One way of coping with stress is to identify what triggers stress
and eliminate those events, however; this maybe very unrealistic
for most people. If you are experiencing chronic stress over a
long period of time you may give some serious consideration to
reengineering your life to eliminate those factors. However, without
radically changing your lifestyle there are ways to ease stress
and the impact on your well-being.
Deep diaphragmatic breathing:
This is one of the most effective forms of stress reduction. Deep
diaphragmatic breathing helps regulate the sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous systems; therefore, relaxing the body and aiding it to
return to homeostasis. There are many very simple and beneficial
breathing exercises. Once you learn them you can practice them
anytime and anywhere.
Muscle contraction and release:
When you experience stress your muscles tense up. This is your
body's reaction to your fight or flee response. Often when you
experience chronic stress your body doesn't relax those muscles.
For some people the tension stays long after the event has gone.
This continuous state of muscles tension may result in headaches,
backaches, or pain in other parts of the body. Firmly tightening
the muscle then releasing it aids in the release of muscle tension.
Yoga:
Yoga has long been respected as an effective method of reducing
stress. The Yoga postures are referred to as Asanas. These postures
aid us in letting go of the emotional stress in our minds by focusing
on our physical being. Asanas also help release residual muscle
tension. These physical movements can be helpful in opening blocked
energy paths. Many of the Yoga postures have multiple health benefits.
Breathing exercises, known as pranayama relaxes the nervous system
and has tremendous relaxation benefits.
Meditation:Is a focusing or quieting of the mind and as a result
of the mind body connection meditation is a very effective way
of reducing stress. There are several different ways of practicing
meditation.
Massage: Deep therapeutic massage
aids in releasing tension from the muscles that is the result
of a response to stress.
Visualization / Affirmation: Using
metal imagery, visualization, and affirmations to create a positive
mental depiction is very powerful. These techniques create a positive
perception in your mind and body.
Aromatherapy: Many essential oils
have qualities that aid in relaxation and stress reduction. It
is thought that the aroma from the oils impacts the limbic systems
through the olfactory nerves and creates an emotional response.
These oils can be warmed and diffused through the air, or some
can be massaged into the skin. Please read more about Aromatherapy
each oil has a unique set of characteristics. Some are suitable
in some applications but not in others.
MusicTherapy: "Music is your own experience,
your thoughts, your wisdom…" Charlie Parker. There are many schools
of thought about how and why music helps people relax. It is thought
that the rhythms and vibrations can stimulate or relax the nervous
system.
Acupuncture, art appreciation, writing, physical
exercise, and many more.
There are almost as many ways to reduce stress as there are
to ways to encounter it. What is important is not which techniques
you use, but finding a strategy that works for you and making
the time to practice it.
The Carma Solution
As we have seen there are many ways of reducing stress and relaxing.
Muscular contraction followed by relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing,
mental imagery, herbal aromas, and relaxing music are some of
the most common. These techniques are effective and they really
work. The problem is that even with the knowledge of these relaxation
techniques people generally can't find time to incorporate them
into their busy schedules.
Carma™, is the vehicle to stress reduction. Carma provides
people a way to utilize their drive time to ease stress and live
healthier.
|
