What is Stress?
Stress is the term used to describe a state of being in which humans cannot respond or adjust to certain situations; a stressful situation could occur emotionally, physically, or psychologically. Stress is often related to having too much to do, to having too many expectations, or to having a short deadline. There are plenty of demands that can create stressful situations.
Stress is actually a normal reaction in the human body, and everyone experiences it at one time or another. When we feel endangered or our bodies feel threatened, the human nervous system kicks into overdrive. Adrenaline is released when the nervous system kicks in, and that causes the body to go into a small state of shock. Blood pressure increases, the heart beats faster than normal, and your alertness, focus, and strength might increase as a result of stress. All of these factors prepare the body for the flight or fight phase, which allows you to either rise to the occasion (fight) or deny the challenge (flight).
How Stress Affects Your Life
It is normal to have a little bit of stress in your life. However, stress becomes a problem when you are completely overwhelmed and can't function because of it. There is a reason why stress is directly related to certain health factors in the human body! The most common side effects from stress include high blood pressure, emotional disorders, headaches, and sleeplessness. When you are under a lot of stress, it's common for the body to pump blood faster, for the sweat glands to produce more sweat, and for the appetite to decrease due to the digestive system being shut down. Even though appetite might decrease, weight gain is a common issue among high-stress individuals.
Types of Stress
There are several different kinds of stress, and the major types are eustress, distress, acute stress, hyper stress, hypo stress, and chronic stress.
Tips for Managing Stress
Do you think you are stressed? There is an online quiz that can tell you about your personal lifestyle. Take the Stress Quiz and discover your true stress levels. It's important to manage stress in a healthy and timely fashion, because untreated stress can result in life-threatening illnesses and severe mental problems. There have been many studies that show a direct relationship between exercise and stress, and they suggest that active people effectively reduce their stress levels. Meditation is another popular stress reliever. The resources below can provide more help with stress management:
Stress Management
Exam time stress management tips
How to deal with job stress
How to relieve stress for customer service reps
Inspired by Office Space: 5 things every office needs to reduce stress
Stress balls! How to de-stress at work
Stress management: basic principals
Stress management tips
Tip for managing stress
What is stress?
Why do stress balls make such great promotional items?
What to do to relieve stress
