Stress

Just because I’m running around in circles for ten minutes looking for my car keys without realizing that they’re in my left hand all that time does not mean I am undergoing stress. Or does it? The bad thing is that it’s not the first time this has happened in the same week. Ok, so maybe I am working too much and taking too many classes at the same time, but I can handle it! I’ve noticed that I say this to myself a lot. Recently, like I mentioned with the keys incident, I have experienced memory problems and difficulty concentrating along with some moodiness and irritability; I’m normally not like this, honest! So then let me just go ahead and admit that stress is not something that I had ever considered to be a health problem, until now. In my research on stress I came to find that it can actually lead to many serious future health complications. Stress is defined as an organism's total response to events that make you feel threatened or can upset your balance in some way. The body is wired to deal with different types of stress in different ways. The following video provides an illustration of how this works.

How much stress is too much depends from person to person. Some people just roll with the punches while others may crumble at the slightest frustration, which is why it is important to know one’s own limits. People’s ability to tolerate stress depends on several factors like their support network, sense of control, attitude and outlook towards their future. In reading about stress I’ve learned that long term exposure to stress can cause serious health problems like high blood pressure, depression, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and sleep problems just to name a few. While it is practically impossible to eliminate stress from our life, the good news is that we all have the power to reduce the impact of it. With practice we can learn how to stay in control when the pressure builds and recognize when it’s time to give our body a break. I know for me, listening to soft music and a bubble bath works wonders. Knowing that we have the ability to bring ourselves back into balance gives us confidence to keep moving forward in facing new challenges.