How to handle stress
One of the principle effects of stress, whether it is caused by your reaction to external events, the environment in which you live and work or the food you consume, is the effect on your adrenaline levels.
From an evolutionary point of view, stressful situations prompted the human body to produce adrenaline and created by the "fight and flight" response. This is how the body was designed to deal appropriately with stress when fighting other cavemen or fleeing from sabre-toothed tigers. Today fighting or fleeing is not appropriate - we have to deal with things.
Today the body cannot effectively rid itself of the chemicals it produces as a reaction to stress. Moreover, they build up and modern-day stress can become chronic.
Symptoms include:
lethargy
stomach ulcers
colds
asthma
allergies
sexual issues
Solution: learn to control the way your body and mind respond to stressful events.
1. Take a look at what you eat and drink
Cut down on caffeine and sugar. Caffeine (found in coffee, tea, cola, chocolate), like stress, stimulates adrenaline. Sugary foods raise blood sugar levels and then cause them to plummet as your body releases insulin to restore the balance.
The less coffee you drink, the calmer you will feel. The less sugar you ingest, the more even your energy levels will be.
It makes sense, therefore, to gradually reduce your caffeine and sugar levels.
2. Learn to breathe more calmly
During stressful periods your breathing shifts and you breathe faster and higher in the chest. When you are relaxed you breathe lower and slower. So practise breathing more slowly and you will automatically relax. Practise enough and it will become natural to you in all environments.
3. Use your mind to think yourself out of negative stress
It doesn't help to imagine how badly things could go wrong. The subconscious mind doesn't recognise the difference between reality and fantasy. Imagine a negative outcome and the body will be affected stressfully; imagine things going well, and the body will be relaxed.
A relaxed body can deal better with the situation to come. Imagine things the way you want them to be. You are in control of how you think about things and therefore the way they affect you.
4. Take responsibility
There will be events that are beyond your control. You can, however, control your responses to them. How you deal with events in your life will have a significant effect on your body and will determine whether disease follows. The mind is a powerful asset and using it positively to accept responsibility and take control will alleviate the negative effects of stress.
The facts:
- "On average, stress-related absence costs employers between £530-£545 per employee" - Confederation of British Industry
- "About 270,000 people in Britain take time off every day because of stress" - BUPA
- "Sickness absence due to work related stress costs UK industry around £10 billion annually " - Confederation of British Industry
- "Up to 60% of all absences from work are caused by stress" - Health & Safety Executive
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