9. When Does Stress Happen?
Stress
is to be expected when you experience a major life change, such as when
you move, lose someone you love, get married, change jobs, or
experience a big change in financial status, diet, exercise habits, or
health. But you can also expect stress when you get a minor cold, have
an argument with a friend, go on a diet, join a gym, stay out too late,
drink too much, or even stay home with your kids all day when school is
cancelled due to that irritating blizzard. Remember, stress often
results from any kind of change in your normal routine. It also results
from living a life that doesn’t make you happy.
10. Identify Environmental Stressors
Environmental
stressors are things in your immediate surroundings that put stress on
your physical body. These include air pollution, polluted drinking
water, excess noise, artificial lighting, or bad ventilation. You might
also be in the presence of allergens due to the field of ragweed growing
outside your bedroom window, or the dander of the cat that likes to
sleep on your pillow. If you’re experiencing trouble breathing or
sleeping, or you’ve noticed any skin irritations or other physical
issues (headaches, nausea, etc.), you might be in the presence of
environmental stressors.
11. Identify Physiological Stressors
Physiological
stressors are those within your own body that cause stress. For
example, hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy or menopause put
direct physiological stress on your system, as does premenstrual
syndrome (PMS). Hormonal changes may also cause indirect stress because
of the emotional changes they cause. Also, bad health habits such as
smoking, drinking too much, eating junk food, or being sedentary put
physiological stress on your body. So does illness, whether it’s the
common cold or something more serious like heart disease or cancer.
Injury also puts stress on your body; a broken leg, a sprained wrist,
and a slipped disk are all stressful conditions.
12. Distinguish Between Direct and Indirect Stress
Getting
caught in heavy traffic may stress your body directly because of air
pollution, but it may also stress your body indirectly because you get
so worked up sitting in your car in the middle of a traffic jam that
your blood pressure rises, your muscles tense, and your heart beats
faster. If you were to interpret the traffic jam differently—say, as an
opportunity to relax and listen to your favorite CD before work—your
body might not experience any stress at all.
13. Pain Causes Indirect Stress
Pain
is another, trickier example of indirect stress. If you have a terrible
headache, your body may not experience direct physiological stress, but
your emotional reaction to the pain might cause your body significant
stress. Pain is an important way to let us know something is wrong;
however, sometimes we already know what’s wrong. We get migraines, have
arthritis, or experience menstrual cramps. This kind of “familiar” pain
isn’t useful in terms of alerting us to something that needs immediate
medical attention. But because we know we are in some form of pain, we
still tend to get tense. Our emotional reaction doesn’t cause or
intensify the pain, but it does cause the physiological stress
associated with the pain.
14. Be On Time
Are
you always late? Are you perpetually disorganized? This can cause a lot
of stress! Additionally, being late is inconsiderate to those who are
waiting for you. It makes you look bad, and it sets a bad example for
the people who look up to you (people such as your children). The best
way to handle disorganization is to tackle problems one at a time. Let
your tardiness be your first goal. Planning is key. Start getting ready
for anything you have to do about an hour ahead of time and make sure
you have everything you need well before you need it.
15. Tell the Truth
Believe it
or not, the simple act of lying can cause a great deal of stress in your
life. Once you’ve told a lie, you have to keep it up, and that can
affect lots of other parts of your routine. Lying is a habit, not
necessarily a character flaw. Some people find themselves bending the
truth habitually, even if they don’t have a good reason to do so. Truth
telling is a habit, too, and the best way to start is to always pause
and think before you say something. Ask yourself, “What am I about to
say?” And if your answer is something other than what you know to be the
truth, ask yourself, “Is there really a good reason for bending the
truth? What would happen if I simply said what is so?”
16. Decide When Enough Is Enough
You
may not feel like the stress in your life is quite so bad just yet. But
what will happen if you don’t begin to manage your stress right now?
How long will you allow stress to compromise your quality of life,
especially knowing you don’t have to let it? That’s where stress
management comes in. As pervasive as stress may be in all its forms,
stress management techniques that really work are equally pervasive. You
can manage, even eliminate, the negative
stress in your life. All you have to do is find the stress management
techniques that work best for you. Learn them and turn your life around.
