It is commonly accepted that Stress negatively influences Health, well-being and level of anxiety.
What is stress?
The Miriam Webster Dictionary’s definition off stress includes, stress is “a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.” and “a state resulting from a stress; especially: one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium <job-related stress> (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stress)
I define stress as CHANGE. Since 1967 the Holmes Rate Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_82.htm) has been considered a gold standard for measuring stress. The SRRS also defines Stress as Change. The more change one has in life (eg. getting married, getting divorced, starting a job, ending a job, buying a house, selling a house, etc.), the higher the stress score and therefore the greater expected anxiety.
Since we all live with the stress of frequent change, especially in these political times, we all live with Anxiety.
Usually, when someone says they are anxious it is taken to mean that they have a psychological problem, like an anxiety disorder or panic attacks. In fact, more than 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, reportedly suffer from anxiety disorders. (Source: National Institute of Mental Health), I propose that, In addition to those folks suffering from a disorder, everyone else over the age of18 years old also experiences anxiety, although it is not so pronounced that it qualifies as a diagnosable “disorder”. A significant percentage of people don’t even know that they’re anxious and would even deny being anxious if it was suggested to them. But my experience as a psychologist has shown me that all psychological defenses are designed to protect individuals from experiencing their normal, underlying anxiety and vulnerability. This is not psychological pathology. This is part of the normal human development of identity and personality.
Since its often not within our control to determine the amount of change or stress we experience from our environment, it behooves us to deal with the inevitable internal consequences of the stresses we do experience.
SUGGESTIONS FOR DEALING WITH STRESS
- Change your thinking: Managing Stress and anxiety is a lifetime proposition, like caring for your teeth. It shouldn’t be something we do every now and then when we are facing a challenging situation. We will therefore benefit from learning to manage our stress for the long run, like brushing our teeth every day. When we don’t brush our teeth we get cavities, or worse. When we don’t manage our stress effectively, over time it will have negative effects on us, physically, emotionally or psychologically.
- Answer the following questions to yourself out loud. “Ways that I know help me reduce my physical stress are….” “What I know helps me reduce my psychological and emotional stress is……”
“What stops me from doing those things which I know make me feel better is….
3. Since we’re talking about developing new life long habits, the best way to succeed is by making small regular increments of change over time, until you achieve the intended results.
Therefore: Identify one small step you can take toward achieving your intended goal, slowly, over time.
Success breed success. Therefore, after succeeding with your first limited goal, such as taking a 3 minute walk every day, you will easily be able to gradually increase the time that you walk over time.
4. Practice a breathing method of your choice so that it becomes a new habit which you can learn to utilize to lower your arousal level after you have become anxious.
5. Learn to meditate, to focus your attention and break your identification with random thought.
Please contact me at 310.299.2804 and I’ll gladly send you an MP3 of “Belly Breathing, Mindfulness and Mindlessness Practice”.
Please send your questions and comments to info@tamingyouranger.com and listen to my podcast at www.shrinkdifferentradio.com