Posts Tagged ‘stress management’

Stress is part of life. There’s just no escaping it. There are good forms of stress and bad forms, but it’s always with us in one way or another.

Acute stress – also known as fight-or-flight response, is an anxiety disorder. It occurs when we experience either a real or perceived threat to us. The perceived threat can be physical in nature, such as a speeding car 100 feet away bearing down on us or a black bear 100 yards away from our camping tent. Or the threat can be emotional as a mother might feel as she’s waiting for the hospital to call regarding the fate of her husband or child that is lying on a hospital operating table.

The hypothesis of acute stress response is not new. It’s been around since at least the 1920’s. When acute stress response occurs, the body experiences many changes. The blood vessels constrict which causes blood to drain away from the skin and leading to the expression “he was white as a ghost” as a way of describing somebody who has just experienced a frightening event. The drained blood, and oxygen, flows into the muscles, lungs, and large muscles – strengthening them all. The heart rate increases enabling blood to be pumped to the various body organs faster. And the pupils of the eye becomes dilated allowing for sharper vision.

In addition to the above symptoms, the adrenal glands secrete the “stress hormone” cortisol which floods through the body. Cortisol has an immediate and dramatic effect on the body. Reflexes are heightened, immunity is increased, sensitivity to pain is decreased, and the body is suddenly filled with energy and ready to run or fight.

According to traumatic stress treatment centres treatments, prime candidates for acute stress are soldiers returning from war. Many of the troops coming home from Iraq have experienced high levels of acute stress. Many people in the medical field, such as doctors and nurses, experience this as well.

Acute stress disorder is something a bit more serious. It is something that develops after the initial traumatic event that may have caused acute stress in the person. It’s triggered by the person merely remembering the event. Only a licensed therapist or psychologist can diagnose acute stress disorder, but some symptoms are:

1) Difficulty concentrating – the person may have problems focusing or following a train of thought and may seem as if he is in a daze or fog.

2) Detachment and a decrease in emotional responsiveness – the person may seem emotionally aloof, as if they’ve detached themselves from their feelings in order to avoid further pain.

3) Ongoing Short term amnesia – the person may go into a room to get something but suddenly can’t remember what it was he wanted. Or, he may start to ask you an important question, but can’t remember what he wanted to ask.

In order for symptoms to be classified as acute stress disorder, they must take place within 1 month subsequent to the initial traumatic event. This disorder is very intimately associated with PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is essentially a longer lasting type of acute stress disorder.

Generally stress is considered bad for us. And usually it is. But acute stress or short term stress is a centuries old survival mechanism that helps us to cope with wrenching events in our lives.

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If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, you will be very aware of the intensive sensation of all of a sudden feeling desperate, cornered or maybe sick to your stomach all concurrently. Anxiety panic attacks are common among sufferers of several anxiety disorders. If you are one of these folks, then you know only too well how out of control they make you feel and you in all probability want to put a stop to them. Read on to learn some of the symptoms of panic attacks and how to control them more effectively.

If you are a sufferer of anxiety panic attacks, it is important that you understand exactly what they are and how they occur. An attack starts out when stress and anxiety levels increase to a degree where they are unmanageable by the person who is experiencing the episode. The individual will rapidly descend into a state of panic and fear of surroundings, feeling that they are dying or having a heart attack and even going insane. In effect, the head is telling the body that it is feeling a discomfort that is probably not real. Depending on the severity of the attack, they can last anywhere up to around fifteen minutes. The experience oftentimes causes a vicious cycle where the individual dreads another attack, which simply causes the symptoms to worsen.

Experiencing an anxiety panic attack can send anyone into delirium, and folk with anxiety disorders recognize only too well how crippling they are. Instead of living your life in fear you can learn how to control them. Anxiety panic attacks ordinarily come on unexpectedly to the majority of people, but what if there was some manner you could recognize it was coming. There are particular patterns or triggers present when a person is about to have an attack. If you know these, then you could learn to prevent them. If you find yourself having an attack, then the best thing to do is to make yourself stress free and start mouthing out loud in a positive manner.

If you suffer from anxiety panic attacks, you might like to try utilizing yoga techniques. This form of stress free activity, along with others, such as Tai Chi or other structured exercises, can help relax your brain and often discourage attacks. The same is applicable to listening to music, reading a book, or even spending time with an animal or pet. These activities might be your key to getting rid of the attacks. While panic attacks might never disappear, with a little training and a few stress free skills you might be able to avoid them in many cases.

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Workplace stress is as inevitable as death and taxes. Most people will experience stress in the work place on a regular basis. Some occupations have high levels of stress associated with them. Health care and law enforcement workers, for example, experience daily stress as a part of their everyday working life. Workplace stress can be reduced by identifying those situations which trigger it and reducing your exposure to those situations.

Common workplace stress triggers include:

Rude co-workers

An unprofessional, tactless, or rude co-worker can cause a lot of stress in your working environment. Considering the number of people that we are required to interact with on a daily basis to perform the duties of our jobs it is guaranteed that a clash of personalities will eventually occur. The goal is not to let an aggravating co-worker affect your work performance.

There is a lot of be said for ignoring problem persons. Most of the behaviors we find irritating are just that, irritating, but not devastating. Learning to accept the annoying behaviors of others as out of your realm of influence and unworthy of response is crucial to your ability to perform your job’s duties.

If this tactic doesn‘t work, try discussing the problem with them directly. There are times when they may be unaware of the way their attitude comes across to others. An open and honest conversation can be a simple solution that brings down the stress level immediately.

If direct confrontation does help quell the bad behaviors contact you supervisor. State your complaints in writing in a formal tone. Make sure to explain what behaviors are bothering you and how they are affecting your work performance. Try to avoid emotional pleas and high temper complaints. Remain factual and offer supporting information and your superior will most likely side with you and assist in rectifying the situation.

Poor Management

If unprofessional co-workers are unpleasant to deal with then poor management has to be twice as stressful. The options for dealing with poor managers are more limited, but there is no reason to let poor management style give you stress or anxiety. As will co-workers ignoring the behavior is the first and most preferable option.

If that doesn’t work, then you’ll have to go over their head to someone else and tell them what’s going on. Take down some notes of your complaints and share it with an HR person or whomever is suitable to discuss them with.

Most companies do not want the hassle and expense of employing new staff. In most cases, if the offenses of the manager are valid they will take steps to correct the behaviors and resolve any problems. Do not allow poor management to cause you undue stress. Always take action.

Huge Workload

Trying to manage an unreasonable workload will certainly cause a lot of anxiety. Accept only the amount of work that you can deal with in a given period of time. Take any assistance offered by co-workers and return the favor when they need help. Working together can have far reaching rewards.

Discovering, reducing, or eliminating workplace stress where possible is a positive step towards having a fulfilling and productive work experience. Stress in the workplace is inevitable, but correctly managing stress can help prevent job burnout and increase job satisfaction.

Get Josh Murphy’s latest free report ‘Self-Care Boot Camp’ – jam-packed with more great stress relief information at StressReliefTipsWeekly.com. Check out the site for more great info on topis like symptoms of stress as well as a free weekly newsletter that subscribers can’t get enough of!

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