My wife and I have been watching the events in the US as they unfold
and we both feel for our American friends as they move along a path that is
bringing change. Change is part of life, but when change happens too fast it
can cause stress. We all know what excessive stress can do to your
energy.
Dr. Barnet Meltzer, who is perhaps the most renowned doctor of
preventative medicine in the United States said, “Stress is the tax you pay for not taking 100% responsibility for
your life.”
There are many schools
of thought about what stress means, here are two ideas to think about.
The first idea is:
1.
Many
of us consider stress to be something that happens to us, the event could
be an injury or a promotion, falling in/out of love.
2.
Others
think that stress is what happens to our bodies, minds and behaviours in
response to an event (e.g. heart pounding, anxiety, or nail biting).
Interesting ideas however, I believe that while stress does
involve events and our response to them, the event is not the most important
factor. The most important factor, in my mind, is our thoughts about the
situations in which we find ourselves.
A threat is not just a
physical threat, the threat could be to our ego, our self esteem, our health or
our energy. Stressors that tend to affect seniors are the loss of a loved one;
too much unstructured time on your hands; a change in relationships with
children; or a loss of physical abilities, such as vision, hearing, balance, or
mobility issues.
We all experience a little stress from time to time. It's not so
hard to handle when we're young. But as we age, coping with stress isn't as
easy anymore.
The classic stress response is fight, or flight. The body reacts the same for every event we
call stressful. The following is from Dr.
Wilsons webpage on how the stress response works:
Every event you experience, whether it’s a sleepless
night or an argument, may trigger a dual chain reaction that prepares you to
physically respond to the stressor. An initial alarm reaction happens before
you’re even aware of it in which your brain and sympathetic nervous system
directly stimulate your adrenal glands to produce epinephrine (adrenaline) to
prepare every part of your body for immediate “fight or flight”.
This is quickly followed by a stress response
regulated through your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. It begins with
a message from the hypothalamus in your brain and results in the secretion of
adrenal stress hormones that prepare every part of your body to sustain “fight
or flight” as long as necessary. In order to accomplish this, adrenal hormones
are able to affect every cell and system in your body and brain.
This routine isn't harmful if it occurs once in a
while. But if you put your body through those paces frequently, or even
constantly, you may suffer a cascade of dangerous and sometimes lasting effects
such as high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression,
insomnia, heartburn, indigestion, and an increased risk for heart disease.
As we age, our body response differently to stress, and the
symptoms may take longer to get over and may cause other problems for us. Symptoms
of stress may include tension headaches, indigestion, heart palpitations, poor
concentration, sleep difficulties, anxiety, irritability, crying, or
overeating.
A big part of stress management focuses on triggering the opposite
of the stress response: the relaxation response, which helps lower blood
pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen consumption, and stress hormones.
Techniques to elicit the response include yoga, tai chi, meditation, guided
imagery, and deep breathing exercises. Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty
of exercise are also important, as is nurturing yourself by pursuing activities
that bring you joy, and making time to socialize.
Additionally, not all situations that are labelled "stressful"
are negative. The birth of a child, being promoted or moving to a new home may
not be perceived as threatening. However, we may feel that situations are
"stressful" because we don't feel fully prepared to deal with them.
All situations in life
can be stress-provoking, but it is our thoughts about situations that determine
whether they are a problem to us. How we perceive a stress-provoking
event and how we react to it determines its impact on our health.
We may be motivated and invigorated by the events in our lives, or
we may see some as "stressful" and respond in a manner that may have
a negative effect on our physical, mental and social well-being. If we always
respond in a negative way our health and happiness may suffer. By understanding
ourselves and our reactions to stress-provoking situations, we can learn to
handle stress more effectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment