Is Your Stress Impacting Your Family? Importance of Caregivers Managing Personal Stress
As parents and caregivers, we might not always make ourselves a priority. Daily pressures can add up, causing us to stress out. When you do start to stress out, are you able to not only recognize it, but also take steps to de-stress?
A New Year signals a new beginning, so in 2016, let’s slow down and take a look internally at what we can do to understand and lower the levels of stress we experience.
What is Stress?
Stress is your body 's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. When we are stressed, our bodies release chemicals that signal us to react.
Good stress on our body, to a point, increases productivity. However, negative stress can cause the opposite effect on our bodies. In essence, we have a breaking point after which our bodies start to signal that it’s time to pull back and relax: (Photo Credit: Elon.edu)
What Causes Stress?
Stress can be brought on for a number of reasons. It’s also important to note that some instances might impact you much more than the person next to you and vice versa. For example, think about that popular ride at the amusement park. You might freak out and be scared to death about going on a ride. Your palms might sweat, your heartbeat might start spiking and maybe even your breathing becomes intense. However, your friend might be excited, laughing and having the time of his life going on the
Constant worrying – Stress can cause over load on the body and this in turn can cause the body to find it hard to handle things. You start to constantly worry about what is happening and what is going to happen.
Everyone experiences stress in a different way: some shut down while others cry or become frustrated. Moreover, although a instinctual necessity, too much stress can definitely cause problems for one’s physical or psychological well-being. When I get too stressed, for example, my immune system drops which causes me to get sick sometimes even three times in a month. Other times, I just have to take breaks from my responsibilities to prevent myself from breaking down or becoming so exhausted that I cannot finish the task at
The signs of stress are easily recognizable and can present themselves as cognitive, behavioral, emotional or physical symptoms. Therefore when presented with stress one's whole demeanor, attitude and presence can change. Cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms include poor judgment, negative outlook, anxiety, worrying, moodiness, irritability, agitation, inability to relax, loneliness, isolation, depression, lack of concentration and absentmindedness. Physical symptoms include increased heart rate, breathing, energy, blood pressure, cholesterol and production of sweat. Stress can also cause physical symptoms of aches and pain, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, chest pain, upset stomach and headache.
When stressed, we have and increase in heart rate, muscles tense, breathing quickens and you may start to sweat. ¹
Stress is a normal part of life, and there are two different types of stress: Positive Stress and Negative Stress. You might experience stress at work, school, or even at home, and you may feel like there isn’t a way to avoid it. Positive stress is a productive stress that gives you the strength to complete a task (Weaver, 2006). According to Janet DiPietro, a developmental psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Stress is part of the body's reactions. Stress is a natural body response. When the brain perceives something as threating it sends out a surge of hormones that that prepare the body for a challenge. The hormones are able to make you sweat, shake or other symptoms like increasing your heart rate . Our stress response has evolved to help us survive. It is triggered often by something or events that aren't life-threatening. Stress is often created by social media and some man made things.
Stress is a very common everyday thing. People have stress so much that most of the time they don’t even know how much it’s affecting them. Stress can really affect your body, mind, and behavior. It is a normal response to situations that make you feel upset or threatened in a way. Stress is the body’s way of change. The change can either be good or bad.
The feeling of being stressed is caused when the body perceives a threat. During this time, the mind relies on reflexes to aid the body in the flight-or-fight response.
Every day people describe their lives as intense and stressful. There are many causes of stress such as job related, family, and financial. However, there exist multiple types of stress. Nonetheless, stress levels can vary from one individual to the next and remains to be a challenge definitively. According to Colella, Hitt, and Miller (2006) "stress can be defined as a feeling of tension that occurs when a person assesses that a given situation is about to exceed his or her ability to cope and consequently will endanger his or her well-being." Stress is more common today than it ever has been before in our society (Wallace, 2007). Stress is more common to discuss and people are complaining more and
Stress contributes towards depress feelings that affects people physically and mentally. Some of the negative effects that stress has on a person’s life can attribute and trigger disorders, such as bipolar, development of long-term illnesses. It also results to “depression, physical illness, lowered immune system, aggravation of already diagnosed, conditions, fatigue, chronic anger and hostility, risk of hypertension and anxiety and more” (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2010).
As one has seen, positive stress adds anticipation and excitement to life, and we all thrive under a certain amount of stress. Deadlines, competitions, confrontations, and even our frustrations and sorrows add depth and enrichment to our lives. Our goal is not to eliminate stress but to learn how to manage it and how to use it to help us. Insufficient stress acts as a depressant and may leave us feeling bored or rejected; on the other hand, excessive stress may leave us feeling "tied up in knots." What one needs to do is find a safe level of stress, which will individually motivate but not overwhelm them.
Psychologically, stress has an enormous effect on the body, and can affect the way an individual thinks, feels, acts, makes decisions, and relates to others. Mental stress can differ from time to time, and is entirely situationally-dependent; certain stressors will trigger different responses in different individuals.
Stress is one of the number one causes that contribute to people’s health problems. According to Weber.edu, “in Healthy People 2000, a report from the U.S.
We have all experienced some type of stress in our lives, whether we’re aware of it or not. Everyone’s experience with it will be different and there will be a variety of reasons and causes for each individual. While one inconvenience is minor to you it may be enough to send your friend running. This is why it’s important to understand your stressors. The first step in managing your stress is understanding what it is that triggers it.
Stress can make existing problems worse. It is very important to recognize that interaction between the human mind and body represents a critical factor in regarding to health. Illness of any kind disrupts routines and interferes with day-to-day functions, all of which stresses an individual. Stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways, and everyone experiences stress differently. Not only can overwhelming stress lead to serious mental and physical health problems, it can also take a toll on your relationships at home, work, and school.