Good Stress, Bad Stress
We cannot exist without stress. Stress is the body's response to
a perceived threatening situation. It is meant to protect us.
Positive stress allows us to perform at higher levels and to
face challenges in life. We have all heard of situations where
individuals perform unimaginable feats of strength and courage
to save the life of another person. That is positive stress.
This type of stress provides us with the extra physical and
emotional resources needed when our life or the life of someone
we love is threatened. On a smaller scale, positive stress
creates great athletes, allows us to ace a test, speak in front
of an audience or obtain a job promotion. We can face and
overcome all sorts of situations due to positive stress.
Normally when the situation ends our stress levels return to
normal.
However, negative or bad stress has reached epidemic proportions
in the United States. Research has shown that 90% of office
visits to the doctor can be attributed to stress related
symptoms. Most modern stress can be attributed to how we
perceive a situation. Even though we may not be presented with
an actual physical threat, our blood pressure rises, our
heartbeat quickens and our breathing becomes more rapid. Chronic
stress occurs when we are subjected to a host of perceived,
constant, little threats. Some of these can be driving in heavy
traffic, debt, problems in the workplace, problems at home and
unrealistic expectations. Chronic stress affects our organs and
creates a magnitude of health problems. Some of the effects of
chronic stress are heart attack, digestive problems, asthma or
trouble breathing, ulcers, headaches, muscle tension and hair
loss in women. Stress also affects the regulation of insulin
levels which can lead to Type II Diabetes. Some of the symptoms
of chronic stress are heart palpitations, shortness of breath,
back or neck pain, insomnia, skin problems, fatigue, weight loss
or gain and high blood pressure. An overload of stress basically
upsets the balance in our bodies and weakens our immune system.
Therefore, it is important to recognize the symptoms of chronic
stress and learn what to do about them.