Stress

Stress – What is it?

“Stress” has become a widely used and yet poorly understood term. It is used to describe everything from being a bit tired to being frantically busy at work.

But stress – real stress – is a medical phenomenon, and one which is extremely debilitating to those who suffer it.

Most of us are able to cope with minor stresses, like having a “bad day” or a minor car bingle. However under prolonged difficult circumstances (extremely busy job, death in the family, relationship breakdowns, financial problems) stress can take a hefty mental and physical toll.

How stressful a situation is often varies from one individual to the other – some people appear able to cope better than others. Some factors include:

• How severely it affects you

• Whether you have experienced anything like this before

• Whether you can control what is happening

• How long the event effects you

• How important the outcome is to you

• Whether you have friends and social support to help you cope.

When we feel under stress our body kicks into high gear to deal with the threat. Heartbeat, breathing rate and blood pressure all go up. It diverts energy away from other vital bodily processes to cope. The longer the period of stress, the more serious the physical repercussions.

Symptoms of stress can include fatigue, anxiety, tension headaches, sleep disturbance, poor concentration, restlessness and irritability. Left unchecked, chronic stress can manifest as depression, drug abuse (including problem drinking), ulcers, hair loss, panic disorders, impotence, dermatitis, even heart disease.

What can be done?

Stress Management
The first step is identifying the stress factors. Is it something you can control/change? For example if work hours are the problem, is there a possibility of reducing the hours to part-time? Managing my time better/ delegating? Having a set night out without the kids every fortnight.

Secondly, identify negative patterns and replace them with positive ones. How you are reacting to stressful situations is just as important as the situations themselves. Is there any way you could look at it differently? For example, adding perspective: “will this matter in ten year’s time?” or looking at the positive side: “I am working hard to pay off my home, which will make me happy and secure.”

Counselling
Sometimes professional help is needed to work through stress management issues. Reactions to stressful situations are often ingrained and difficult to break out of. Grief and sudden major life changes are also better talked over with someone who knows how to help. Your doctor or local community health centre can help by referring you to an appropriate counsellor.

Relaxation & Exercise
Meditation can be extremely useful; however you cannot find time for structured lessons, simple relaxation techniques can also work. Try closing your eyes for 10 minutes, listening to your breathing and focusing on relaxing the different muscle groups in your body. Build up to 20 minutes a day.

Mind-body exercise like yoga may help – yoga has been found to have many health benefits, including normalising blood pressure and increasing feelings of happiness and wellbeing.

Any kind of exercise is a terrific stress buster, helping produce endorphins – the body’s feel-good chemicals – and lowering cortisone, the body’s stress chemical. Swimming, team sports, cycling, walking or jogging are all good alternatives.

Balanced Diet
A diet packed with plenty of whole grains, low fat dairy, fruit and vegetables, lean meat and omega-3 rich fatty fish should ideally supply the perfect nutritional balance to help the body cope with stress.

However many people under stress are also under time constraints and the “ideal” diet is difficult to achieve. Stress also increases demands for certain nutrients (ie. B group vitamins) which may not be met in the average diet.

Therefore a supplement including the following may be useful.

B-vitamins
B group vitamins play an essential role in stress management. They help produce energy, keep the nerves healthy and help promote regular sleep patterns. People who are agitated or anxious use more B vitamins as they use up energy. Deficiency can lead to anxiety, irritability, depression and fatigue. The B vitamins include vitamin B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12.

Magnesium
The body also excretes magnesium during times of stress – deficiency can cause further fatigue, headaches and anxiety, and lead to a range of health complications. Magnesium also helps relieve muscle tension and is also important to restful sleep.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is also important, especially for smokers, as well as calcium and potassium.

Herbal Remedies
Valerian is considered nature’s most powerful sedative – it is non-addictive, does not interact with alcohol, and has very few side effects.

Although useful as a sleeping aid, it can also be taken during the day to settle the nerves and calm the body without causing sedation. Studies have shown that valerian taken daily for six weeks significantly reduced symptoms of stress.¹