Personal Stress Solutions: What is Stress?

Stress is a complex phenomenon. It has been defined in many ways, but simply put, it is the wear and tear of everyday life. As we all know, some days are more wearing and tearing than others and some times it seems there is no letup.

Stress is measurable. Scientists can now:

• Measure the direct effects of stress on the cardiovascular system, the immune system, the endocrine system, the muscular system, the genitourinary system, and the gastrointestinal system.
• Measure the impact of stress on mental and physical health.
• Measure individual susceptibility to stress, sources of stress, and symptoms of stress.
• Measure the effects of stress on corporate profitability.

Stress is a physical and psychological response to perceived demands and pressures from without and from within. To respond to these demands and pressures, we mobilize physical and emotional resources. Too frequent, extreme, or prolonged mobilization strains us and generates distress signals. Our body experiences distress signals in a variety of ways, often in the form of: irritability, anger, anxiety, depression, fatigue, tension headaches, stomachaches, hypertension, migraines, ulcers, heart attacks, or colitis. Eventually, stress can lead to even more serious distress, such as cancer, diabetes or thyroid dysfunction.

Stress comes in four different flavors

• Acute stress is what most people identify as stress. It makes itself felt through tension headaches, emotional upsets, gastrointestinal disturbances, feelings of agitation and pressure. It's easily treatable and can be brought under control in six to eight weeks.
• Episodic acute stress is more serious and can lead to migraines, hypertension, stroke, heart attack, anxiety, depression, serious gastrointestinal distress. It's quite treatable, but it takes general life style readjustments, four to six months, and often requires professional help.
• Chronic stress is the most serious of all. It's the stress that never ends. It grinds us down until our resistance is gone. Serious systemic illness such as diabetes, decreased immunocompetence, perhaps cancer is its hallmark. It can be treated, even reversed, but it takes time - sometimes two to three years-and often requires professional help.
• Traumatic stress is the result of massive acute stress, the effects of which can reverberate through our systems for years. Post traumatic stress disorder is treatable and reversible and usually requires professional aid.

Stress is additive and cumulative. Scientists are just beginning to study the combination of stress in the workplace and in family life. But we do know that 80% of the U.S. workforce lives with family members, and problems at home and problems at work can feed into one another, each making the other worse.

Stress affects each of us differently. We each perceive demands and pressures differently and respond differently. Effective stress management programs take individual differences into account and tailor the stress action plan to fit the individual.

The demands and pressures of our times are escalating at a dizzying pace. The National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health have identified some details of contemporary life that contribute to that escalation. Consider: work schedules, increasing competitive pressures, racial discrimination and prejudice, sexual harassment, marital instability, changing household roles, child-rearing concerns, affordable childcare, and accessible transportation and how they create increased demands and pressures for you.

Stress is complex, often overwhelming. Unraveling the complexities and puzzles of your personal stress situation can go a long way toward making stress more manageable and lessen its damaging impact on your life.

When you’re working with complexity, data and information are meaningless unless you can get answers that lead to effective action. That’s why we designed the Stress Navigator Workshop. This workshop will help you systematically evaluate and organize your thinking on your sources and symptoms of stress, in order to chart a course of effective personal action.

Remember Stress is manageable, workable, and reversible. The Personal Stress Navigator is here to help.

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