Page 4
Staying Health Series
HANDLING STRESS
The stages the make stress, distress, and
tips on how to help yourself ease the
build -up of tension
By Carol Terp, RNC
Community Health Nurse
You need stress in your life! Does that surprise you?
Perhaps so, but its quite true. Without stress, life would
be dull and unexciting. Stress adds flavor, challenge and
opportunity to life. Too much stress, however, can
seriously affect your physical and mental well-being. A
major challenge in this stressed-filled world of today is
to make the stress in your life work for you instead of
against you.
Stress is with us all the time. It comes from mental or
emotional activity and physical activity. It is unique and
personal to each of us. So personal, in fact, that what
may be relaxing to one person may be stressful to
another. For example, if you are someone who needs
and likes to keep busy all of the time, "taking it easy" at
the beach on a beautiful day may feel extremely frustrat
ing, non-productive and upsetting. You may be emo
tionally distressed from "doing nothing". Too much
emotional stress can cause physical illness such as high
blood pressure, ulcers, or even heart disease; physical
stress from work or exercise is not likely to cause such
ailments. The truth is that physical exercise can help
you to relax and to handle your mental or emotional
stress.
Hans Selye, M.D., a recognized expert in the field, has
defined stress as a "non-specific response of the body to
a demand". The important issue is learning how our
bodies respond to these demands. When stress becomes
prolonged or particularly frustrating, it can become
harmful causing DISTRESS or "bad stress". Recogniz
ing the early signs of distress and then doing something
about them can make an important difference in the
quality of your life, and may actually influence your
survival.
REACTING TO STRESS
To use stress in a positive way and prevent it from
becoming DISTRESS, you should become aware of your
own reactions to stressful events. The body responds to
stress by going through three stages: (1) alarm, (2)
resistance and (3) exhaustion.
Lets take the example of a typical commuter in rush
hour traffic. If a car suddenly pulls out in front of him,
his initial alarm reaction may include fear of an accident,
anger at the driver who committed the action, and
general frustration. His body may respond in the alarm
stage by releasing hormones into the bloodstream which
cause his face to flush, perspiration to form, his stomach
to have a sinking feeling, and his arms and legs to
tighten.
The next stage is resistance, La which the body repairs
damage caused by the stress. If the stress of driving
continues with repeated close calls or traffic jams,
however, his body will not have time to make repairs.
He may become so conditioned to expect potential
problems when he drives that he tightens up at the
beginning of each commuting day. Eventually, he may
even develop one of the diseases of stress, such as
migraine headaches, high blood pressure, backaches, or
insomnia. While it is impossible to live completely free
of stress and distress, it is possible to prevent some
distress as well as to minimize its impact when it can't be
avoided.
HELPING YOURSELF
When stress does occur, it is important to recognize and
deal with it. As you begin to understand more about
how stress affects you as an individual, you will come up
with your own ideas of helping to ease the tensions.
A. Try physical activity. When you are nervous, angry,
or upset, release the pressure through exercise or
physical activity. Running, walking or working in your
garden are just some of the activities you might try.
Physical exercise will relieve that "up tight" feeling, relax
you, and turn the frowns into smiles. Remember, your
body and your mind work together.
B. Share your stress: It helps to talk to someone about
your concerns and worries. Perhaps a friend, family
member, teacher, or counselor can help you see your
problem in a different light.
C. Know your limits: If a problem is beyond your
control and cannot be changed at the moment, don't
fight the situation. Learn to accept what is for now until
such time when you can change it.
D. It's okay to cry: A good cry can be a healthy way to
bring relief to your anxiety, and it might even prevent a
headache or other physical consequence. Take some
deep breaths; they also release tensions.
E. Avoid self-medication: Although you can use drugs
to relieve stress temporarily, drugs do not remove the
conditions that caused the stress in the first place.
Drugs, in fact, may be habit forming and create more
stress than they take away. They should be taken only
on the advice of your doctor.
THE ART OF RELAXATION
The best strategy for avoiding stress is. to learn how to
relax. Unfortunately, many people try to relax at the
same pace that they lead the rest of their lives. For .
awhile "tune-out" your worries about time, productivity,
and "doing right". You will find satisfaction in just
BEING, without striving. Find activities that give you
pleasure and that are good for your mental and physical
well being. Forget about always winning. Focus on
relaxation, enjoyment and health. BE GOOD TO
YOURSELF!!!!!
RED WILLOW
2ND ANNUAL POW -WOW
JANUARY 7, 1989
6 PM - MIDNIGHT
VJiK f ym is
White Oaks
3750 Lancaster Dr. NE,
Salem, Oregon
for more info., call 792-3697
Contract Health Services
1-800-422-0232
STAYING
SOBER
The other day I heard some friends talking about the
length of their sobriety. One stated, "I have 16
years" another said he had 15 years and the third
person stated that he had three years. , ,
They were very proud of the length of their sobriety
and well they should be but I think it is also impor
tant that we all remember that the length of our
sobriety is not as important as the quality.
A person who has been in AA for a number of years
may not be in as good mental condition as a person
who has only been in a few months. It is a great
satisfaction to have been an AA member for a long
time and it is only natural that we mention it often
and sometimes it may help the newer members
because they may say to themselves "If they can do
it, I can dolt".
At the same time I think it would be wise for all of
us to remember that for the rest of our lives we are
all in the same situation. We are all now and always
will be, "Just one drink away from a drunk".
DONT TAKE THAT FIRST DRINK!!!!!
Good Luck in Your Sobriety,
Monte Ring-Outpatient Counselor