Stress: New Shocking Facts

"’The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones".
Somerset Maugham

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There is an Ethiopian proverb made famous by Thomas Friedman’s book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree. “Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun comes up you had better start running”.

Stress is both external, such as meeting unrealistic deadlines or managing difficult relationships and internal, such as fighting chronic infections or living with pain, allergies, or deficient hormones. The truth is we are running more than ever and we are running ourselves to death. Despite its bad reputation, stress is one of our body’s best defense systems. When we sense danger – such as an oncoming car crash – your body releases adrenaline and cortisol that make you more alert, raise your blood pressure, and momentarily increase your strength, speed and reaction time. Your body was designed to secrete these stress hormones –especially cortisol and adrenaline- once in a great while; for example, when you encountered a lion, the equivalent, today, of narrowly escaping a car accident. Unfortunately, you were not designed to be under continuous stress. Your body does not recognize the difference between physical threats and mental ones, such as meeting deadlines and reacting to the urgency of a pager, mobile phone, email or BlackBerries. If you do not burn off these stress chemicals through physical exertion, meditation or prayer, they can linger in the bloodstream and start causing problems.

Chronic cortisol elevation destroys your muscles and slows your metabolism making it harder to lose weight. Stress provokes emotional eating. The more you are stressed, the greater the risk of accidents, infections, cancer and arterial aging. It is not really the stressor you should be worried about, it’s your body’s automatic response to stress.

When you find yourself in a stressful situation, try to remove yourself physically by walking away while taking ten deep breaths; this “breather” often allows enough time to respond logically instead of reacting with anger. To beat stress, you have to learn to prioritize; the key for time management. At the start of each day pick the most important five things to do then focus on doing the first one. Individuals with a Type A personality are more stressed out and suffer 50% more heart attacks than mellower type B’s.

Set realistic goals and be less agitated by putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Get your finances in better shape by living below your means (Read the classic bestseller, The Millionaire Next Door). Incorporate some spirituality or religion into your life. Live closer to work, even if you end up living in a smaller space. Long commutes waste time and money, increase your risk of car accidents and, with the vigilance required to avoid danger, frazzle your nerves.

Start by avoiding the most stressful substances: caffeine, refined sugars, saturated fats, nicotine and alcohol. Eat more fruits, vegetables and nuts.

Avoid "stinking thinking". Be grateful for what you have instead of resentful of what you don’t. This is easier said than done. Meditating or praying for a few minutes every day allows us to recheck our compass. Quit thinking that your neighbor's wife is better or that their lawn is greener. No one is perfect. The longer your relationship, the more your brain focuses on the negatives in your spouse and the more it takes the positives for granted.

If you are single consider getting married. What might initially be perceived as loss of freedom is offset by stability, having a partner to share physical and emotional hurdles with, and the body’s positive reaction to loving and being loved. Happily married couples live better and longer!

Here are the physical and emotional symptoms that may indicate stress. The more of them you have the more likely you are stressed out.

Physical symptoms
  • Recurrent evening headaches
  • Neck and back pain
  • Dizziness
  • Irritable bowel with diarrhea or constipation
  • Indigestion
  • Frequent incomplete urination
  • Blocked sinuses
  • Heart pounding (palpitations)
Emotional symptoms
  • Irritability or excitability
  • Anxiety attacks
  • Inability to listen attentively
  • Talking too much
  • Rushing around and driving fast
  • Nervous ticks or nail biting, scratching and picking
  • Playing it too safe- not taking reasonable risks
  • Insomnia
  • Forgetfulness
  • Excessive worries
  • Feelings of being overwhelmed or confused
  • Loss of trust in people
  • Apathy or lack of passion
  • Decreased self confidence
Here is a simple and effective relaxing breathing technique you can try any time anywhere:
  1. Place the tip of your tongue behind your upper teeth and press hard throughout the exercise.
  2. Exhale completely through your mouth making a ‘whoosh’ sound.
  3. Now, with your mouth closed, inhale deeply and slowly through your nose, to the count of seven
  4. Hold to the count of seven
  5. Exhale audibly through the mouth to the count of seven
  6. Repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 for a total of four times.
  7. Keep a watchful eye on your posture and regularly check that you are not holding yourself in tense positions with your back or neck unsupported.
Rest is important. Make time for daily periods when you can be passive. This requires that you cut off all stimulation, and yes, do nothing! Thoughts, emotions and attitudes are key determinants of aging. The epidemic of anxiety and depression, while affecting people of all ages, is especially common among the elderly. Medications can only “manage” the symptoms in order to make them bearable. The only way to alleviate depression or anxiety is to get to its root cause and change either your perception or those things that can be changed.

Slow down, smell the roses and live in the present moment. In the midst of enjoying dinner, if you become preoccupied with your dislike of washing dishes you will be incapable of enjoying your dessert. With the fork in your hand, you will be thinking about a task that at some point must be done, and the texture and flavor of the dessert, together with the pleasure of eating, will be lost. Some individuals perpetually live this way, always a step ahead, never able to live in the moment, concerned with the future at the sake of living in the present. Happiness is a state of mind and a state of contentment.

Create goals that get you so excited you can hardly sleep at night. Life has a lot to offer – why shouldn’t you enjoy your fair share? Avoid toxic people that tell you with subtle cynicism why you cannot succeed. They burst your bubble and drag you down. Let go of them. Keep in mind that most people are not beset by unrealistic goals, only unrealistic time frames. When it comes to new business ventures, a good rule of thumb is to double the time you think it will take for the initial start-up and double the estimated capital requirements. The poet, Langston Hughes wrote: “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”

The world has been shaped by people with big dreams and by people who have been able to break their dreams down in to attainable goals. Remember, a well thought out series of realistic goals are the stepping-stones toward one’s dreams.

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How Stressed Are You? Take A Quick Quiz.
Rate yourself as to how you typically react in each of the situations listed below. There is no right or wrong answers.

4 = Always      3 = Frequently      2 = Sometimes      1 = Never

Enter a number in the box for each question. When you complete the questionnaire, add up you total number of points. An answer key is provided below.

1. Do you try to do as much as possible in the least amount of time?     
2. Are you unable to get a sound sleep, with a thousand worries on your mind?
3. Do you always have to win at games to enjoy yourself?
4. Do you find yourself speeding up the car to beat the red light?
5. Has the thought of having sex with your partner lately seemed unappealing?
6. Do you constantly seek the respect and admiration of others?
7. Are you overly critical of the way others do their work?
8. Do you become impatient with delays or interruptions?
9. Do you constantly strive to better your position and achievements?
10. Are you often fatigued and exhausted?
11. Do you have the habit of doing more than one thing at a time?
12. Do you frequently get angry or irritable? Are you often rude, sarcastic and short-tempered with your colleagues?
13. Do you have little time for hobbies or time for yourself?
14. Do you have a tendency to talk quickly, interrupt other people or frequently complete the sentences of someone you are talking with to hasten conversations?
15. When a new project is assigned to you, do you feel cheated, singled out and discriminated against?
16. Do your friends or relatives consider you hard-driving?
17. Do you have a tendency to get involved in multiple projects? Do you have a lot of deadlines in your work?
18. When your kids approach you, requesting help in their homework, do you often send them away with “would you mind coming back a little later?”
19. Do you feel vaguely guilty if you relax and do nothing during leisure?
20. Did you experience a noticeable change in eating habits, either eating much more or much less?
Total:


Answer Key
If your score is between 20 and 30, chances are you are wasting your time or your life lacks stimulation. A score between 31 and 50 designates a good balance in your ability to handle and control stress. If your total score falls between 51 and 60, your stress level is marginal and you are bordering on being excessively tense. If your total number of points exceeds 60, you may be a candidate for emotional eating or heart attacks.

If your score is elevated, recognize that you are stressed out. This recognition is extremely therapeutic. Over the next seven days memorize and repeat to yourself the following seven rules of stress reduction:

1. Remember to be grateful for what you have, not frustrated by what you don’t have. Learn to live in the present; don’t be controlled by past problems or future concerns. You cannot please everyone.

2. Spend a moment every day thinking of someone to thank: a higher being for your good health or the guy who let you stand in line ahead of him. Smile at strangers and look them in the eye; the sense of opening up and connecting is a great stress reducer and an effective way to combat negativity.

3. Talk to yourself positively; positive affirmations will help counter feelings of negativity; anger and the sense of failure that often accompany stress. Make peace with imperfections; always strive to do your best, but accept the limitations of being a human being.

4. Breathe before you speak. It will often help you avoid ill-considered statements that can increase everyone’s stress level and it gives you a chance to really listen to what has been said.

5. Concentrate on doing one thing at a time. Trying to eat your sandwich in one hand, with your head bent holding the telephone and your other hand typing an email that must be answered today, is a surefire recipe for stress and possibly mistakes.

6. A bad time-manager invariably ends up a much harried one at the end of the day. Getting organized in various situations- be it a business deal, a household move, or management of children’s affairs- can be a sure step towards avoiding stress.

7. Choose your battles wisely; disagreements are stressful. Don’t use your energy trying to convince someone else unless it’s really important. Don’t make winning a must do for every issue.

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