Your Health strategies

Stress can be a confusing creature and affects many different people in a variety of ways.  Many people consider stress as negative yet in reality stress is a positive or negative change that creates mental, physical or emotional strain.  It can be as simple as something we do outside the norm to constant pressure that affects our health and wellbeing.

To simplify, stress is separated into 3 different areas and methods of stress relief can be applied to one and sometimes all.

Here are the different categories of stress we experience:

—> Acute Stress – This is the most common form of stress and is short lived stress that can be either positive or negative.  An example of positive acute stress would be riding on a roller coaster or doing something that feels exhilarating.  An example of negative acute stress would be meeting a deadline, loosing an important deal or having a small accident in your car.  Although acute stress is short lived if you experience several types of acute stress in one day it is important to find successful stress relief techniques to release any tension.  There are many natural stress relief techniques you can use to release tension like; socializing with friends, reading a book, taking a hot bath or relaxing in front of the T.V. 

—> Episodic Acute Stress – Episodic acute stress comes from a constant series of negative stress, constant worry, poor time management, excessive competitiveness, general impatience and from over committing.  Episodic stress is brought on by the individual as a reaction to their environment and situations placed upon them.  A person that experiences episodic acute stress may always worry about the worst case scenario (and usually attract it). They may think they have to be the best at whatever they do and experience tension when they aren’t or they may simply be the person that finds it hard to say no and over commits themselves.  It is important to find a way to identify the cause of the stress and find methods to break the cycle of stress.  Stress relief techniques range from listening to meditation/ stress relief CD’s, Stress Relief Programs that can help identify the cause and offer solutions and seeking professional advice.   Working with a person that experiences episodic acute stress takes time and patience as it is more intense than acute stress.

—> Chronic Stress – Chronic stress is the type of stress that wears people out, day after day, year after year.  It is the type of stress that destroys lives, families and causes permanent damage.  It is the stress people face when they are in job or career they hate (but feel they cannot leave), a marriage where they are unhappy, a violent long term relationship and a lifestyle that crushes their individuality and independence.  Chronic stress can create major change to an individual’s personality, outlook or deep seated beliefs. Chronic Stress is responsible for suicide, violence, and other terminal illnesses. One of the worst aspects of Chronic Stress is people simply get used to it or give up and it becomes an everyday reality. Chronic stress is often difficult to treat and definitely cannot be changed overnight.  Within certain families it may take generations to break the cycle of chronic stress and may require long term consultation, combined with specific stress relief techniques to overcome the long term issues.

The light at the end of the tunnel

On a positive front most people experience the first 2 types of stress that can be easily overcome.  By using a variety of stress management techniques you can develop skills to help you to release your unwanted tension and stress at will.  A good stress relief program will show you specific methods to overcome and deal with stress in the future.  Even something simple as relaxation breathing techniques or visualization techniques can have massive short term and long term benefits.