Stress

Stress is one of the vaguest words in the paramedical Vocabulary. It is a blanket term for influences or stimuli that affect emotion, behaviour, mental ability, physiology and physical condition. Too much stress conjures up the image of a nervous, quivering wreck-harassed, suffering from ulcers, unable to sleep and teetering on the verge of a heart attack.
Stress comes in many forms. The death of a loved one can trigger an acute period of stress that is completely beyond the control of the bereaved individual, but which surfaces as a period of grief and mourning and usually heals after a time.
In general we see stress as negative, a resistant force that opposes and upsets life's progress. Yet stress has its good side. In the  correct amounts, it is a positive force that drives each of us to grow, develop, achieve and adapt to events in our lives. One stress experts has made observation that virtually stress-free living, with no enemies and no competition for food, is enjoyed by the South America sloth. With no motivation, however, this animal has slowed down to become such an under achiever that there is very little difference between a conscious sloth and an unconscious one.

Causes of stress
What causes stress? The answer is almost anything. But it is the type of stress to which you are exposed and how you deal with it that is important. One of the problems today is that many stresses remain unresolved. The human body has evolved to respond to events and changes in the external environment by gearing itself up for fight or flight. The brain initiates the secretion of adrenalin from the adrenal glands, which stimulates the heart to pump more blood to the muscles so that we can either fight or flee. Primitive man attacked by a wild animal could fight it or run away. Enemies in the twentieth century are no less real, but may be nebulous or intangible. We fight mental and psychological adversaries such as business worries or family difficulties. Our bodies obediently gear up as for violent defense, but there is little scope for a physical workout to relieve the situation. Repeated frustrations of the body's intentions build up into a stress factor on their own. Environmental factors can also be stressful, partly because one can do little about them. Modern urban life especially is overflowing with stress:noise, crowding, hurry, crime, unemployment and poor living conditions.



Avoid Stress
 To avoid stress is not always desirable because a certain amount of stress is necessary for personal development and as a motivational force. Illness or death of someone close to you will cause stress as will problems that are out of your control. But you can learn to cope. The first thing to learn is how to avoid stressful situations if you possibly can. But you can learn to cope. The first thing to learn is how to avoid stressful situations if you can possibly can.