Stress: the causes, effects and its management

Dr. Marshall Colt on stress management, as seen on WB2 News Denver

What is stress? What are the causes of stress?

What are the effects of stress? What can help reduce stress?

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Many know the stress reaction as the "fight-or-flight response," a term coined by physiologist Walter Cannon in 1932. Endocrinologist Hans Selye later defined stress as "the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it."

There are two types of stress: good stress and bad stress. Good stress is called "eustress." It's the stress we feel when enjoying something stimulating: a wedding, a job promotion, rooting for our sports teams. Bad stress is called "distress," though we commonly just refer to it as stress. It involves such stressors as the death of a loved one, being fired from a job or public speaking.

Think of stress as the friction in our lives. When too much friction builds up, it causes heat with resulting damage...in this case to our nervous system.

What are the causes of stress?

The causes are as many as their are people and situations. The key is what is known as "cognitive appraisal"...in other words, how we view a given situation. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? If we view an event as a bad thing over which we have little or no perceived control, we get frustrated and stress results. If we appraise it as nothing too serious, its power to induce stress in us is diminished. Many people who have learned to manage their stress have learned to let the little things in life roll off their back like water off a duck.

What are the effects of stress?

Even being "merely stressed" takes an ugly, insidious toll. Stress can be a risk factor for early heart disease and immune system suppression. It increases adrenal glands activation and cortisol secretion, decreasing memory and learning skills.

Stress reactivity is a three-phase process: alarm reaction, stage of resistance and stage of exhaustion. Extended periods of stress induce depression.

Stress contraction of the muscles can lead to tension headaches, backache and fatigue. Smooth muscle contraction of the blood vessel walls leads to hypertension. Greater secretions of hydrochloric acid can results in ulcers.

Stress is also a significant factor in the precipitation of some autoimmune thyroid diseases like Graves' disease and Hashimoto's disease (thyroiditis).

The physiological effects of stress (not to mention the emotional effects) are so numerous, science is still determining them and to what degree.

"Impact of stress can be costly - Persistent stress has long been considered to be harmful to health. Now a new study indicates that the health costs of stress in the workplace may be more than anyone thought. A study of more than 46,000 employees at six large companies found that the costs linked to serious stress -- workers reporting exposure to constant stress with no methods to cope -- accounts for about 8 percent of the total health care expenditures of these companies, or about $24 billion annually. Research has shown that psychological services provided to employees can reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and reduce disability claims, said the report, which appears in the American Journal of Health Promotion." -- Chicago Tribune

What can help reduce stress?

If stress is the friction in our lives, the first thing we can do to mitigate it is slow down. Also, regular exercise and other stress reduction tools you can learn help protect against it.

There are several techniques effective in reducing stress: progressive relaxation, transcendental meditation (TM) and guided imagery.

Progressive relaxation is a physical approach to managing and reducing stress. It was first devised in the late 1930s by Edmund Jacobsen, a medical doctor. By a series of tensing and relaxing the major muscle groups in the body, the body relaxes and the mind follows in turn. It's particularly effective in helping one fall asleep.

Transcendental meditation, on the other hand, first relaxes the mind and the body then follows. It is a simple mental exercise, increasing in its effectiveness as one practices it. it helps people gain control over their attention so they can choose what to focus on, rather than being subject to the mind's rambling (racing thoughts, for example).

Guided imagery (or autogenic meditation) involves visualization of relaxing images. With the guidance of a trained clinician, relaxing images can be created which result in vasodilation (dilation of the blood vessels) and muscle relaxation, both components of the relaxation response.

Stress reduction will result in a happier, healthier, more productive personal and professional life for you. Don't let stress make you unhappy and insidiously harm your health, when it so easily can be better managed and easily reduced.

Stress management resources: Stress: How and When to Get Help | Exercise Fuels the Brain's Stress Buffers | American Institute of Stress | National Suicide Hotline: 1.800.784.2433 | National Domestic Violence 24-Hour Hotline: 1.800.799.7233

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Stress: the causes, effects and its management