Stress management: Understand your sources of stress

Your response to the demands of the world determines your stress level. Take time to consider common stressors and how they may be affecting you.
By Mayo Clinic staff

The kids are screaming, the bills are due and there's a pile of work on your desk that's growing at an absurdly swift pace. It's undeniable — life often seems full of stress. But understanding the types and sources of stress — big and small, short-term and long-term, internal and external — is an important part of stress management. So where does your stress come from?

Two main types of stress

Stress is your body's reaction to the demands of the world, and stressors are events or conditions in your surroundings that may trigger stress. Two main types of stress you face are:

• Acute stress. Also known as the fight-or-flight response, acute stress is your body's immediate reaction to a significant threat, challenge or scare. The acute-stress response is immediate, it's intense, and in certain circumstances, it can be thrilling. Examples of stressors that may cause an acute-stress response are a job interview, a fender bender or an exhilarating ski run.
• Chronic stress. This results from long-term exposure to acute stress. The chronic-stress response is much more subtle than is the acute-stress response, but the effects may be longer lasting and more problematic. The stressors that may lead to chronic stress are the nagging, day-to-day life situations that often seem unrelenting. This includes relationship problems, work difficulties and financial woes.

Effective stress management involves identifying and managing both acute and chronic stress.

Symptoms of stress

While mild stress can actually be beneficial — it can spur you into action, motivate and energize you — it's often the buildup of the little things that can really "stress you out." Persistent stress can lead to many adverse health problems, including:

• Physical symptoms, such as headache and fatigue
• Mental symptoms, such as poor concentration
• Emotional symptoms, such as irritability and depression
• Social symptoms, such as isolation and resentment

Know your stressors

External exasperations
External stressors are events and situations that happen to you. While you may have control over some of these stressors and how much you let them affect you, there are times when they extend beyond your control. Some examples include:

• Major life changes. These changes can be positive — a new marriage, a planned pregnancy, a promotion or a new house. Or they can be negative — the death of a loved one or going through a divorce.
• Environment. These stressors could include a noise disturbance, such as a barking dog, or excessive light, as from a billboard across the street.
• Unpredictable events. This category could include an increase in monthly bills, an uninvited houseguest or a pay cut.
• Family. The occasional spousal spat, a teenager who refuses to cooperate or a nagging mother-in-law can all contribute to stress.
• Workplace. Perhaps an overwhelming workload or an impossible boss.
• Social. For example, a blind date or making a speech to a room full of co-workers.

Internal irritations


Not all stress stems from things that happen to you. Some of the stress response can be self-induced. Those feelings and thoughts that pop into your head and cause you unrest are known as internal stressors. Examples include:

• Fears. These can be things, such as a fear of flying or heights, or more-subtle apprehensions such as participating in a discussion with a group of strangers at a meeting.
• Uncertainty. Stemming perhaps from a looming restructuring at the office or waiting for medical test results.
• Attitude. Having a negative view of the world can be stressful, since you create an unpleasant environment in which to live.
• Unrealistic expectations. A perfectionist or controlling personality may lead to unnecessarily high stress levels. Overscheduling and not planning ahead can lead to worries.

Stress is here to stay

Not a day in your life goes by without encountering a situation or event that may trigger stress. And that's OK. By identifying and understanding the sources of your stress, you learn to better manage it. So what stresses you out?

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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Tips To Reduce Family Stress

By Jane Collingwood

Stress caused by those close to you is hard to escape. As they say, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” Children, elderly parents, and visiting relatives all can be sources of stress.

Parenting Stress
Children bring happiness and fun, but also can be exhausting. Becoming a parent dramatically changes your daily routine and sleep pattern, bringing many new pressures.

Whether you stay at home or work, are single or married, have one child or six, the challenges are enormous. Staying calm and collected all the time is an impossible goal. Small hassles can add up until you are ready to burst.

This stress won’t just disappear, so look for ways in which you can reduce the strain:

• Remember it’s not meant to be easy, but any problems you have will have been overcome by many parents before you. Search them out to use as a sounding board.
• Adjust your priorities, including previous standards of order and neatness. Don’t take on unnecessary duties and responsibilities.
• If you’re doing your best, don’t feel guilty. Every parent gets stressed and is sometimes overwhelmed.
• Accept any help that’s offered. If you can afford it, consider paying someone to help with the cleaning, shopping or laundry, especially at busy times.
• Take advice from people whose opinion you trust, and get specific advice when issues arise.
• Set up a lockable, fireproof filing system for important documents, and use it.
• Take care of yourself. Use stress management techniques and be alert to any symptoms. Take time for relaxation. You will be setting a great example for your children.
• Plan ahead. Get as much as possible ready for the following day, and give yourself extra time to leave the house.
• Anticipate and prepare for problems before they arise.
• Write lists and use a calendar. You can’t be expected to remember everything.
• Keep communicating with your children, and take the time to ease their worries.

Balancing Work and Family
Working and bringing up children often is challenging. During the tough times, remember and focus on why you made this choice. There will inevitably be conflicts between work and family responsibilities, so prepare as much as possible. Build up your support network, emergency funds, and your own energy. Use effective coping strategies and don’t put impossible pressure on yourself. Plan ahead, get help when you need it, and look for creative solutions.

Single Parenting
Everyone finds parenting hard at times, but single parenting has added pressures. One of the most difficult aspects of single parenting is not having another adult in the house to offer support and validation. But there’s nearly always something you can do to reduce the stress you feel and make life easier, and there are often people who are willing to help.


Ideas for single parents:

• Develop and nurture several sources of support; perhaps team up with other parents. It’s always easier to cope if you have people to turn to.
• Stay on top of your finances.
• Always reassure your children and let them know how much you value them.
• Fit in some time for yourself, and explore your feelings. Be kind to yourself and build up your confidence if it has been damaged.

Stress from Relatives
Many people feel guilty if they don’t enjoy spending time with their relatives, but it doesn’t make you a bad person, just an honest one. Look for the good in others and try to see things from their point of view, at least temporarily.

When visiting relatives:

• Try to keep your expectations realistic. If you predict unpleasantness, don’t plan to stay for too long. Take a deep breath and remember it will be over soon.
• If you anticipate criticism and stress-inducing questions, have your (reasonable) responses already prepared.
• Strike a bargain with your children, perhaps a reward for behaving well.
• If you do get upset, go for a walk, have a nap, or find somewhere private to call a friend and get it off your chest.
• Pack a good book which lifts your spirits.

When relatives visit you:

• Plan in advance where they will sleep, what you will feed them, and how can you budget to meet any extra costs.
• Let them help with cooking and washing up, if they offer.
• Don’t attempt an elaborate — stock up the fridge and freezer with food that’s quick to prepare.
• If tensions are likely to arise, don’t provide too much alcohol.
• When you go out, don’t feel you have to cover all the expenses.
• Play games together to create a fun atmosphere.
• Don’t feel you have to fill up every minute with activities.

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Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Power of Music To Reduce Stress

By Jane Collingwood

The soothing power of music is well-established. It has a unique link to our emotions, so can be an extremely effective stress management tool.

Listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds and bodies, especially slow, quiet classical music. This type of music can have a beneficial effect on our physiological functions, slowing the pulse and heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing the levels of stress hormones.

As music can absorb our attention, it acts as a distraction at the same time it helps to explore emotions. This means it can be a great aid to meditation, helping to prevent the mind wandering.

Musical preference varies widely between individuals, so only you can decide what you like and what is suitable for each mood. But even if you don’t usually listen to classical music it may be worth giving it a try when selecting the most calming music.

When people are very stressed, there is a tendency to avoid actively listening to music. Perhaps it feels like a waste of time, not helping to achieve anything. But as we know, productivity increases when stress is reduced, so this is another area where you can gain vast rewards. It just takes a small effort to begin with.

To incorporate music into a busy life, try playing CDs in the car, or put the radio on when in the bath or shower. Take portable music with you when walking the dog, or put the stereo on instead of the TV.

Singing (or shouting) along can also be a great release of tension, and karaoke is very enjoyable for some extroverts! Calming music before bedtime promotes peace and relaxation and helps to induce sleep.

Research on Music
Music has been used for hundreds of years to treat illnesses and restore harmony between mind and body. But recently, scientific studies have attempted to measure the potential benefits of music. They have found:

• Music’s form and structure can bring order and security to disabled and distressed children. It encourages coordination and communication, so improves their quality of life.
• Listening to music on headphones reduces stress and anxiety in hospital patients before and after surgery.
• Music can help reduce both the sensation and distress of both chronic pain and postoperative pain.
• Listening to music can relieve depression and increase self-esteem ratings in elderly people.
• Making music can reduce burnout and improve mood among nursing students.
• Music therapy significantly reduces emotional distress and boosts quality of life among adult cancer patients.

Meditation
Certain music is appropriate for meditation as it can help the mind slow down and initiate the relaxation response. However, not all peaceful or “New Age” music works for everyone. Music with no structure can be irritating or even unsettling. Gentle music with a familiar melody more often is comforting. But search around to find what produces a sense of calm, familiarity, and centeredness for you as an individual.

The sounds of nature often are incorporated into CDs made specifically for relaxation. For example, the sound of water can be soothing for some people. It can help conjure up calming images such as lying beside a mountain stream on a warm spring day. Birdsong may also be of use as an aid to help your mind slow down and release stressful thoughts.


Music Therapy
Because music has the potential to influence us both psychologically and physiologically, it is an important area of therapy for stress management. Music therapy can make use of biofeedback, guided imagery, and other established techniques to play an important role in the treatment of people with stress-related disorders. But due to the dramatic effects music can have, a trained and knowledgeable music therapist always is required.

When used in combination with biofeedback techniques, music can reduce tension and facilitate the relaxation response. It may be more compatible with relaxation than verbal stimuli, which may be distracting — music is processed mainly in nonverbal areas of the brain.

Music may help people to identify and express the feelings associated with their stress. In a music therapy session, the client can express these emotions, providing an important cathartic release.

Producing music in an improvisational way, and discussing pieces of music and lyrics in a group, can also help us become more aware of our emotional reactions and share them constructively with the group.

Thinking More Clearly
Finally, listening to music can help the brain by improving learning and memory skills, always useful when we’re under stress. This has come to be known as “The Mozart Effect.” Experiments carried out by scientists at the University of California at Irvine found that students’ test scores improved after listening to a recording of Mozart, compared with either a relaxation tape or silence. This may be because the processing of music shares some of the same pathways in the brain as memory.

References

1. Allen K. et al. Normalization of hypertensive responses during ambulatory surgical stress by perioperative music. Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 63, May/June 2001, pp. 487-92.
2. Aldridge D., Gustoff D. and Neugebauer L. A pilot study of music therapy in the treatment of children with developmental delay. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, Vol. 3, October 1995, pp. 197-205.
3. Hanser S. B. and Thompson L. W. Effects of a music therapy strategy on depressed older adults. Stanford University School of Medicine. Journal of Gerontology, Vol. 49, November 1994, pp. 265-69.
4. Good M. A comparison of the effects of jaw relaxation and music on postoperative
5. pain. Nursing Research, Vol. 44, Jan/Feb 1995, pp. 52-57.
6. Bittman B. B. Recreational music-making: an integrative group intervention for reducing burnout and improving mood states in first year associate degree nursing students: insights and economic impact. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, published online July 9, 2004.
7. Waldon E. G. The effects of group music therapy on mood states and cohesiveness in adult oncology patients. Journal of Music Therapy, Vol. 38, Fall 2001, pp. 212-38.
8. Burns D. S. The effect of the bonny method of guided imagery and music on the mood and life quality of cancer patients. Journal of Music Therapy, Vol. 38, Spring 2001, pp. 51-65.
9. Rauscher F. H., Shaw G. L. and Ky K. N. Music and spatial task performance. Nature, Vol. 365, October 14, 1993, p. 611.

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Stress Management

Anything that places a demand on our time and energy produces stress. Also, stress is created by thinking or worrying about these demands, because we spend time with this process, and because thinking about demands often results in psychological distress. Both positive and negative life events and expectations produce stress, although the psychological impact of most negative life events is greater. Stress is both psychological and physical.

The psychological component of stress can include worrying, racing thoughts, anticipation, fear, obsessive planning, depression, anxiety, cognitive rehearsal of expectations, evaluation of self and others involved in the life event, assessment of potential outcomes from the event, and assessment of the importance of the event (in either a positive or a negative sense) in our lives.

The physical components of stress can include physiological arousal, sleep disturbance, fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbances, headaches, concentration problems, increased expression of irritability and anger, agitation, increased likelihood for illness, and reduced productivity. The impact and the expression of these stress symptoms varies with the individual and the stressful event. The psychological and physical components of stress interact and react with one another to produce additional stress.

Stress management training is often presented in corporate training programs by non-psychologists. While some of these programs are informational, they usually do not help you to make the life changes needed to reduce stress substantially. When experiencing severe stress in their lives, individuals will often seek medical treatment, and are may be given medication to attempt to control the symptoms, as well as medical treatment for any health problems which develop as a result of the stress.This approach is helpful, and sometimes necessary when stress results in health problems, but it does not eliminate the causes of stress, nor does it help you to manage the stress in your life more effectively.

Psychologists may combine relaxation skill training, cognitive therapy techniques and traditional psychotherapy to assist individuals in managing their lives more effectively, and therefore reducing life stress considerably. Relaxation skills teach you how to monitor and control your physiological arousal level. This is specifically directed at the arousal created by anxiety. Cognitive therapy techniques help you to reexamine the importance of life stressors and to manage the outcome of stressful events better. Traditional psychotherapy allows you to prioritize your life goals, and to make the personal changes necessary to react to life stress more effectively. You may need to learn how to communicate your needs to others, how to manage and diffuse anger, and how to resolve interpersonal conflicts. This comprehensive psychological approach to stress management results in significant life management changes and reduced stress symptoms.


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Note: Psychology Information Online is a privately owned website which provides information about the practice of psychology for the benefit of consumers and psychologists. It is not endorsed by, or affiliated with, any state or national psychological association or any state licensing board.

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Friday, June 19, 2009