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Stress
is the body's normal response to anything
that disturbs its natural physical, emotional,
or mental balance.
Essentially stress is a response
to an event or a series of events which
have an adverse effect on the human mind
and body. The event or the situation which
causes stress is termed the stressor.
The stress response can affect a person
physically, emotionally or psychologically
and create havoc with the functioning of
almost every part of the body.
The two stress responses
are: the “Fight-or-Flight
reaction” or the short term
response to acute stress. Here the person
reacts instinctively to effect survival
by either fighting back or running away
from the stressor. If stress is prolonged
the “General Adaptation Syndrome”
comes into play. In this syndrome the person
exposed to stress first gets “Alarmed”,
then tries to “Resist” and finally
succumbs to “Exhaustion” or
has a ‘Burn Out”. |
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The
Mind and Body connection
The mind and body
are connected by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
axis (HPA axis). The worrying stressed
mind, through an axis involving the
brain and the endocrine glands, stimulates
the supra renal glands, which secrete
the havoc creating stress
hormones. The stress hormones,
by changing the basic metabolism and
blood flow to various organs, can
usher in a lot of diseases. The common
dangerous stress related diseases
include Coronary Artery disease, Hypertension
and Stroke, Cancer, Ulcers in the
Stomach, Irritable Bowel syndrome
and diabetes. Stress is also associated
with eating disorders leading to either
anorexia or obesity. Insomnia, sexual
dysfunction, hair loss, addictions
and skin disease are closely associated
to stress. |
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Common
Stressors
Stressors are events or situations
which trigger a stress response. It
would be rather farfetched to dream
a life without stressors, for stressors
are present all around us. They are
strewn like land mines. Some of them
are cleverly concealed and some are
blatantly staring at our faces. Many
times we step on them quite un-knowingly,
and sometimes with full awareness. It
is important to identify the stressors
and side step them or wear a protective
outfit to survive them.
Acute Stressors include:
Death of spouse, Divorce, Marital separation,
Jail term, Loss of job due to termination,
Retirement etc. Recurring minor
stressors can be tough conditions
at work, incompatibility at home or
environmental factors like noise, traffic,
delays etc.
For more detailed information on stress
you could refer to the book “Calm
Sutra, the Art of Relaxation.
Link to buy E book. |
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