Healthy Living: How to deal with stress in your life

Everybody in this world has some kind of stress. If not monetary it might be psychological or even emotional; either way it is stress.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Everybody in this world has some kind of stress. If not monetary it might be psychological or even emotional; either way it is stress. Talking to a friend some few months ago sharing stories in our lives, I realized that indeed each one of us has something that stresses them the most. Now this particular friend was stressed by his personal life and was at the end of his tether when we met.Here is a young man with a fairly good job which can sustain his lifestyle, on his personal diary there is a girlfriend whom they have been together for a year and a half and were planning to settle down. Unfortunately he does not have enough money for the grand wedding of the year that his wife is yearning for, so he is very stressed trying to borrow everywhere so that he can go through the wedding. For me someone trying to compete with Prince William in terms of having the wedding of the century, when you are not in his league should not be an option; do what  you can out of your means pronto! That was my advice to him.In this life if we allow the gravitational pull of our demanding modern lives to see more and more of us geared to some extent, then we will be collapsing as casualties of stress.Research conducted by the Stroke Association in US earlier this year found that 1 person out of 7 feels their stress levels are out of control. It is also estimated that 75 per cent of us feel stress to a greater or lesser degree at least once every fortnight.But the funny part of the story is that the same experts also say that a certain amount of stress is normal and even healthy. In certain situations like interviews, preparing a work presentation, in a rush to meet a deadline stress is needed in our body, because a body needs to go into a heightened sense of adrenalin, which is a result of stress, in order to be motivated fully; otherwise without any stress we can become lethargic or worse, lazy.According to Phoebe Doyle who is a writer on health issues, the stress that is good for us should only be extremely short-lived. The danger is when stress is experienced severely, regularly or even constantly. This is unhealthy and requires action. Stress can be a particularly cruel emotion as there is a vicious cycle element frequently at play: stress due to a particular circumstance is followed by a physical reaction such as stomach upsets, palpitations or headaches - all of which intensify and lead to amplified stress levels. While for some, anti-depressants may be, quite literally, a life saver; the potential for addiction and unpleasant side effects may take place. It is advised that if a person is stressed, they should try to deviate their attention from the particular problem that is affecting their mental health. Some people who are much stressed with their jobs, at some point, are advised to change jobs. Other ways to beat stress include; deep breathing exercise, sports, massage, guided imagery and a healthy sex life. In fact it is said that a healthy sex life reduces the stress in a person’s life, more especially if it is with someone you are comfortable with. But if you are having relationship problems, forcing yourself to participate when you are not really happy in your relationship will probably do more to increase your stress level rather than to reduce it. So, first you need to resolve the issues which are causing your difficulties.Whichever way you look at it, everyone should identify an activity that will reduce their stress level to generate a feeling of well-being, remember that stress can be a killer disease if left unattended to. Live your life to the fullest and be stress free for a longer and happy life.