How can we combat stress?

BY LAURA AGUILAR

Getting back to routine, starting the new academic year, finding our first job or just returning to our professional career, are some of the situations that makes stress arise.

Before talking about stress, it is necessary to give a brief definition of what it consists of. Stress, is defined as “a psychological and physical response of the body that occurs whenever we must adapt to changing conditions, whether those conditions are real or perceived, positive or negative”.

Christine Webber, psychotherapist and life coach, says that our organism is formed by different kind of hormones, among which we can find the “stress hormones”. Though this hormones tend to activate in emergencies, we live at a pace in which they remain active the whole time- work, worries, or situations in which we are in a hurry.

Thus, when our stress hormones do not relief at any time, it drives us to a state called “distress”. This concept means that our body is reacting negatively to a certain situation, causing not only psychological, but also physical damages.

Many specialists have been able to list some of the symptoms that could be linked to stress. Among them we can find:

1.- Problems sleeping;

2.- Racing heart;

3.- Weight gain/loss;

4.- Cold ad sweaty palms or;

5.-Irritability or impatience.

So, how can we fight against stress and avoid health problems that come along with it?

We have to be conscious of our limits, and learn that we cannot control every situation that is presented to us. Assertiveness and positivism are some aspects we should work on, so to take things in a different way.

Planning our life’s schedule is also important. We have to be able to manage the limited time we have, and dedicate ourselves both to professional and personal lives, but understanding that it is impossible to do every task we have at the same time.

There are other techniques that help us to deal with stress. For example, lots of specialists recommend to practice meditation, yoga or tai-chi, as they are considered to be activities in which our mind relaxes and makes us forget about stressful situations.

In conclusion, although today stress is one of the main sources of health problems, and one of the principal topics studied by specialists in order to prevent sicknesses, there are also many ways to combat it. Our lifestyle should be changed so that we can enjoy every task we are committed to, instead of suffering from it!

I recommend you tolisten this song whenever you get stressed!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVRnMrl2oj8