5 Things You
Didn't Know About Stress
We all experience varying
levels and lengths of stress, triggered by an array of scenarios –
some logical, others not.
Managing this powerful emotional and physiological response to adverse
or demanding circumstances
comes more naturally to some, but can certainly be taught
to even the most nervous of
them all.
The first step to controlling
stress is to know your own personal anxiety, down to its deepest core. What
causes your stress? What alleviates it? What affect is it having on your mind
and body
and what can you do to stop it?
To assist you on your journey
of stress-discovery, here are five truths about stress
that you may not know – but
definitely need to be made aware of.
1. Stress is
contagious.
Anyone interacting with someone
who’s stressed, especially for prolonged periods of time,
has an increased risk of being
affected by empathetic stress.
Caregivers and family members
of chronically stressed individuals are most at risk here,
but even watching TV shows
involving confrontations of stress can transmit the tension.
This empathetic stress
negatively impacts the immune system and is toxic to the mind and body
in the long term.
Know your
limits when it comes to how much stress you can healthily expose yourself to.
Also, be cognizant of how your worry may be negatively impacting those around
you.
If you reach out to a sorrowful
friend, a mourning parent, or a downhearted colleague
who has suffered a sudden
reversal of fortune or fate, be careful not to be
overcome yourself by the
apparent hardship.
Remember to discriminate events
themselves and your interpretations of them.
It is not a demonstration of
kindness or friendship to the people we care about to join them
in surrendering to negative
feelings. We do a better service to ourselves and others
by remaining detached and avoiding
unnecessary emotional reactions.
Still, if you are associated
with someone who is depressed, stressed or hurt, show them kindness
and give them a sympathetic
ear; just don’t allow yourself to be pulled down.
2. Stress is
detrimental to Sperm.
Stress can and will seep into
every facet of your life if you let it, including the bedroom.
Stressed men are found to have
fewer, slower sperm, which can diminish fertility.
While not conclusive yet as to
how stress affects the quality of semen,
it is possible that stress
may trigger steroid hormones
known to blunt levels of testosterone and sperm production.
3. Two stressed
people equals less stress.
Seems counterintuitive, yes.
But, when especially stressed, it is extremely helpful to
share your feelings
with someone who is having a similar anxious reaction to the same situation.
Consider giving a presentation
at work – perhaps nothing will ease your stress more than talking it out with a
colleague who is undergoing the same scenario. Studies show that there is tremendous
benefit gained by conversing with others whose emotional response is in line
with your own.
4. Optimists are
better at regulating stress.
A glass-half-full mentality may
be the ticket to a more stress-free life.
The “stress hormone” cortisol
tends to be more stable for those with positive personalities.
Pessimists have
difficulty regulating their emotional and physical responses to particularly
stressful situations. Optimists tend to be more
solution-oriented and thus better react to the stress hormone – allowing it to
amplify their get-up-and-go attitudes.
5. Not all stress
is bad.
While stress is oftentimes the
enemy, we can’t ignore its ability to push us to optimal alertness
and performance. Short, but
significant bouts of stress cause our brains to proliferate new nerve cells
that improve mental performance. Stress hormones are an incredible adaptation
that provide us with the ability to remember not only anxiety-ridden situations
themselves, but more importantly, how will dealt with them – ingraining us with
the power of resiliency, allowing us to be ready for whatever life may throw
our way. Like most things in life, stress is only beneficial in small doses. Chronic stress
leads to increased risk of
chronic obesity, heart disease and depression.
Stress is like spice - in the right
proportion it enhances the flavor of a dish.
Too little produces a bland, dull
meal; too much may choke you." – Donald Tubesing
Rajeev Kurapati, MD, is a Physician
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140614111832-78187820-5-things-you-didn-t-know-about-stress?trk=object-title
Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you
read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”
