Transcript What is Stress? - Munoz Family Health Clinic

Stress©
By Abilio Munoz, MD
September 19, 2007
Objectives
What is Stress?
What is Too Much Stress?
Associated Problems Caused by Stress
Symptoms of Stress
Tips to treat your stress
Is Stress Good or Bad?
• Hans Hugo Bruno Selye “stress is not
necessarily something bad – it all depends
on how you take it. The stress of
exhilarating, creative successful work is
beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation
or infection is detrimental.” The
biochemical effects of stress would be
experienced irrespective of whether the
situation was positive or negative.
Distress vs. Eustress
• Distress is the most commonly-referred
to type of stress, having negative
implications, whereas eustress is a
positive, desirable form of stress.
• Both can be equally taxing on the body,
and are cumulative in nature
Too Much Stress
• common signs that you’ve had too much
excitement and need to slow down
include:
– Impatience or Edginess
– Lack of Enjoyment
– Sleep Problems
– Exhaustion
Definition
• Now, the most commonly accepted
definition of stress is that stress is a
condition or feeling experienced
when a person perceives that
demands exceed the personal and
social resources the individual is able
to mobilize.
Associated Conditions
• Anxiety/panic disorder
• Depression
• Insomnia
• Anger
• Headaches
• Lack of concentration
• Lower libido
Complications
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Shingles
• Eczema
• Abdominal pain - IBS
Symptoms
• Physical –
– HA, HTN, CP, indigestion, magnification of
symptoms
• Psychological –
– depression, anxiety, irritability, helplessness,
sad and sensative
• Behavioral –
– Impatience, overeating, procrastination,
isolation, poor personal hygiene, burnout
Mechanisms
• Fight or Flight
• General Adaptation Syndrome
• The Way We think
“Fight-or-Flight”
• When an animal experiences a threat or
shock, hormones are released which
quickly will help escape the problem or
deal with shock.
“Fight or Flight”:Only with life
threatening situations?
• Not really:
– recent research shows that we experience
the fight-or-flight response when simply
encountering something unexpected.
General Adaptation Syndrome
• is response to longer-term exposure to
causes of stress.
• Three phases
Animals React in Three Stages
• First, in the Alarm Phase, they reacted to the
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stressor.
Next, in the Resistance Phase, the resistance to
the stressor increased as the animal adapted to,
and coped with, it. This phase lasted for as long
as the animal could support this heightened
resistance.
Finally, once resistance was exhausted, the
animal entered the Exhaustion Phase, and
resistance declined substantially
Normal Life Stress
• stress is subtle and occurs without obvious
threat to survival. Most comes from things
like work overload, conflicting priorities,
inconsistent values, over-challenging
deadlines, conflict with co-workers,
unpleasant environments and so on.
The Way We Think
The way we think
• How stressed someone feels depends on how
much damage they think the situation can do
them, and how closely their resources meet the
demands of the situation. This sense of threat is
rarely physical. It may, for example, involve
perceived threats to our social standing, other
people’s opinions of us, our career prospects or
to our own deeply held values.
So you have Stress
• Who cares?
You Do.
• And you will need to take the appropriate
steps to improve it.
Examine the Cause of Stress
• Is your job to stressful?
• Are there relationships in your life that are
causing stress
• Family problems
• Financial problems
• The way you think
• Do you worry too much about what others
think
Treatment
• Avoid stressors
• Change the reaction to stressors
• Relieving stress after the reaction
Avoid stressors
• Learn the power of “NO”
• Set realistic goals and modify your
schedule
• Allow plenty of time – make time for time
off
• Family time should be relaxing
• Avoid Caffeine, enegry drinks, drugs
• Avoid: ephedra, guarana, synephrine,
yohimbine
Changing the Reaction to the
stressors
• Exercise: take a pleasure walk. Do a
repetetive activity
• Talk to a friend or a love one about day’s
event.
• Confront interpersonal conflict at work
• Change your job
• Eat healthy/Sleep 8 hrs
Relieve Stress
• Every once in a while, do something totally
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different and unexpected without prior planning.
Exercise
Listen to music
Massage
Aromatherapy
Eat healthy/sleep 8 hrs
If severe, talk to your doctor.
“Don’t” of Stress
• Don’t treat by eating, smoking, consuming
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caffeine, alcohol.
Don’t cram stress relieving activities
Don’t do activities that increase excitement or
stress: ie: competitive activities
Don’t procrastinate
Don’t de-stress by arguing with others.
Tips
• Try a repetitive activity – ie vacuuming,
shredding paper, mowing the lawn.
• If in your car, turns on some tunes. Clench
exercise in your car.
• Exercise, swimming is great
• Recall a past success. Reflect on how you
pulled through other stressful situations.
• Back off stressful confrontations.
What About Supplements?
• Multivitamin
• Vitamin C recommended 75 to 90 mg
• Calcium: 1500 mg daily
• Magnesium: 400 mg daily
• Vitamin B complex