Take care for yourself!

Stress - An enemy to fight March 4, 2008

Posted by caregiver in : good health, stress , trackback

“We hear people say all the time, ‘Don’t get yourself so stressed out that you become sick.’ They probably don’t realize there is an actual biological basis for that”. Sonia, a single mother with a teenage son, a dwindling bank account, and a strained relationship with her parents, already had ample reason to feel stressed-out. Then, unexpectedly, an itchy, burning rash developed on her arm. She tried antibiotics, cortisone creams, and antihistamines, but none of these helped. Instead, the rash spread all over Sonia’s body, including her face. Stress was literally getting under her skin.

Sonia was referred to a dermatology clinic that examines the emotional state of its patients. “We try to find out what’s going on in their lives,” says the clinic’s cofounder. He often finds that in addition to needing medical care, people with stubborn skin problems need help managing stress. “It would be simplistic to say that the way you feel or act causes skin disease,” The doctor admits. “But we can say that one’s emotional state can play a large part in skin disorders, and we shouldn’t keep writing prescriptions for steroid cream without also helping a person to work on the stress in her life.”
Sonia feels that learning to manage stress literally saved her skin. “I still have flare-ups,” she says, “but my skin is nothing like the disaster it was.” An unusual case? Hardly. Many doctors believe that stress is often a factor in a number of dermatologic conditions, including hives, psoriasis, acne, and eczema. But stress can affect more than just your skin.

Stress and Your Immune System

Current research shows that stress can suppress your immune system, perhaps opening the door to a number of infectious diseases. “Stress doesn’t make you sick,” says a virologist. “But it does increase your risk of being sick because of what it does to your immune system.” There is particularly compelling evidence linking stress to colds, the flu, and herpes. Although we are continually exposed to such viruses, our immune system normally fights them off. But some experts say that when a person is under emotional distress, these defenses can fail. The biological mechanisms involved are not yet fully understood, but some theorize that the hormones that gear you up for action when you are under stress can hamper your immune functioning as they surge through the bloodstream. Usually, this is not a cause for concern, since these hormones are only on a temporary mission. Nevertheless, some say that if a person faces stress that is ongoing and intense, his immune system may be compromised to the extent that he becomes susceptible to illness. This might help to explain why Canadian doctors estimate that some 50 to 70 percent of the office visits they handle are stress-related, typically involving headaches, insomnia, fatigue, and gastrointestinal problems. In the United States, the figure is estimated at between 75 and 90 percent. A doctor feels that she is not exaggerating when she says: “Chronic stress is like slow poison.”

Neither Sole Cause nor Sole Cure

Despite the foregoing, scientists are not sure that stress alone can affect the immune system enough to make a medical difference. Thus, it cannot be stated dogmatically that everyone who faces stress, even in its chronic form, will succumb to a disease. Conversely, it cannot be said that the absence of stress will guarantee good health, nor is it wise to refuse medical attention on the misinformed notion that illness can be willed away through optimism and positive thinking. A doctor cautions: “The result of this attitude-will-cure-all rhetoric has been to create widespread confusion and misunderstanding about the extent to which illness can be affected by the mind, and, perhaps worse, sometimes to make people feel guilty for having a disease, as though it were a sign of some moral lapse or spiritual unworthiness.” It must be realized, therefore, that the cause of an illness can rarely be narrowed down to a single factor. Still, the connection between stress and illness emphasizes the wisdom of learning how to alleviate this “slow poison” whenever possible. Before considering how this can be done, let us take a closer look at the nature of stress and how in some cases it can even be good for you.

Good Stress, Bad Stress

“Since stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand, everybody is always under some degree of stress”. For a violinist to make music, the strings on his instrument must be taut—but only to a degree. If they are too tight, they will snap. But if the strings are too loose, they will produce no sound at all. The proper amount of tension lies somewhere between the two extremes. It is similar with stress. Too much can be harmful, as we have already seen. But what about no stress at all? While the prospect might sound inviting, the fact is that you need stress—at least to a degree. For example, imagine that while crossing a street, you suddenly notice that a car is speeding toward you. It is stress that enables you to get out of harm’s way—quickly! But stress is not only useful for emergencies. You also need stress to accomplish everyday tasks. Everybody is under some degree of stress all the time. ‘The only way to avoid stress is to die,’ says a doctor. He adds that the statement “he is under stress” is as meaningless as the expression “he is running a temperature.” “What we actually mean by such phrases,” says Selye, “is an excess of stress or of body temperature.” In this context recreation also involves stress, and so does sleep, since your heart must continue to beat and your lungs to function.

Three Kinds of Stress

Just as there are different degrees of stress, there are also different types. Acute stress results from the strains of everyday life. Often, it involves unpleasant situations that need to be resolved. Since these are incidental and only temporary, the stress can usually be managed. Of course, there are some who jump from one crisis to another—indeed, chaos seems to be part of their personality. Even this level of acute stress can be brought under control. The sufferer may resist change, however, until he realizes the effect that his tumultuous life-style is having on him and on those around him. While acute stress is temporary, chronic stress is long-term. The sufferer sees no way out of a stressful situation, be it the woes of poverty or the misery of a despised job—or no job. Chronic stress can also result from ongoing family problems. Caring for an infirm relative can bring on stress as well. Whatever the cause, chronic stress grinds away at its victim day after day, week after week, month after month. “The worst aspect of chronic stress is that people get used to it,” says one book on the subject. “People are immediately aware of acute stress because it’s new; they ignore chronic stress because it’s old, familiar, and, sometimes, almost comfortable.” Traumatic stress is the impact of an overwhelming tragedy, such as rape, accident, or natural disaster. Many war veterans and concentration camp survivors suffer from this type of stress. Symptoms of traumatic stress may include vivid memories of the trauma, even years later, along with an increased sensitivity to minor events. Sometimes the sufferer is diagnosed with a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sensitized to Stress

Some say that the way we respond to stress in the present largely depends on how much and what kind of stress we have encountered in the past. They say that traumatic events can actually alter the brain’s chemical “wiring,” leaving a person much more sensitive to stress in the future. For example, in a study of 556 veterans of World War II, Dr. Lawrence Brass found that risk of stroke was eight times higher among those who had been prisoners of war than among those who had not—even 50 years after the initial trauma. “The stress of being a POW [prisoner of war] was so severe it changed the way these folks responded to stress in the future—it sensitized them.” Stressful events experienced in childhood should not be underestimated, experts say, since these can have a substantial impact. “Most kids who suffer a trauma are not brought to the doctor,” says a doctor. “They get through the problem, go on with their lives, and wind up in our offices years later, suffering from depression or heart disease.” Consider, for example, the trauma of losing a parent. “Stress of that magnitude occurring when you are young may permanently rewire the brain’s circuitry,” says Dr. King, “leaving it less able to handle normal, everyday stress.”
Of course, how a person responds to stress can depend on a number of other factors as well, including his physical constitution and the resources available to help him cope with stressful events. Regardless of its cause, though, stress can be managed. Granted, this is not easy. A doctor observes: “Telling someone who has been sensitized to stress to just relax is like telling an insomniac to just fall asleep.” Still, there is much that a person can do to reduce stress, as the following article will show.

There is much you can do to alleviate stress so that it does not overwhelm you. Consider the following suggestions:

1. Watch what you eat. A healthy diet includes proteins, fruits, vegetables, cereals and other grains, and dairy products. Be wary of refined white flour and saturated fats. Watch your intake of salt, refined sugar, alcohol, and caffeine. Improve your diet, and you may become less susceptible to stress.
2. Exercise. Indeed, moderate but consistent exercise—some recommend three times a week—strengthens the heart, improves circulation, lowers cholesterol, and reduces your chances of a heart attack. More than that, exercise promotes a sense of well-being, likely because of the endorphins that are released during strenuous activity.
3. Get sufficient sleep. Lack of sleep leads to exhaustion and decreases your ability to manage stress. If you have trouble sleeping, try keeping to regular times for going to bed and getting up. Some recommend that naps be limited to 30 minutes so that they do not interfere with a good night’s sleep.
4. Get organized. People who manage their time are much better able to cope with stress. To get organized, first determine which responsibilities deserve priority. Next, make a schedule so that these will not be neglected.
5. Get support. During stressful times those who have a social network gain at least a measure of protection against becoming overwhelmed. Finding just one trusted friend in whom to confide can make a difference. An old saying states: “A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress.”
6. Resolve conflicts. The wisdom of quickly settling differences rather than harboring anger is shown in a study of 929 heart-attack survivors. Those with high hostility rates were three times more likely to die of cardiac arrest within ten years of the first attack than their mild-tempered counterparts. The authors of the study point out that while anger seems to be the strongest factor, any intense negative emotion that sends strong surges of stress hormones through the body can have the same effect.
7. Make time for family. Parents must spend time with their children, inculcating right principles into their hearts. The bond that results promotes family solidarity—something that is sadly lacking today. One study revealed that some working couples spend an average of just 3.5 minutes playing with their children each day. Yet, your family can be a tremendous resource when you face stress. “Family gives you an unconditional charter membership in an emotional support group that really knows you for who you are and likes you anyway,” says one book on stress. “Family teamwork is one of the best means of reducing stress.”
8. Be reasonable. A person who constantly pushes himself to the limit physically and emotionally is a prime candidate for burnout and possibly for depression. Balance is the key. Learn to say no to demands that exceed what you can reasonably handle.
9. Make time for relaxation. Balanced pleasures can refresh the body and help to offset stress.

Do your very best to apply the above counsel, stress is your personal enemy to fight and win otherwise it will be the winner and you the looser, but this is not what you want, don’t you? Surely if you do your best to apply the above counsel in your life you will soon realize that stress can be managed and kept under control and you can take care of yourself!

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