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| Sunday, 13 July 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The stress factor by Naeema Zain Jiffrey, CCHt, Clinical Hypnotherapist
A study by the University of Manchester rated occupation related stress levels (on a scale from 0 to 10), based upon factors such as pay, physical work environment, control of job activities and stress related issues such as absenteeism. The higher the number, greater the stress. Stress and anxiety affect every business by reducing productivity and profitability; undermine morale, team work and performance; promote confusion, resentment, hostility among employees; all of which in turn foster inefficiency, high absenteeism and turnover. A stress management system should be an essential element of any project to boost productivity and creativity. Stress can play havoc in the physical body causing suppression of immune system creating vulnerability to infections and colds, and by slowing down healing process. Studies have proven a strong link between stress and cancer due to suppression of the immune system. Havoc Over three quarters of all people who develop significant physical illness have experienced unusually high levels of stress in the year preceding their illness, according to the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, vol. 8, 1964, p35-44. Stress and its effects are known to be causative, precipitating, and aggravating factors in illnesses as varied as heart disease, hypertension, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, gastritis, ulcers and many other sicknesses. Just as bodily health and functions succumb to stress, so can the mind and its functions. Stress robs a person of the ability to deal with, act or react in a calm, logical and relaxed manner. Stress can trigger depression, mental fatigue, loss of concentration and focus, inability to think clearly, carelessness, forgetfulness, anxiety, sleep problems, boredom, lack of interest, indecisiveness, obsessive behaviour, inappropriate anger, low tolerance to frustration and mood swings. What is Stress? Stress is a psycho physiologic disorder; in simple language, it is the pressure or impact caused by an overload of sensory input received by a person at any given time or over a period of time. External factors as well as internal experiences of the mind can cause stress. It is not about the world around us; it is our own interpretations and subjective experiences of the world around us, and our own efforts to suppress, deny, and block our feelings which create negative emotions and muscular tension that result in stress. Dr. Hans Seyle, author of 'Stress of life', who coined the term stress described it as 'the wear and tear' on the body, and the rate is affected by our characteristic way of responding to the natural demands for adaptation and change inherent in life. How well as individual functions in high-stress situations depends on his/her tolerance level to stress. Threshold to stress differs from person to person; and within the same person at different times. The antidote for stress is relaxation. Training the body and the mind to relax is fundamental to healing. Besides the many health benefits it helps the body to channel energy into repair and restoration and to provide respite from habitual patterns of tension. Relaxation at the least help regain our natural physical, mental and emotional balance. It also provides an opportunity to break the patterns of self defeating negative self talk; gives a forum to build on positive qualities and aptitudes such as confidence, attention and focus, motivation, etc. Deep relaxation evokes a state of mind in which the mind becomes open to intuition and creativity; and facilitates solution focused thinking and a heightened awareness to possibilities. People using relaxation techniques on a regular basis have the most success at decreasing their anxiety and fears about their illnesses and the daily stresses, decreasing or reversing symptoms, stabilizing disease processes, learning to live a quality life with acute or chronic illnesses and also experiencing peace at time of death. Overall, in addition to the calm balanced state of mind, deep relaxation creates physiological responses such as decreased adrenaline flow, lowered metabolic rate, decreased heart and breathing rates, decreased lactate concentration in the blood (there is a high correlation between increased lactate rates and panic attacks), decreased oxygen consumption, increased mental alertness, and decreased physiological tension. It is a proven fact that inclusion of deep relaxation techniques as a part of daily routine result in symptom reversal or symptom dissipation in stress related illnesses. How can we manage Stress? First and foremost stress management requires acknowledging stress as a factor, identifying stressors, changing them when and where we can, and, changing the way we interpret and react to them when they are outside of our control. Adequate sleep and dreaming are natural ways of releasing tensions, pressures, and stresses, which also allow the body and mind to recharge with energy and to rebuild. Inducing dream therapy has been a well-known technique to vent and release stress. Healthy eating habits should be part of lifestyle, and it's even more important in times of intense stress. Effective management of blood sugar levels is vital, because fluctuations of blood sugar levels and stress are inter-dependent. Minimizing or avoiding intake of caffeine and alcohol help keep stress levels at a low, and eliminate two main symptom triggers. Practising some form of deep relaxation techniques on regular basis is an effective strategy to relieve body mind stress. Physical relaxation alone would not help because emotional tensions in the forms of current stressors, anticipated dangers, and remembered grief can compress a life time of stress in to every passing moment. Engaging in regular active physical exercises and in moving types of meditation also help by utilizing unnecessary high levels of stress chemicals, leaving the body more relaxed and comfortable. Music, especially music chosen to match the mood, can evoke deep relaxation in the listener. It is well-known that slow low-beat music creates relaxation, causing heart beat to slow down and changing the breathing pattern to a deep-rhythmic one, releasing overall body tension, and causing a shift in the mood as well. |
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| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
'Stress has become one of the most serious health issues of the 20th
century', said the 1993 World Labour Report by the UN International Labour
Organization. Stress impacts not only individual health and mental well
being, it affects every process where there is human involvement at every
level; and it affects economies. For instance, Stress related illnesses
such as heart attacks, high blood pressure, and ulcers cost US economy
over $300 billion every year in absenteeism, compensation claims and
medical expenses. In every country women suffer heightened levels of
stress than men because women shoulder more duties involving family and
job than men do.
