Getting to Know Your Stress

Stress is the body's response to a change that requires an adjustment. It causes changed in physical, mental, and emotional behavior. Stress is a part of the daily life, and our minds are designed to deal with it. Unfortunately, we our minds can't always come to immediate conclusions on how to deal with it. Stress is not always a terrible thing; it can keep us motivated, alert, or ready to respond to danger. For example, whenever assignment notebook gets packed with things to do, I am always stressed. I am more motivated to do my homework when I know I have a lot to do so that I am not staying up till 3 in the morning. When I cross off my assignments on that list after they are finished, I can always feel a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders. After school, I come home and immediately work on it. However, when I only have 1 or 2 things to do, I will usually come home and watch a movie or go to the gym first.

Unfortunately, stress tends to lead to negative responses when you are constantly battling challenges without a break or healthy way to cope with it, called distress. Distress can disrupt the body's internal balance and can cause various systems: headaches, stomach pain, chest pain, depression, and anxiety. Stress is linked to six of the leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, liver disease, and suicide. Having a lot of work to do or having a complete change in schedule, for example, can spark a lot of poor responses. The easiest and quickest way to figure out how to deal with your stress is to know what is causing your stress. For instance, if stress is caused from not getting enough sleep, finding time to relax and forget everything for a few moments or getting a nap would be most beneficial. On the other hand, exercising and sweating off the stress could help out someone that just dealt with a breakup. There is countless solutions to dealing with stress; it is just up to you to decide what works best for you and each stressful trigger.

In case of emergencies, the autonomic nervous system handles stress in a method known as the "fight or flight" system. Your brain has a natural instinct to either stay and fight through the issue or run away from it. This immediate response to stress can help keep us safe. If you see deer run in front of your car, your flight response will tell you to swerve the wheel to the side to get away to prevent a crash.

Over the next few weeks, I will be discussing healthy ways to cope with your stress. Test yourself this week and try to figure out what factors are causing your stress. For now, I have to go worry about my own stress. I'll see you later!