by Mohtasham Qadri

Created on: April 10, 2010   Last Updated: July 29, 2010

At least once in a day, we all go through the state of ‘stress’ one way or the other but what exactly should it be interpreted as? How do we realize that we are under stress? What causes stress? How do we deal with this trauma? If even you have these kinds of questions brewing up in your mind, then you should just sit back and read on!

Stress is the way our body reacts after confronting certain events. The events that cause stress are called stressors and our bodies get back to them by the activation of the nervous system along with some particular hormones. What happens is that when the human body has an instinct of a stressful situation, the hypothalamus in our brain sends signals to the adrenal gland which in turn increases the production of adrenaline in our bloodstream. This results in a faster heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure making us alert and focused in order to prepare us to handle the forthcoming situation promptly.

Stress can be temporarily as well permanent but we should deal with permanent stress instead of taking measures that can eliminate treat temporary stress but in the longer would harm us. The best way of handling it is by identifying the reason which is inducing it. Here is a list of some common causes of stress:

-Survival Stress: This occurs when you are scared of someone or you feel that something can be harmful to your physical state.

-Internal Stress: this happens when we start thinking about things which we cannot help or when we get bothered about things for no such reason at all.

-Environmental Stress: this is a way of feedback to the things happening around us that causes stress like traffic, crowds and peer pressure.

How to reduce stress from our lives:

-Observe

Look around yourself and see if you can change anything about the situation which is disturbing you. It is important to take control of your surroundings. If they are not under control they will cause you stress.

-Indulge in activities

Get rid of your stress by indulging yourself in physical activities like swimming, jogging, reading, etc. This is one of the best ways of reducing stress on one hand and on the other hand being physically fit. The fitter you are the lesser stress your body will take.

-Be Captivated

Do not go after drugs or alcohol. Consider yourself a captive of your stress and avoid escaping from it. The more you think you are stressed out the more you will feel it. When stressed, consider doing things that relax you such as watching TV, playing games, etc.

-Sleep

Sleep is an essential element for both your health and level of concentration. Try sleeping for at least 7 hours a day.

-Try management

If you cannot denote the reason which is causing stress then face its effect and deal with one at a time. For example, if you are not doing well in school, then try helping this situation out by strategically dealing with it. With strategically dealing we mean by looking at the factors that are causing a particular situation individually at dealing with one at a time.

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