Everyone at some point in their life has experienced stress to a greater or lesser degree, for example with the birth of a new baby, a wedding, a beeping horn in a traffic jam or a deadline at work.  Whilst most of us can cope with these everyday events it can become a serious problem when the situation is ongoing for example a financial crisis following the death of a loved one or continous work pressure. 

The effects of stress on the body are well documented including depression, ulcers, raised blood pressure, indigestion, heart attacks, etc., it can also have a huge impact on your emotional health.  Breathing exercises, relaxation exercises and meditation exercises can all be useful in managing stress but ultimately the only real cure is to resolve the problem. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to leave your job or walk out on your wedding it simply means that you have to develop strategies to enable you to gain control over the situation.  

Why do we feel stressed?

When we are stressed or frightened our bodies produce adrenaline triggering a series of reactions commonly referred to as the "fight or flight" reaction, this can include some or all of the following:

• Your pulse rate, blood pressure and the force of contraction of your heart increases so that more blood can be pumped to your muscles and brain.
• Your circulation diverts blood away from the intestines towards your brain (for quick thinking), skeletal muscles (for exercise) and skin (for rapid cooling on exertion). Reduced blood flow in the intestines can cause feelings of ‘butterflies’, and the extra blood in the skin can make you flush with fear.
• Your sweat glands are switched on, ready to cool your body during sudden exercise
• Your muscles tense ready for action – you stiffen and tremble with fear and your voice becomes high-pitched and shaky.
• Your breathing rate goes up and your airways widen to bring extra oxygen into your body.
• Your sugar levels increase as the body’s stores are raised to provide instant energy for extra power, strength and speed.
• Your pupils dilate to improve your field of vision.
• Your bowels may empty (nervous diarrhoea) to make you lighter for running; under severe stress, you may also be sick.
• Chemicals are released into your blood to make it clot more easily, and cause damaged blood vessels to constrict to reduce bleeding from wounds.
• In males, the stress reaction also draws the testicles up towards the abdomen, for safe keeping. 

These effects prepare the body for running away or for combat when you are under threat or pressure. In days gone by this would have helped you survive in hostile surroundings by giving you the extra speed, power and energy to run away from dangerous animals or fight enemies from a nearby tribe.  Under these circumstances the adrenaline would have been neutralised by the sudden exercise involved in fighting or fleeing which would have brought the body systems back into the normal balance.

Nowadays, the need to fight or flee rarely occurs so the effects of stress build up to make you jittery, tense and trembling inside. As exercise is designed to accompany and neutralise the fight-or-flight response, one of the best stress-busting tactics is to increase your level of activity and burn your tension away when you feel the pressure building up.

Reduce your stress load by:

• Establish a routine so that you know when you are supposed to be doing each task
• Remember to take a break. Sometimes having a short time away from the problem enables you to think about it from a different angle.
• Lighten up your load of social engagements. Remember it is OK to say no occasionally.
• Postpone making any changes in your living environment. Any changes in your circumstances will only serve to increase your stress.
• Talk to your partner. Discuss how you are feeling and see if they can help reduce your burden.
• Make sure you are eating a healthy diet, fresh vegetables and plenty of water will make you feel better in yourself. Don't forget to supplement your diet with a multi vitamin and mineral tablet to prevent you from becoming run down and to fend off colds and other infections.
• Stop your put-me-down’s. Don't keep concentrating on how you can't cope start thinking about what you CAN do.
• It is important to sleep properly - read our article on how to get a good night's sleep.