There's no way we can tackle the topic of stress in one post; it's going to take a few.
Stress! We hear people randomly throw the word around. Some say there's good and bad stresses, while others deny its influence on their lives. In reality, I think it's a pretty vague term and demands that we take a much closer look at how to better recognize it. How do we know if we're stressed, and more importantly, what is it doing to us?
Clearly, stress is not something that's going to go away. With exponential growth and innovation placing more and more pressure on us to meet deadlines and demands, we're going to have to recognize that in order for us to advance as a society in a sustainable way, we're going to have to learn how to curb the pervasiveness of it. If we don't try to understand stress and how it impacts our health, we're inviting serious consequences to the physical and mental well being of our citizens.
Stress! We hear people randomly throw the word around. Some say there's good and bad stresses, while others deny its influence on their lives. In reality, I think it's a pretty vague term and demands that we take a much closer look at how to better recognize it. How do we know if we're stressed, and more importantly, what is it doing to us?
Clearly, stress is not something that's going to go away. With exponential growth and innovation placing more and more pressure on us to meet deadlines and demands, we're going to have to recognize that in order for us to advance as a society in a sustainable way, we're going to have to learn how to curb the pervasiveness of it. If we don't try to understand stress and how it impacts our health, we're inviting serious consequences to the physical and mental well being of our citizens.
Symptoms of stress are extensive and can often be overlooked. Denying its presence and having poor knowledge of ones own body, further hinders identifying the condition, and permits it to continue to deteriorate the health of an individual.
It helps to think of stress as a cause of illness but not an illness in itself. For example, stress will cause high blood pressure, which can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure was the illness that led to the final crisis, but stress was the root cause. The Center for Disease Control has estimated that stress accounts for about 80% of the cost of medical expenses in North America. They further stated that about 70% of our workforce is complaining of burnout symptoms that are related to stress. These are staggering numbers! What's going on?
I'm not completely sure that it's the medical systems responsibility to correct this condition. Treating stress would be extremely difficult, as it is a product of ones lifestyle and coping mechanisms. Short of being administered a barrage of mind dulling drugs; it's difficult to imagine what the health care system could offer.
It's clearly going to have to be up to each individual to be more proactive with how they manage their lives, and learn to be more accountable for their behaviour. I recently read a book by John Medina "Brain Rules", where he presents a 3 part definition to help one to determine if they are under stress. The researchers that came up with the criterion are Jeasok Kim and David Diamond. They assert that if all three parts are present in your life and happening at the same time; you should be concerned. They are described as follows:
#1You need to feel a strong conflict that manifests itself in a way that is observable by an outside party. eg. Rapid speech, fidgety, impatient, very moody, and chronically tired.
#2 You don't want to be a part of the thing that is creating conflict. If you could leave it, you certainly would.
#3 If you feel that you have no control over the conflict.
If all three are present in your life with a high degree of frequency, there's cause for concern. We're not just talking about a couple of days or a week of this type of stress. It's more about that type of stress that seems to be with you for weeks, and months.
Never self diagnose. See your health care provider and discuss your symptoms.
It helps to think of stress as a cause of illness but not an illness in itself. For example, stress will cause high blood pressure, which can eventually lead to a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure was the illness that led to the final crisis, but stress was the root cause. The Center for Disease Control has estimated that stress accounts for about 80% of the cost of medical expenses in North America. They further stated that about 70% of our workforce is complaining of burnout symptoms that are related to stress. These are staggering numbers! What's going on?
I'm not completely sure that it's the medical systems responsibility to correct this condition. Treating stress would be extremely difficult, as it is a product of ones lifestyle and coping mechanisms. Short of being administered a barrage of mind dulling drugs; it's difficult to imagine what the health care system could offer.
It's clearly going to have to be up to each individual to be more proactive with how they manage their lives, and learn to be more accountable for their behaviour. I recently read a book by John Medina "Brain Rules", where he presents a 3 part definition to help one to determine if they are under stress. The researchers that came up with the criterion are Jeasok Kim and David Diamond. They assert that if all three parts are present in your life and happening at the same time; you should be concerned. They are described as follows:
#1You need to feel a strong conflict that manifests itself in a way that is observable by an outside party. eg. Rapid speech, fidgety, impatient, very moody, and chronically tired.
#2 You don't want to be a part of the thing that is creating conflict. If you could leave it, you certainly would.
#3 If you feel that you have no control over the conflict.
If all three are present in your life with a high degree of frequency, there's cause for concern. We're not just talking about a couple of days or a week of this type of stress. It's more about that type of stress that seems to be with you for weeks, and months.
Never self diagnose. See your health care provider and discuss your symptoms.
