Dramatic changes in your life can be stressful, reeking havoc not only with your life, but with your health as well. It’s not the changes themselves that causes health issues, but your reaction to these changes.

 

 

This diagram provides a nice overview.

Stress

Mental Anguish

Physical Response (fight or flight hormones released at chronic levels)

Illness

 

Let’s look at these steps in more detail.

Causes of Stress

Four general categories of stressors were outlined by Dr. Hans Selye, considered the father of stress, in the 1950s:

• Physical (poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle, wear and tear on the body)
• Mental (negative self-talk, information overload, academic pressure)
• Psychological (trauma, emotional stressors)
• Environmental (noise, pollution, toxins, traffic, overcrowding)

In 1967, Drs. Holmes and Rahe developed the Holmes Stress Point Assessment Scale (see Table I.) According to Holmes,

“The values [on the scale] show the relative impact of stressful events…and give some indication (and the list is by no means complete) of the wide range of stresses in our lives which may lead to possible health risks.”

Here’s an example of what stress can feel like:

Say you’re on the roof of a twenty story building (A) with your supervisor. There is another identical twenty story building (B) across the street. Your supervisor lays a 4 inch wide beam across the span between the two buildings, and asks you to walk across to building B.

Suddenly, you’re not feeling so well. You do your best to avoid hearing his request.

Then, you make a break towards the door leading to the stairs and your escape from what is sure to be a fatal crossing, only to stop short. Flames are bursting from the stairwell - building A is on fire!

It’s just not your day.

Do you attempt to cross to the other building on the beam, or stay on top of a burning building?

This is what change can feel like. It’s scary and risky going forward, but you can’t go back.

 

Response to Stressors

Mentally:

After identifying the stressors in your life over the past year on the Holmes Scale in Table I, ask yourself the following questions, developed by the Learning Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

“Yes” answers to these questions can be an indicator of mental reactions which may lead to harmful physical responses.

1. Do you worry about the future?
2. Do you sometimes have trouble falling asleep?
3. Do you often reach for a cigarette, a drink or tranquilizer in order to reduce tension?
4. Do you become irritated over basically insignificant matters?
5. Do you have less energy than you seem to need or would like to have?
6. Do you have too many things to do and not enough time to do them?
7. Do you have headaches or stomach problems?
8. Do you feel pressure to accomplish or get things done?
9. Are you very concerned about being either well-liked or successful?

Physically:

How does your body respond to these stressors? Chemicals in your brain are released as part of your “flight or fight” response. Under normal crisis situations, these chemicals can save your life - giving you the adrenalin to get you moving quickly. But at low chronic levels of release, they’re harmful in a variety of ways.

In fact, the American Institute on Stress (AIS) lists fifty possible physical responses to stress. Some of the most common are shown in this diagram:

 

What You Can Do

As outlined in my recent article “Debt Can Ruin Your Health in More Ways Than One :”

If you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms, whether it be caused by debt, or caused by other stress related factors in your life, there are actions you can take to ease the pain:

• Cut out coffee and other caffeinated beverages.
• Exercise. You don’t have to run a marathon. Go for a walk, or wash the kitchen floor. If you’re more energetic, try a yoga class, or join the local gym.
• Meditate. I hate this one, never do it, but many are successful at it, and I hear it works wonders.
• Breathe. Often during a stressful situation, people “forget” to breathe. Consciously reminding yourself to do it can keep the oxygen flowing to your brain, and have a surprisingly calming effect. Slow, comfortable, deep breathes.
• Get Enough Sleep. A good night’s sleep can do wonders for the psyche. This can be a tough one to manage, especially if your worry genes are working in overdrive, or your burning the candle at both ends with an extra job.
• Reframing. One of the most powerful stress reducers, “reframing is changing the way you look at things so you can feel better about them.” e.g. - keep the cup half full rather than half empty.
• Keep your expectations realistic. or as my father used to say, “you can’t get water from a stone.”
• Make sure you take some time off. If you burn yourself out, you’ll only make matters worse. Strive to maintain balance in your life.

You may also want to check out another article “Having a Bad Hair Day? Four Stress-Relieving Tips.”

What are some ways you ease stress?

Table I: Holmes Stress Point Scale: Adult Assessment

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