Stress is one of the greatest causes of illness in our society today. It is possible that as much as 70% of all trips to the doctor can be attributed to stress. Stress is the great pretender, mimicking or contributing to nearly every ailment imaginable. In the interest of your own personal development, you need to be able to identify your
sources of stress so you can control them.
In order to get control over your stress, something in your life must change. We all live with a certain degree of stress in our lives, but there is a point at which it becomes unmanageable, causing physical and mental illness.
Causes of stress can be broken down into internal and external stressors. External stressors are those things which we have no control over. Physical stressors can include a noisy environment, being overly hot or too cold, or feeling confined.
Major changes in your life can also cause stress, such as a lost job, the birth of a child, or a death in the family. Even that promotion you have been wanting will cause stress. Daily inconveniences create stress in our lives: rudeness of others, unreasonable rules at work or inefficient business practices, commuting, and deadlines.
Finally, you also have personally imposed stressors, such as a negative attitude, perfectionism, setting unrealistic expectations, self-criticism. As you can see, stress is hitting you from all angles.
Stress manifests itself in various ways, but there are three main categories where stress will begin to appear.
- Physical Manifestations: You may find that you are uncomfortable much of the time, suffering from headache, fatigue, sweating, or trembling. You may suffer from stomach cramps or nausea, or find you are always sick. The most serious physical effects include chest pains and heart palpitations, often mimicking the symptoms of a heart attack.
- Mental or Emotional Manifestations: Depression is probably the most common mental symptom of stress. More and more, people are seeking out treatment for depression when a few lifestyle changes might take care of the problem.
Other emotional or mental signs of stress include anxiety, frustration, irritability, indecisiveness, confusion, loss of humor, short temper, worry, nervousness, or a loss in concentration or memory.
- Behavioral: Any sudden change in behavior should be a signal that something is wrong. Some of the behaviors that may appear as a result of stress include crying, yelling, throwing things, smoking, drinking, eating, pacing, or other nervous behaviors such as nail biting.
In order to manage your stress you need to make some lifestyle changes. Here is a quick rundown of the simple changes you can make (as soon as today) to begin lowering stress levels. - One of the simplest yet most effective ways to reduce stress is to eliminate caffeine from your diet.
- Elevated stress may cause weight gain so ensure you are eating a balanced diet and receiving plenty of exercise.
- The act of exercising greatly reduces the effects of stress on your body.
- Get enough sleep. Most adults do not get nearly enough sleep for the body to rejuvenate.
- Allow yourself leisure time to enjoy your hobbies like reading, sewing, or music.
- Try meditating or deep-breathing exercises.
- Allow yourself to have leisure time. Completely remove yourself from your environment, either for a few hours or for a real vacation.
You may also try changing some major things in your life. If you are in a job, or in a relationship, that causes you more stress than it does enjoyment, it may be time to leave those things behind. Quitting your job may not be so bad if the stress it causes you is likely to lead to a heart attack a few years from now.
Once you realize what is causing stress in your life, you can implement measures to control it. Controlling stress is not only important for your overall happiness and well-being, but for your health as well. Many serious diseases such as cancer
are being linked more closely with stress, and scientists are finding new ways
every day that stress impacts our lives. Do not let stress get in the way of your own personal development.
The most important thing to keep in mind, though, is that stress is mostly self inflicted. This means you have the means within yourself, and in your life, to counteract the effects of stress or to remove it altogether.
译文:
压力的成因与解决方法
此文为《赶快慢下来》的作者大卫.B.波尔于2008/4/19所写。
在现今的社会，压力是导致疾病的最大一个原因。可能70%的人去看医生都是因为压力的关系。压力是出色的伪装者，它可能或正是你能想象得到的几乎所有疾病的成因。鉴于你的个人发展，你必需具备鉴别你的压力来源的能力，以便你能控制他们。
要控制你的压力，就必须改变你生活中的一些东西。我们所有人的生活都有一定程度的压力，但是这里有一个度，超过这个度，压力就会变得难以控制，导致生理和心理上的疾病。
导致压力的原因可以分为内在的和外在的紧张性刺激。外在的紧张性刺激是我们无法控制的事情。生理上的紧张性刺激可能包括:一个嘈杂的环境，太热或者太冷，或者感到被限制。
你的生活有很大的改变的话也可能导致压力，比如：失业、生孩子、或者家庭成员的死亡。甚至是你期望的升迁都会导致压力。日常的麻烦导致了我们生活中的压力：别人的无礼、工作中的不合理规则或者低效率的生意业务、通勤、以及最后期限。
最后，你还有强加于自身的紧张性刺激，比如一个消极的态度、完美主义、设立不切实际的期望、自我批判。如你所知，压力从各个方面来打击你。
压力有各式各样的表现形式，但是有三个开始产生压力的主要分类。
生理表现：你会发现你大部分的时候都不舒服，遭受头痛、疲劳、出汗、或者发抖的痛苦。你可能饱受胃抽筋或者反胃之苦，或者发现你总是生病。最严重的生理影响包括了：胸部疼痛和心悸，这些通常可能是心脏病的症状。
精神或情感表现：抑郁可能是压力最普遍的精神症状。越来越多的人一直在寻找抑郁的治疗方法，却不知一些小小的生活方式上的改变就会解决这个问题。
压力的其他情感或者精神症状包括了：焦虑、沮丧、易怒、犹豫不决、迷茫、失去幽默感、脾气暴躁、担忧、紧张、不能集中精力或者记忆力下降。
行为上的：任何行为上的突然改变都应该是某些地方出了问题的信号。有些行为是压力导致的结果，如：嚎哭、叫喊、扔东西、吸烟、酗酒、吃东西、踱步、或者其他的紧张行为，就像咬指甲。
为了控制你的压力，你需要在生活方式上做一些改变。这儿是一些迅捷的纲要，你可以做一些简单的改变，用来开始（今天就开始）降低压力水平。
一个最简单却最有效的减少压力的方法就是在你的饮食中去除咖啡因。
压力增加可能会导致体重的增加，所以确保你的饮食均衡，并且进行了足够的锻炼。
大量的运动会减少压力对你身体的影响。
要有足够的睡眠。许多成人都没有足够的睡眠来使身体恢复活力。
允许你自己有一些闲暇来享受你的兴趣，就像阅读、缝纫或者音乐。
尝试一些冥想或者深呼吸练习。
允许你自己有闲暇的时间。彻底将你自己从当时的环境中脱离出来，即便是只有几个小时，或者一个真正的假期。
你还可能尝试改变一些你生活中主要的事情。如果你在工作，或者处于某种关系中，他们会增加你的压力而不是让你获得享受，也许这正是时候将这些事情抛诸脑后了。辞掉你的工作并不是那么的糟糕，如果那份工作带给你的压力可能导致你几年后得心脏病。
一旦你发现什么在你生活中造成了压力，你可以采取一些措施来控制它。
控制压力不仅仅对你全面的快乐与幸福至关重要，对你的健康也是如此。许多严重的疾病，例如癌症，都与压力有密切的联系。并且，科学家们每天都发现压力影响我们生活的新的途径。不要让压力妨碍了你的个人发展.
尽管如此，你要记住的最重要的事情就是,压力大部分都是自己造成的。这意味着抵消或者完全消除压力对你的影响的方法就在你自己身上以及你的生活中。