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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Stress

Stress.


All organisms deal with stress, you are not alone. Mechanically speaking the chair your siting on is dealing with stress(es) right now. It's an internal reaction cause by load applied by external forces. In our terms, it can be your boss, your kids, your bills, something in your world that is putting the hurt on you. It can be physical or psychological, but on an evolutionary standpoint we need it. It is there for that very reason, to bring change physically and psychologically. In the developing and fast paced world we live in we deal with a lot of change. Its about coping and learning to adapt for the better that we thrive through these changes, these stresses (near epic).





SCIENCE and History

Claude Bernard, french guy, comes up with the idea of dynamic equilibrium (later called homeostasis). In this the internal's must remain somewhat steady but also must react and adapt to outside influences (temperature, pressure, Habanero sauce, etc.) in order to survive, pretty startling stuff right. Well a guy named Walter Canon comes along with his Emo haircut and says that its not just physical but emotional as well. After writing a few poems about it, the world is given the idea of "flight or flight".   He adds the science of adrenal glands to it, marking epinephrine(adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) as culprits. A third dude jumps on the band wagon, Hans Selye, and adds another adrenal gland to it. The pituitary gland at the base of the brain is responsible for secreting the hormones needed to deal with these fluctuations. He also added the term stress which he borrowed from engineering and GODSMACK.  and that is a mostly true story. 






Signs and Symptoms

These are the things that you need to look for. The things you need to notice.
-irritability -trouble sleeping -fatigue -frequent head aches -gastrointestinal problems -loss/increase in appetite -loss of concentration. -fidgeting -scattered thoughts , and the list continues and can vary with all people.



 - Smoking ( stop this ,visit the blog here- quit smoking) , increase in alcohol and/or drugs, and poor nutritional choices are all related to stress. These can also breed into vicious cycles. From vicious cycles to disease. Just overbearing stress is linked to lowered immune system, anxiety disorders, depression, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease, certain gastrointestinal diseases, some cancers, and even aging.

side story:
I knew a Sgt. in the Marine Corps, who was in Fallujah when shit hit the fan. He was telling me about combat stress and the whole time I couldn't help but stare at the gray hairs on his head (he was 25.) He was telling me about the people he would see that were 22 and looked 30. Combat stress will age you 5 years, is what he would say.




So What can we do H&W?

Don't join the marine corps. (joke) . Seriously you have two choices. There are more but I don't condone those. You can either embrace it or escape it. Fight or flight. Lets see.

BREATHE. Relax. It's literally( LITERALLY) all in your head, all in your dome space. What I love to do with minor stress is realize that it is truly all relative. That my plight is nothing compared to most of the world's people. So take a deep breath and ponder the facts that your facing. Find a way to make it funny, interesting and enjoyable (yes enjoyable turn that frown upside down.)  When your tense make sure it makes sense! Put that on some t-shirts and sell it.
http://stress.about.com/od/breathingexercises/Breathing_Exercises_for_Stress_Management.htm

Exercise. Use the stress to your advantage. Throw some weight around. I know a lot of people (not me) who love to go running or biking or even take long walks to keep a clear head and focus on nothing. Maybe cars and pots holes. I take that back I'm a walking type, but I do a lot of thinking while I walk, and it always turns out good for me.


Vacation. Get out of that environment. It doesn't have to be a sub orbit flight (virgin galactic) or a cruise to the Caribbean. Just get out, go somewhere and do something. a road trip is my kind of vacation. I'm sure you have your weekend spots, and favorite places to go, so go.


Talk about it. Talk with friends and family, they are there for support. If this is isn't the case, while your rethinking who your friends are, go to my favorite choice.  Talk to strangers, seriously. I ride the city bus and I love talking to people who will actually have a conversation with me. There is just that factor of no cares. A stranger can give you unbiased answers and have no fear in telling you the truth. Protip: You can tell a stranger things that you could never tell anyone else, cause they are a stranger.

IN CONCLUSION. Life is change, change is stress, therefor life is stress ( for all you math people). So acknowledge it and cope/adapt/face/treat it. Now walk it out.
  

8 comments:

  1. Yea my way to deal with strees is like last picture ;-) Haters gonna hate and fuck them ;-)

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  2. Honestly I listen to stressed out by A Tribe Called Quest.. Works everytime

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  3. i hate stress but i'm always stressed :S

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  4. Everyone will hit some form of stress whether it be mild or sever. Its a part of life. If we had a stress free world, a lot of diseases would be beaten.

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  5. I exercise constantly, ive always been a bit manic so I find it to be a necessary ritual to keep my stress levels down and my happiness up
    i find talking to family members only increases my stress :)

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  6. Like your advice, I started exercising and feel fantastic even though sometimes I feel out of energy but it's much better than being stressed. And most things, you just have to accept them as they are and move on.

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  7. haters gonna hate...love that pic.

    sex is a great de-stresser. it's a win-win!

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