This week we will be talking about stress…
Manifestations of stress are numerous and varied but they generally fall into four categories (this is only a partial list of most common symptoms:
· Physical: fatigue, headache, insomnia, muscle aches/stiffness (especially neck, shoulders and low back), heart palpitations, chest pains, abdominal cramps, nausea, trembling, cold extremities, flushing or sweating and frequent colds.
· Mental: decrease in concentration and memory, indecisiveness, mind racing or going blank, confusion, loss of sense of humor.
· Emotional: anxiety, nervousness, depression, anger, frustration, worry, fear, irritability, impatience, short temper.
· Behavioral: pacing, fidgeting, nervous habits (nail-biting, foot-tapping), increased eating, smoking, drinking, crying, yelling, swearing, blaming and even throwing things or hitting
There are two kinds of stressors: external and internal.
External stressors include:
· Physical environment: noise, bright lights, heat, confined spaces.
· Social: rudeness, bossiness or aggressiveness on the part of someone else.
· Organizational: rules, regulations deadlines and office politics.
· Major life events: divorce, lost job, promotion, new baby.
· Daily hassles: being stuck in traffic, forgetting your purse
Internal stressors include:
· Lifestyle choices: caffeine, not enough sleep, overloaded schedule, not eating enough or often enough.
· Negative self-talk: putting yourself down, catastrophizing.
· Mind traps: unrealistic expectations, taking things personally, all-or-nothing thinking, exaggerating.
· Stressful personality traits: perfectionist, workaholic, people pleaser.
Thinking back to the record you’ve kept this week, which category did you fall into?
Ashley, Health Educator
