Growing 5, January 1995
Stress...
What is it, really?

Featured Writer: James H. Shackelford, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Selye (1956) thought stress related to our physiological arousal responses to threats—muscles tense, blood pressure increases, we become hypervigillant and ready to protect ourselves.

Recognizing that even positive life changes could be stressful, Holmes and Rahe (1967) devised a scale to calculate the amount of significant changes (both +/-) that individuals had to adjust to over a period of time. Higher life stress scores were associated with higher incidents of illness.

Sarason et. al. (1978) believed that how the individual viewed their situation and the changes they were facing influenced how much stress they experienced.

All three ideas make sense. When we feel threatened, we experience an automatic physiological response that may be temporarily or chronically painful. An accumulation of many changes during a relatively short time may overchallenge us. We all recognize that some people thrive on experiences that others would view as painfully stressful—e.g., skydiving, gambling or trading in the commodities market. Whether by temperament, training, or life experiences, each of us is different.

When we experience stress, especially chronic stress, many of us want to find ways to manage and reduce it. Consider the following strategies and which ones you might practice.

Nutrition

	Reduce intake of caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soft drinks).
	Reduce intake of refined sugar (candy, cakes, deserts).
	Eat more fruits, vegetables and grains. Moderate protein and milk intake. Reduce fat intake.
	Don't skip meals. Eat smaller amounts, more often.
	Avoid drug use, especially nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, uppers, downers and hallucinogenics. These stress your system and have no nutritional value.

Exercise

	Use diaphragmatic breathing. Slow down breathing. Counting helps. Breathe deeply; in through nose and out through mouth.
	Choose an exercise routine which you will enjoy and continue doing. Exercises that use gross muscle groups are best (walking, jogging, cycling, rowing, skiing, swim- ming, stairs, low impact aerobics or water aerobics).
	Don't overdo it. Start slowly. Build time (goal: 20-40 mins.). Build frequency (goal: 3-4 xs/wk).
	Schedule specific times for exercise. Make it a priority.
	Walk more. Use the stairs. Park to maximize walking. Walk for fun.

Support

	Get to know the people with whom you work, worship or play.
	Avoid isolation.
	Open yourself to new friendships.
	Nourish yourselves—spend time with and talk to close friends.
	Have a place for periodic retreats which foster your growth.
	Voice your fears, concerns and angers to a “committed ear.”
	Pray and meditate daily in a way that is helpful to you.

Play & Leisure

	Keep your sense of humor. Find occasions to laugh.
	Read enjoyable non-work-oriented books and magazines.
	Take in a concert, play, sports event; check out a fun video; go to the movies.
	Take vacations that SUIT YOU.
	Plan quiet time for yourself each day.
	Carry a paperback or some “fun reading” for times when you have to wait.
	Broaden your cultural and intellectual horizons. Take a class or attend a lecture on a topic that interests you.
	Give yourself permission to fantasize and daydream.
	Keep yourself open to spontaneous happenings, wonder, surprises.
	Each week take your calendar and schedule in free time first.

Skill Building

	Give up the myth of the “fairy tale” ending. Remember the Serenity Prayer.
	Reinforce for yourself the things that are going well and that you do well.
	Listen to others rather than interrupting or finishing their sentences.
	Do a frank self-evaluation and accept your limitations.
	Pay attention to the rituals and traditions of your life and take part in them.
	Learn to delegate.
	Allow more time to decrease rushing; pace yourself.
	Take a lunch break.
	Diminish your tendency to interfere, meddle or control. “Let go, let God.”
	Learn to say “no.” Set your limits.
	Ask for what you need.
	Learn assertiveness skills.
	Recognize that change is the only constant in life. Take enough risks so that you are challenged, but not so many that you are overwhelmed. Be selective about changes you choose to add.

“Do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?” Matthew 7:25-27

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