Facts About Stress
By peace | November 24, 2006
Stress is a fact of life that has both positive and negative aspects. Stress adds spice to your life, challenges you, and drives you on. Too much or too little stress can harm your emotional well-being.
Are You Under stress?Stress is a common problem that can build up gradually. You may not be aware of just how much stress you are until it has reached a critical level. Therefore it is important that you learn to recognize the types of symptoms that may indicate that your level of stress is too high.
Symptoms Of Stress
- Regularly having difficulty falling asleep
- Often wanting to cry
- Constantly feeling tried and lethargic
- Rarely laughing or smiling
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Suffering from nervous tics
- Having recurrent headaches or muscle pains
- Being unable to talk to other people
- Becoming increasingly short-templed
- Feeling unable to cope
- Starting to drink or smoke more
- Developing explosive rages
- Losign interest in sex
- Constantly having gloomy, pessimistic thoughts
- Eating when not hungry
- Lacking in enthusiasm
- Driving fast and dangerously
If you are suffering from more than four of the symptoms listed above, you are likely to be overstressed. To maintain your health, you need to identify the sources of stress in your life and try to alleviate them.
Stress Rating Scale
Psychologists have calculated the stress value of different events and have provided a rating for each one. Everyone deals with stress differently, so these values are only approximate. They can help you predict your chances of experiencing significant mental or physical ill-health due to the effects of stress.
Add up the points given for any of the events that have happened to you in the last six months. If your total is over 40, you have a high risk of developing a stress-related illness or exhaustion.
- Minor violations of the law – 2 points
- Change in sleeping habits, eating habits, church activities, recreation or going on holiday – 3 points
- Moving home, changing school, building an extension or making extensive or making extensive home improvements, job under threat, change in work habits or conditions, spouse begins or stops work – 5 points
- Child leaving home, starting or leaving school, arguments at work or at home, rapid promotion, jet lag(twice or more), minor illness or injury, large mortgage, debt problems – 6 points
- New job, foreclosure of mortgage or loan, change to different type of work – 7 points
- Sexual problems, death of a close friend, marked change in financial situation, demotion at work – 8 points
- Pregnancy, illness in the family, retirement, redundancy – 9 points
- Major personal injury or illness, marriage or reconciliation, being fired – 11 points
- Divorce, death of a close family member, being sent to jail – 15 points
- Death of a spouse – 20 points
Risks And Benefits Of Stress
Problems occur when stress is constant, rather than temporary. Ideally, stress should arise as you meet a particular challenge, and subside once those demands or difficulties have been resolved.
Short bursts of stress — whether enjoyable or upsetting at the time — are followed by a return to a resting state. But if stress and tension are unrelenting, rest is impossible and symptoms of either physical or mental illness can result.
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