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My wife I are currently in Las Vegas and we are stunned by the constant news of how the financial crisis is flattening the Las Vegas economy, causing huge job loss, and creating enormous anxiety and workplace stress for local people. It is hard to imagine the extent of this downturn when we think of Las Vegas, gambling city of the world, playground for the rich and famous, a modern-day engineering marvel in the Nevada desert. Yet this amazingly wealthy city is suffering in the current financial crisis. The local newspaper reports event cancellations, revenue shortfalls, and widespread job sackings. It seems that even this famous city is not resistant to economic pressures and thousands of locals are experiencing workplace stress as a phenomenal level.

Yesterday we caught a taxi to one of the famous factory outlets and the taxi driver, a 23 year local, said he had never seen anything as bad economically in Las Vegas before. On the famous Strip, 40,000 jobs have been lost. These are, of course, service industry jobs. Waitresses, bus boys, door attendants, dealers, and all the support personnel are losing their jobs. Many of these jobs rely on tips from satisfied customers but when money is tight, tips are small.

President Obama made reference recently to the fat cat conventions being held by members of the finance industry in Las Vegas. Fear of losing the stimulus package caused many of these finance executives to cancel events in Las Vegas. The latest figures show that cancellation of conventions and business meetings has meant 111,800 fewer guests and 236,700 room nights fewer than expected. Of course, when people are in Vegas they gamble and the estimated reduction in gambling revenue for this current period is $131.6 million. This does not include, for example, spending on wine and food, shopping and tourist travel. The impact on the local economy is devastating and this downturn is causing enormous anxiety and stress at all levels of employment in Las Vegas.

For some months now there has been news of home foreclosures by the hundreds if not thousands in Las Vegas. These foreclosures have spawned a new business: a bus service that takes people from foreclosed house to foreclosed house either for gratuitous viewing or for potential purchase. What a sad time we live in.

All of these factors leave thousands of people in Las Vegas as victims of workplace stress, anxiety, fear, and depression. Even if people do not lose their jobs immediately, there is an ever present threat of job losses that makes them feel insecure, worried, and fearful. This kind of personal stress and workplace stress can be extremely disabling. It is very hard to be confident and stress free when in this city of extravagant riches there is so much uncertainty, job instability, and financial uncertainty. When we see reports that gambling revenues have declined for the 13th straight month we can imagine that people have become nervous about their jobs and their workplace stress levels have increased dramatically. Let's hope we soon see a turnaround in the economy.

Warm regards

Dr Jeff

For the team at Mighty Digital Downloads 

If you are a dad reading this blog, how does this sound? Your wife says to you one day “Honey, I think I would like to work and you can stay home and look after the kids. How does that sound?”  Your first thought was – “What a great idea.  It would be a snack to get the kids organized, too little bit of laundry, organize the shopping. I could use my project management skills from work and get this done in probably an hour a day. Then I would have the rest the day after I got the kids to school to have a workout, play tennis, perhaps join the boys for a drink at lunch time. And I wouldn't have to get dressed and go to work everyday. What a dream!”

Some of you might've watched a very young Michael Keaton play a stay at home dad in the movie Mr. Mom. I saw this movie again recently and recalled my earlier jokes to my wife (we had four young kids then) that I would be happy to stay at home. What would the reality be as good as the dream? What are the stresses that attend what is often seen as a role reversal – dad stays home and mom goes to the office?

Well guess what? In the US we have a situation where the work force is just on 50:50. In the last year or so, of the total number of those terrifying ‘you’re fired’ pink slips being handed out, 80% have been to men. We now have an enormous social transition with many men staying home, Stay At Home Dads (SAHD) to be good dads and good ‘wives’. But what of the marital stress in this new arrangement?

Well here’s the good news, in my view. Many younger men actually enjoy lots of the things they can do at home. My sons love to cook. I have friends who cook meals more often than their wives. Most of my male friends and family do not see cooking as a ‘female thing’. They also play their part in household chores. What man could ever admit that he couldn’t work a washing machine? How many men think that washing up is a woman’s work? If they do, they are probably lazy and self-centered in other parts of their marital relationship. And many men love spending time with their children. While there is a strong maternal drive in women, for many men there is an equal and powerful paternal drive.

So my first instinct is that if the man has a healthy self-image, if he is relaxed and confident in his masculinity, if he believes that a marriage is about sharing, giving, loving, and contributing in equal amounts, if his identity is not determined by his work role and setting, then he will transition to a stay at home dad very easily.

Of course, if we invert all these conditions, we will find men who cannot endure being a stay at home dad. Here is where the troubles will start; here is where marital stress will charge through the front door of the house. If the husband sees his role as ‘provider’ and if his self-perception is framed by this view, he may feel disenfranchised and (emotionally if not physically) impotent. He may have excessive concerns about what his male friends think. Will they see him as ‘the little woman?’ Will they still hang out?  Will his personal moods become more feminine? Will he be able to cope with earning less or no money, being more emotional, talking about things like diapers instead of hunting and so on. Will he be frightened that his sex life will be disrupted by the ‘boss’ coming home from the office either too tired to be interested or too dominating to meet his needs? Those men who adopt a ‘macho’ view of maleness have increased depression, anxiety, substance problems, and marital stress and breakdown AND they rarely seek professional help.

While there is very little research in the area, what is emerging is that for many men the opportunity to stay at home, be a great dad, spend more time with the kids, engage in domestic routines is liberating and enriching. A recent national survey (University of Texas at Austin, 2008) paints a different picture. Psychological well-being and partnership satisfaction increased for the stay at home dads. Closer relationships with their children, adopting a nurturing role, reconceptualizing the traditional ‘male role’ (stiff upper lip, show no emotions, be the provider etc), but they still follow ‘male’ pursuits such as fishing, hunting, talking about sport, messing with their cars and so on.

There can be issues around financial stability, of course, but these occur whenever there is only one partner earning income. In some cases, highly paid men have been sacked and their wives may well be earning significantly less than their formerly employed husbands. This will create marital stress. The upside though is that children are not put into expensive day care. Parents are happier knowing that their kids are with their primary caretaker – their dad. For many couples this feeling of security and satisfaction is infinitely more important than having a new car and a 5,000 square foot home with no mortgage. 

If you want to see how some men cope with being a stay at home dad, go to this great website: www.athomedad.org . I read the humor page which is very funny. One article begins like this: “You're sitting all alone in your house watching your newborn baby. You haven't had an intelligent conversation in months. Your only stimulant has been a cup of coffee and the smell of Pledge. You find you keep speed-dialing your wife at work even though you still have nothing to say to her.” But then the practical advice and the comments from other SAHD are wonderful.

 So, there does not have to be marital stress for a SAHD and his partner. There does not have to be depression or substance abuse. There does not have to be feelings of anxiety, despair, and loss of masculinity. For those SAHD who feel very comfortable with their choices, rather than personal stress or marital stress, there is much greater likelihood of deep contentment and joy in this growing role for men.

 Best wishes

Dr Jeff for the team

Dr Jeff, a psychologist, writes about workplace stress, personal stress, interpersonal stress, and how to manage stress. On his blog,http://www.drjeffbailey.com, he answers questions from readers. He works hard to make his articles practical and helpful and all of his articles are based on sound research evidence and extensive clinical experience. Please go to his Dr Jeff blog to get your free report on stress.

I write lots of articles about stress, especially workplace stress but as it is Valentine's Day, an important time in the annual calendar for expressions of love, an article on romance and stress seems relevant. On Valentine's Day, the romantics among us send cards, give flowers and chocolates, and take time out for romantic dinners and outings. The two Valentine symbols are Cupid and the heart. No doubt, Valentine's Day is as much about commerce as romance, with men spending twice as much as women, and over one billion cards being sent across the world. But how does romance flourish during tough economic times and what is the impact on personal and workplace stress?

Here is a simple conclusion: when times are tough people spend to make themselves feel better. They want to do things which are memorable, even extravagant. They want to feel valued and secure. They want to reduce their stress and they can do this through pleasant events, romantic interludes, and physical expression of love.

We are in the middle of one of the gloomiest financial times since the stock market crash of 1987. So how does this affect our feelings about romance and sex?

There are conflicting theories and research about the effect of sexual interest and activity during a recession. But is there a chemical basis to the sexual interest?  There are three main neurophysiological chemicals that affect our behavior: dopamine, epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine. These three chemicals are involved in arousal and stress although the main chemical seen in stress situations is cortisol. One of the earliest stages of human sexual response is called libido and we talk about people having high and low libidos in terms of the level of their sexual interest. Testosterone and estrogen are two chemicals implicated in libido but a major one is dopamine.

There are two different and conflicting points of view from the research about the relationship between sexual interest and difficult financial times as in a recession. One view is that stress causes an increase in dopamine levels and, as I mentioned above, elevated levels of dopamine increase libido. An increase in libido means an increased interest in physical and romantic relationships. So, one research conclusion suggests that Valentine's Day, recessions, and romantic and sexual interest would interact and probably reduce personal and workplace stress.

There have been reports recently of very large increases in people subscribing to websites like eHarmony, Manhunt and Match, Internet dating sites. As well, there are reports of increases in sales of sex toys around the world. From a psychological point of view, though, increased stress levels typically dampen arousal and desire. If people feel uncertain, insecure, stressed, and anxious libido is negatively affected. All of these negative feelings lower one’s feelings of self-efficacy and self-confidence. Both of these emotional states are important in terms of reducing performance anxiety and increasing pleasurable anticipation.

It is difficult to draw out the lesson from these two conflicting points of view but one of the constants in this analysis is the concept of stress. The events which surround us at home or in the workplace or in the larger society all affect our levels of stress. Stress makes us feel anxious, worried, distracted, and even tired. Stress affects our personal and our workplace relationships. Stress is manageable and requires us to work diligently to control and reduce our levels of stress. I would like to think in this time of Valentine's Day that enjoying each other romantically and physically is a great way to reduce personal and workplace stress and see the real value in our lives.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dr Jeff

For the team at mightydigitaldownloads.com 

Dr Jeff, a psychologist, writes about workplace stress, personal stress, interpersonal stress, and how to manage stress. On his blog,http://www.drjeffbailey.com, he answers questions from readers. He works hard to make his articles practical and helpful and all of his articles are based on sound research evidence and extensive clinical experience. Please go to his Dr Jeff blog to get your free report on stress.

What you often find with these types of people is they have a serious lack of self-awareness. They use a style of defense called external attribution. It is always someone else’s fault that things go wrong; someone else failed to pull their weight; someone else didn’t meet the deadlines’ someone else failed to tell her what was required and when. I’m sure you get the point.

Related to self-awareness is the fascinating concept promoted by Dr Daniel Goleman – emotional intelligence. EI as it is called, and self-awareness, are two of the most important indicators of successful leadership in an organization. To be healthy, collaborative, and productive in the workplace, we need to be honest with ourselves. We need to objectively audit our strengths and weaknesses. We need to work hard to present a positive and cooperative approach to our colleagues. We need to be an effective contributor on the work team. We must be respectful and courteous of our colleagues.

What happens when you have a person who is unaware of the negativity they bring to the workplace? You have work to do or else this person will stress you out of your mind. You have to develop coping skills that mean that you do not get workplace stress. After all, why should this person cause you personal stress and upset? You have to accept that this is their problem, not yours; you need to maintain a professional and respectful approach to this individual. You need to find their particular strengths and give clear support to these strengths.

To deal effectively with personal stress and workplace stress you have to rise above yourself. You have to understand the problems the stress-causer is experiencing. You have to distance yourself from the person and the stress. You have to take a ‘so-what’ attitude and attend to your own business. The more you invest in the negative, stressful person, the more you will elevate your own stress levels and fail to get stress relief. Don’t be afraid to help them but don’t let them upset your good mood and turn your workplace into stress hell! Good luck!

For more strategies on stress relief refer to some of my other articles:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Jeff_Bailey

Warm regards

Dr Jeff

For the team at mightydigitaldownloads.com 

Dr Jeff Bailey, psychologist, helps stressed patients. Why put up with stress? Learn stress management skills now.  Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don’t waste another minute stressed and burnt out. Act now – learn how to relieve stress. 

In the articles I have been writing on stress, I notice that people seem to be more interested in workplace stress than other types of stress. This is perfectly understandable as we have to spend a lot of time at work. In fact, very recent research demonstrates that the average American worker is spending more time at work than ever before. And often without extra remuneration.And, as my colleague Rowena French tells me, weight increases as stress increases!

So what causes stress at work? What is it that makes people anxious, worried, uncertain, unfulfilled, and even depressed? And why do we let work stress overcome our lives and make us miserable? Why do we spend so much time replaying a nasty incident between ourselves and a work colleague or boss? Why do we talk about work so much when we go out to party? Can’t we leave the work pressures and incidents behind and discuss healthier topics?

I know the answers to most of these questions and my first thought is this – it is hard to separate out the different parts of our life so that one does not overlap into the other. Life is about work and work can consume our life. But I also know as a therapist that we bring many of our personal issues to the workplace and this can add to the work stress we are experiencing.

When I used to provide Employee Assistance Counseling a year or two ago, I was amazed to note the research that 76% of the ‘problems’ employees sought to discuss with the organization’s psychologist were NOT work stressors but personal problems. Most therapists, including me, review a constellation of factors when identifying either personal or workplace stress. These include family concerns, finances, addictive behaviors, relationships, and work. We know that many people that we see have failed to develop and maintain a healthy and nurturing life-work balance.

So what is there about work, stress, and life-balance disorders that provide too much tension and too little stress relief? I could provide more than 20 factors in the workplace that can create organizational and personal malaise.

But, in this article, I do not want to list the obvious workplace stressors. Instead, let me tell you the very WORST workplace stressor – it is what YOU tell YOURSELF. Self-talk, the conversations we have with ourselves in our head, is what turns a workplace event into a persistent anxiety or stress. We have hundreds of these internal conversations per day, and guess what – most of them are negative and unproductive.

Negative self talk is extremely dysfunctional. Through our self-talk we convince ourselves that we are incompetent, unattractive, ineffectual, and so many other NOT-GOOD words. A simple event like a sharp or a thoughtless comment from a colleague can lead to critical self-talk, elevated self-criticisms, and a negative mood. The negative mood could be internalized (sad, anxious, worried, fearful, feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and so on) or externalized (anger, resentment, sharp retorts, criticism, socialized aggression in the form of gossip).

So how do we reduce and relieve stress? How do we stop burnout? How do we halt increasingly low morale? We convert negative thoughts into positive energy and actions. We block these negative thoughts. We replace them with positive and healthy thoughts. Sound simple doesn't it?

We can respond to workplace stress by refusing to engage in negative talk and self-blame. We can interrupt the downward spiral of the self-criticism IF WE WANT TO! Positive thought diminishes negative energy and provides stress reduction and stress relief. For more strategies on stress relief refer to some of my other articles: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Jeff_Bailey

Warm regards

Dr Jeff

For the team at mightydigitaldownloads.com 

 Dr Jeff Bailey, psychologist, helps stressed patients. Why put up with stress? Learn stress management skills now.  Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don’t waste another minute stressed and burnt out. Act now – learn how to relieve stress.

Having watched the presidential and vice presidential debates, and having an interest in stress, I started to wonder about the effects of this debate on the four people on the two tickets. Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden are the four contenders experiencing the stress. But what about the stress during the televised debates?

The first major stressor during debates is the ultimate victory or loss. At the back of their mind must be the constant fear that they might make an incredible blunder. With the dual pressure of handling content intelligently and presenting oneself as a credible and attractive person comes great strain.

The four people on the two tickets all have different personal styles. You can be sure that in the background there were many public speaking experts coaching our four contenders. The requirement to adapt and become an adept speaker in a short timeframe must be a burden. How must each person change?

Barack Obama has a sophisticated but slightly professorial style. Because he is intelligent and well read, he tend to come across as somewhat remote and theoretical. The pressure for him is to appear as warm, committed, and in touch with the people and their dreams. His key appeal is the concept of change.

John McCain has the pressure of being seen to be too old and unwell. He has his long-term experience as a senator but he has to find a theme that will connect with people and earn their support. His reliance on his war record is useful but the tension for him is to capture the imagination of those less interested in war so his call to the masses is patriotism.

Joe Biden has 35 years as a senator so he has a huge amount of knowledge but perhaps too much to convey in a short time. As well, it is easy for people to see him as arrogant. Joe has to present himself as commonplace and one of the people.

Sarah Palin has to choose between being folksy and from a small community and being credible on the national and international scene. What makes her appealing is her cute mannerisms, her winking, her ‘doggones’ and ‘aints’ but these are also limitations. Her additional stress was to appear informed after some of her disastrous earlier interviews.

The debating stress for these four contenders came from trying to cover up their weaknesses and shine with strength. They had to overcome their personality and content differences to be successful. The real issue is whether they handled the debating stress sufficiently well to attract a popular vote.

Warm regards

Dr Jeff

For the team at

mightydigitaldownloads.com

 Dr Jeff Bailey, a psychologist, writes about stress. The TV debates of Sarah Palin, John McCain, Barak Obama and Joe Biden provided an opportunity to consider how much stress each nominee experienced. Did they manage stress well? Check out Dr Jeff’s free stress book.

There is no doubt that Sarah Palin has hit the American scene like a moose crashing through your front garden. She presents a compelling combination of features. First off, and the media doesn't play this up, she is extremely attractive. The media call this telegenic and she is the most telegenic politician in America. She also has a popular appeal of being a smalltown mom in America's last frontier. And some people say that she is the Princess Di for the US.

Why am I writing about Sarah Palin? If Sarah Palin is qualified to comment on Russian affairs because she lives in Alaska, perhaps I too am qualified to comment on Sarah as I live in Alaska some 40 miles from Wasilla. But this is not the reason. I write about stress and how this affects people in the workplace and at home. Having read dozens of news articles about Sarah, I began to wonder how well she copes with stress.

I would love to interview Sarah and ask what her secret is for looking so continually composed, relaxed, excited, and on top of her game. As everyone knows, she is a wife, mother, Governor, and now vice presidential nominee. She has a five-month-old baby. She has been thrust into the international limelight in a way that few people ever have outside the entertainment industry. So what is her secret for managing stress?

There are two kinds of stress – distress and eustress. Stress can be either brief or sustained. Distress can create many dysfunctional characteristics: sweating, a nervous state, uncertainty, constant tension, lack of confidence, and a failure to be able to cope with daily life. Sarah Palin certainly doesn't fit this picture. Then there is eustress. This is an elevated state of excitement with increased neurochemicals, for example, cortisol and adrenaline. Eustress helps deal with pressures and new challenges. This is Sarah Palin's special brand of stress.

But stop and think for a moment. What exactly are the sorts of stressors confronting Sarah Palin right now? And how is she handing the stressors? These are the questions are prompted me to write this article.

 Cary Cooper, a British psychologist who has a huge research background in stress, recently reported on his study of stress in politicians. The study found that six months after taking up office, politicians were reporting elevated levels of stress. The signs included loss of confidence, sleeping problems, drinking and eating too much, feeling constantly under strain and showing increasing lack of motivation. The reasons for the stress were clear: a large workload, up to 70 hours work per week, a lot of travel, and very little time with family.

At this stage, Sarah Palin is not vice president but she is still Governor of Alaska. There is mounting criticism in the local press about Sarah's absence from the State and from her responsibilities as Governor. She is a very responsible and ethical person. This must be causing her some tension. She also has the spectre of Troopergate lurking in the background. She has had to hand over a lot of responsibilities to the McCain political team. She has her daughter's pregnancy and marital state to worry about. And a son has just been deployed to Afghanistan.

But there are other sources of stress as well. Sarah has been thrust on to the political and international stage. While there is no doubt that she has the background and skill to handle Alaskan issues, political journalists have questioned her credibility in national and international affairs. Given the current bailout and economic crisis, how competent is she to address major financial issues? Given Russia's recent incursion into Georgia, can she handle sophisticated diplomatic negotiations? Does she have enough understanding of the taxation system at the national level?

Questions about her political knowledge can undermine her confidence. They can put her in a defensive position at every interview. They can make her feel tense and uncertain unless she has in-depth knowledge of the issues at hand. Criticisms from all fronts can destabilize one's level of security and self-assurance.

So, how does Sarah Palin handle stress? What strategies does she used to manage the tension? These are the questions which would make for a fascinating interview. My educated guess would be that she uses many productive stress management strategies. Many of these strategies would derive from a high-level of emotional self-awareness and a strong sense of purpose.

She has a strong sense of family and personal values. She has an unshakeable belief in God's will and purpose. She relies on prayer as a form of stress reduction and to give her direction. She has the support of a huge number of people, not only the First Dude and her children, but many Alaskans. She has an extraordinary amount of personal ambition and drive. She is a competitor who loves to win and enjoys the challenge of competition. My guess is that she uses a range of very productive stress management strategies that will continue to help her manage stress in her public life.

Warm regards

Dr Jeff

For the team at

mightydigitaldownloads.com

 Dr Jeff Bailey, a psychologist, writes about stress. Given all the media attention about Sarah Palin as the VP candidate, he started to wonder about how well she manages stress. Sarah has effective stress reduction strategies. Check out his free stress book.

One of the unfortunate side effects of the Iraq war will be the post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) many of the returning men and women will experience. In earlier wars, this condition was referred to as shell shock or combat fatigue or battle fatigue. For Vietnam vets, it was referred to as post-Vietnam syndrome.

 The US National Institutes of Mental Health alert us to the characteristics of PTSD. These include a sustained and disruptive set of feelings that occur after a particularly traumatic event. These unpleasant episodes recur at frequent intervals.

 One feature is constant video replays, that is, remembering and replaying the event for months after. This repeated and recurring stress means we have trouble sleeping. Some people have very dramatic and violent nightmares, and most wake feeling that their sleep did not refresh or re-energize them. 

The constant worries mean that relationships suffer as the person experiencing PTSD pulls away from loved ones. Some suffer guilt that they returned from the war – and that their comrades did not. Emotions are volatile, some people becoming very edgy and short-tempered. 

Most of these victims have attentional problems and find it hard to stay on task and be productive at work. There is a constant theme of remembering and agonizing. Even the notion of having these recurrences and being unable to concentrate can cause people to worry even more. 

Unfortunately, around one in 12 people in the US will experience PTSD – though the degree of stress varies significantly from person to person and even from race to race.

 Fortunately, for most of us, we do not experience this level of stress, though if you are stressed at the moment many of these symptoms will probably apply to you. The question that arises relates to the degree and continuity of the stressors that are causing us to feel tense and unhappy. How long do they last? Will they end? What can be done to overcome these recurrent worries?

 Stress is a normal part of every day life. We live in a fast-paced, modern society where the demands and challenges are great. Most of us have complex lives. We have a social, relationship, financial and occupational responsibilities that ensure that we will have a degree of stress.

 The issue is not whether we experience stress – the real issue is how we manage stress. Stress management is not a complex science. It is a matter of knowing ourselves (self-awareness), understanding our impact on others (social perspective) and being able to communicate effectively with our colleagues and loved ones so that we reduce the threats, challenges, tension, and stress.

 The best way to start to manage and reduce stress is to gain as much information as possible about this syndrome. Knowing the stressors and how to deal with them is an essential first step – whether it is a serious psychological condition like PTSD – or a less debilitating but still worrisome disorder – elevated stress. Once you know you enemy – then you know how to manage stress and overcome the worry and anxiety.

Warm regards

Dr Jeff

For the team at

mightydigitaldownloads.com

 Dr Jeff, psychologist, helps stressed patients. Why put up with stress? Learn stress management skills now.  Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don’t waste another minute stressed and burnt out. Act now – learn how to relieve stress.

Let us begin with the obvious question – are you stressed? Is it normal to be stressed? What do you think? Do your family and friends constantly use a lot of idiom to suggest you relax, for example, Cool it, Hang loose, Don’t sweat the small stuff, Loosen up and so on? Do you have the tools and skills to manage and relieve your stress?

If your stress levels are being commented on, friends and families might see you as a tense and stressed individual. Of course, this might be your personality or personal style. You might think that other people are far too relaxed, even sloppy in their attitudes. Whereas you are well-organized, responsible, efficient, and let’s face it – uptight!

There are many tests that purport to measure personality. The Myer-Briggs, the most commonly used test in industry, has the dimensions sensing, feeling, judging, introversion etc. The most relevant characterization of stress and anxiety came from an American cardiologist, Milton Friedman who determined there were two personality types – Type A (uptight, driven) and Type B (calm, relaxed).  The issue for Friedman was whether the Type A person was likely to be one of his prime candidates for cardiac surgery. No one wants to be THAT stressed.

We are stressed when a range of activities (stressors) in our daily lives present us with challenges, alternatives, decisions, complex or unpleasant events or interactions. From a technical point of view, a stressor is something that speeds up our reaction or response levels. Our body has been conditioned to fight or flee. Our physiological response is to pump adrenaline or cortisol into our system to prepare us for the challenges.

For some, financial problems are the greatest stressor. For others, crowded rooms, crowded cities, the daily grind of an uninteresting job, even getting to work are constant stressors. For some, life events cause stress. My mother, 94 years of age, has just had radiation therapy for cancer. This is a worry for all the family. For others, recent deaths or relationship failures have elevated their stress levels. Stress can cause physical illness. About 50% of one’s response to illnesses is psychological – not medical. It is what we do in our heads that can resolve or inflame our levels of psychological discomfort – stress.

The reality is that all of us experience stress from time to time. There is positive stress, that is, a chemical, physical and/or psychological or emotional tension that produces an urge to create, perform, complete tasks, react and respond. On the other hand, there is distress, a level of discomfort that interferes with our emotional well-being and mental health. This form of stress can either be acute, that is, episodic and short-lived, or chronic (lasts for a long time).

When stress is positive (this is called eustress) we are motivated and/or compelled to act. When we respond to a horror movie, when we are excited into action by new productivity or sales targets at work, when we think about a particularly exciting date, when we compete in a track or field event, and even when we get ready for a picnic we are experiencing positive stress. Our body is getting pumped up and is responding psychologically, emotionally and physically to this new event so that we can perform at a high level. All of this is good; positive stress builds up our energy levels and our readiness to perform at a higher level and to respond to the stimulus event.

When stress is negative, we talk about being stressed out, over-stressed, even burnt out. In these instances, the stressor is far too great for us to respond in a positive and effective way. Our body responds with headaches, stomach upsets, elevated heart rate and blood pressure. Some people get blotchy skin and rashes. Some get ulcers, heart disease and even suffer strokes or die. From a psychological point of view, typical responses to chronic stress include anxiety, phobias, diminished self-assurance, dysthymia (mild depression), clinical depression, anger, obsessive thought disorders and, unfortunately, thoughts of suicide.

Knowing how to manage stress is an obviously vital weapon in our fight to stay healthy. We are not born with this knowledge; nor do we take classes in this most important learning. Information dispels fear and increases our ability to successfully deal with the complex and challenging events that make our lives so exciting yet potentially harmful. Everyone can learn to manage stress simply and easily.

Dr Jeff

For the team at

mightydigitaldownloads.com

Dr Jeff Bailey, psychologist, helps stressed patients. Why put up with stress? Learn stress management skills now.  Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don’t waste another minute stressed and burnt out. Act now – learn how to relieve stress.