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STRESS
Don’t
Worry Be Happy!
Being stressed is
not part of a healthy lifestyle. Not only is stress
damaging to us physically, it can also cause us to eat
more and exercise less. Stress can be a huge obstacle
that gets in the way of our healthy lifestyle goals.
What can you do to effectively manage your stress? The
following six steps will help you to make changes to
have less stress and more happiness in your life.
1. Be aware of what stresses you and how you react to
stress.
Learn to understand what situations; events,
circumstances and people cause you to feel negative
stress. Think about what message your brain is telling
you about why you feel stressed. Notice the physical
reactions you have, a racing heart, and shortness of
breath, tight muscles or feeling angry and upset.
2. Think about the changes you can make.
Is there a way you can set up a structure to reduce or
eliminate the stress by being more organised or managing
you time better. Can you avoid or eliminate any of the
things that cause you negative stress? Can you reduce
your exposure to stress by taking a break away from the
situation?
3. Better manage your emotional reaction to stress.
Different things cause different people stress. You may
find public speaking extremely stressful but others
thrive on this type of challenge. Having too many
deadlines may leave you tearing your hair out but may
make someone else feel completely organised and less
stressed. We feel stressed because of how we personally
perceive the situation. Are you stressed because you
view things are critical or urgent when that may not be
the case? Are you feeling pressure because you are a
perfectionist? Try and be more moderate in your view and
put the situation into perspective. Get someone else’s
perspective on the situation and compare with your own.
Are you being over dramatic?
4. Better manage your physical reaction to stress.
Learn relaxation and deep breathing techniques that will
slow down your racing heart, improve your breathing and
relax those tense muscles. Learn to smile and laugh
more. It’s hard to be angry and stressed while you’re
laughing.
5. Look after your emotional needs.
Don’t live up to other expectations, as these will not
be in alignment with your own needs and values. Hang
around upbuilding and supportive friends or co-workers.
Find someone to share your concerns with. Also learn to
ask for and accept help.
6. Look after your physical health.
Being in good physical shape in itself reduces stress.
Be physically active everyday. Eat well, don’t smoke or
drink excessively. Get enough sleep and regularly take
time out to do things you enjoy.
This week look at what is causing you stress and then
work at applying the appropriate steps in this article.
Be realistic and make changes slowly. Above all, don’t
worry be happy!
Mom's Job Stress May Spread to Kids
by: Rita Jenkins
Low job satisfaction in working mothers increases the
stress levels of their children, but allowing them to
spend more time in childcare can help overcome these
effects, according to new research published in
Developmental Psychobiology.
Children whose mothers found their jobs emotionally
exhausting or otherwise less rewarding had higher levels
of the stress hormone cortisol than children whose
mothers reported more enjoyment from their jobs,
researchers found in a study involving more than 50
nursery school children.
Levels of cortisol in the evening were more than double
in the children whose mothers experienced less job
satisfaction. Placing those children in childcare would
help to significantly reduce their stress, the research
suggests.
The researchers also found that children from families
that were either highly expressive or very reserved
exhibited higher than average cortisol levels.
Greater support is needed for working mothers to help
improve their job satisfaction and increase the
availability of affordable childcare options, says the
report.
More Time in Childcare
Dr. Julie Turner-Cobb, a health psychologist and senior
lecturer at the University of Bath, Dr. Christina
Chryssanthopoulou from the University of Kent and Dr.
David Jessop, a neuroimmunologist at the University of
Bristol collaborated on the study.
To measure cortisol levels, they took saliva samples in
the morning and evening from 56 children aged three to
four years old. They also surveyed mothers about their
workplace conditions and home life over a six month
period.
"Spending more time in childcare makes a big difference
to the stress levels in children whose mothers have low
job satisfaction," says Dr. Turner-Cobb.
"It can help protect children from the effects of their
mother's low job quality and emotional exhaustion.
Ensuring that mothers of young children have good
support in the workplace is essential for supporting
both mothers and their children," she adds.
"Improving the job satisfaction of working mothers means
that they are less stressed themselves," says Dr. Jessop,
"and extending the availability of affordable and
adequate childcare may not only improve the quality of
life for the mothers but, in doing so, may improve the
long term health of their children."
Healthy Adaptation to Stress
Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates blood
pressure and cardiovascular function and immune
function. It also controls the body's use of proteins,
carbohydrates and fats.
Cortisol secretion increases in response to stress,
whether physical -- such as illness, trauma, surgery or
temperature extremes -- or psychological. It is a normal
and essential response without which we would not be
able to function in everyday life.
When these levels remain high or become disrupted in
some way over a prolonged period of time, however, they
may have consequences for health. It is important to
promote healthy adaptation to stress in children, and
good quality childcare is one way of doing this, say the
authors.
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