are working. This requires daycare to look after the kids… but that costs money. Many of us feel guilty about dropping our kids off all day so we can work. To make up for this, we tend to spend money on the kids with gifts, vacations, or extracurricular activities. This is a terrible cycle that continues to create additional stress triggers. Soon, the kids will expect gifts or vacations which can cause parents to feel unappreciated. This can lead to word) on your body. Over time, a new stress trigger… the kids! your body will start to anticipate the stressful situations at work Many of us can relate to the and you will lose the ability to fullifestyle above but most of don’t ly relax. Just the thought of work realize the dangers of too much will become a stress trigger. Your stress. The body is not designed boss and coworkers will become to survive under constant stress- a stress trigger. If your job is to ful situations. Stress serves to interact with people, your cliprotect the body against an im- ents will become a stress trigger. mediate dangerous situation. What if you were a nurse, docOnce the situation is resolved, tor, police, or a paramedic? The your body will relax and return people you are trying to help and to normal. What would happen protect will become stress trigif most of your day is stressful? gers. This is not good. Let’s assume you have a stressful job. Your body will prepare So, we understand that stress itself to perform under pressure. can affect our job performance Your blood pressure will increase but what will happen to our body and your attention will become if we never fully relax. The physifocused to the task at hand. You ological changes that prepare finish that task perfectly. Then our body for the “fight or flight” your body will start to relax… but response can cause damage if wait! Another situation at work kept in flux. The most obvious has appeared and you need to symptoms from chronic stress perform again. Your body will are emotional and include feelget ready to perform. Your blood ings of agitation, frustration, and pressure will increase and your feeling overwhelmed. Physical attention will focus on the new effects of stress include low enertask at hand. You finish that task gy, headaches, irregularity, heart perfectly and your body will start palpitations, aches and pains, into relax… but wait! Another situ- somnia, dry mouth, loss of sexuation has appeared. I hope you al desire and performance. While can understand that this cycle the emotional effects are easily of stress and relaxation causes recognized, most of the physical “stress” (for lack of a better symptoms can be confused with
other ailments and we may not recognize them as being attributed to stress. The problem here is that you will treat the symptoms (take a drug for your headache or drink an energy drink for fatigue) without eliminating the cause. Although most of us do this, it can be very dangerous and cause severe injury or death. Caffeine is a stimulant and most energy drinks contain the equivalent of several cups of coffee. Your body is already primed to perform under stress and adding caffeine is like throwing gas on a fire. Now let’s get down and dirty with the science of stress. A recent study was published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice. The authors showed a strong correlation of cardiovascular events and acute mental stress. The study compared incidents of heart attacks, stroke, and death with a range of stressful triggers from earthquakes to job demands. Stress causes your body to increase blood flow so your brain and muscles are ready to react. The shear forces from the blood running through your blood vessels increases and this causes cells lining the vessels to become damaged. The damage is immediately repaired by forming a scar. These scars, or plaques, are weaker than the normal blood vessel components similarly the scar on your skin is weaker than the surrounding skin. The results
LOVE HOW YOU FEEL ACADIANA
19