COPING WITH STRESS By Dr. Peter Kalellis
hat causes stress? The potential causes of stress are numberless. Anything that might deprive us of peace and joy and eventually compromise our health might be considered a cause of stress. Daily life stressors and major life stressors include the following: One major stressor that most of us experience, consciously or unconsciously, is the knowledge of death. We repress the fear of death because it drives us to feel pressed for time. The word deadline certainly carries the message. We have many deadlines, those imposed by work and other people, and those imposed on ourselves. We rush here and there, doing this and that, trying to get it all done “in time.” Often we are so stressed by the squeeze of time that we take action just to finish what we are doing, to be able to say to ourselves, “At least that is out of the way.” Then it is on to the next thing that needs doing as we press through our days. In his book Stress Less, Dr. Don Colbert places stress into four general categories: physical stress, emotional and mental stress, chemical stress, and thermal stress. Let’s take a brief look at each one.
PHYSICAL STRESS Physical stress often arises from a lack of sleep, overworking, physical injury or trauma such as a car accident, surgery, infection, and chronic pain. The more severe the infection, the more stress the body experiences. Major diseases and conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and asthma generally stimulate a chronic stress response in the body. Certain physiological changes can add to a person’s stress burden—for example, hormonal imbalance, inadequate nutrition, insomnia, menopause, and various factors associated with aging. Not all conditions or environments produce physical stress to the same degree in each person. For example, excessive exercise may not produce physical stress for one person, yet produces significant stress for another.
EMOTIONAL & MENTAL STRESS This area of stress is also known as psychological stress. Various emotions, such as anxiety, boredom, conflict, emptiness, depression, anger, hostility, guilt, worry, and fear, can create chronic emotional stress. Many people living in difficult personal relationships, dealing with family issues, raising troubled children, struggling with financial problems, or feeling overwhelmed or trapped with no way out experience chronic stress. Perfectionists who continually strive to do more and more, feeling no real satisfaction for whatever they accomplish, are especially prone to mental stress. At times, two people may view the same situation and come up with very different conclusions based upon their perceptions. One person’s stress may be another person’s pleasure. Family fights, pressing deadlines, too many commitments, and a too busy lifestyle can all result in mental and emotional stress. MAY 2017 | NEW YORK LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE | 63