How to Cope with Stress
By Victor Ezeaku
Stress is a problem for everybody. Can you really think of any person in this world, who is living without stress? The rich or the poor. That rich man you may think is living without stress is really facing serious stress. I know you may be asking - what will be stress to a rich man? Stress is in everybody’s live. The poor, the rich, the newborn, and even a fetus that is yet to enter the world is facing stress.
I consider stress in our present world as a global epidemic. Immediately a child is born, he or she enters into the world with stress. It is a fallacy for one to say that he or she can live with out stress. Stress is part and parcel of our live. We can not really hide away from stress; neither can we run away from stress. The only thing we can do about stress is to reduce the degree of stress we are exposed to.
What is Stress? Stress is the reactions of the body to forces of a deleterious nature, infections, and various abnormal states that tend to disturb its homeostasis. It is the body’s response to change in the environment. Stress is the outcome of the tears and wears we are subjected to in the process of performing our daily routines or work.
According to Canadian doctor, Hans Selye “Since stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand, everybody is always under some degree of stress”. Who is an exception to this definition of stress? Hans Selye coined to word stress as it is currently used.
Since we cannot hide away from stress, the best cure for it is to reduce it by managing it properly.
How we can cope with stress?
1. Adaptation: One way we can cope with stress is through adaptation. Adaptation to stress involves modifying our daily activities to aid in the reduction of stress. For example, I live in a city overcrowded. For me to reach to my school I have to some times spend not less that three hours on traffic jams and noise pollution. How do I cope with this daily stress of traffic jam. I have no option than to start getting up from bed as early as possible so as to avoid the usual traffic jam experienced in my city.
Few years ago, a friend of mine, who was my neighbor have to pack out from our area to an area nearer to his office, just because of the traffic jam he usually experience. But guess what happen! It was like falling from a fry pan to fire. The stress he is currently exposed to is now doubled. Just a few distances from his house is a Church and a factory that operates round the clock. He is now faced with the stress of noise from this church and factory both day and night. So since we can’t run away from stress, we have to try and adapt to it.
Now does this imply that he have to look for another house to be free from this current noise stress? Certainly no. The best thing he has to do is to try and adapt to this noise. Just like my current neighbor, who plays his Compact Disc to the highest volume has being disturbing me. I don’t have to look for another house, rather I try to adapt to living with noise. How have I adapted to this noise pollution. I make sure that my doors and windows are always closed. This will not really eliminate the stress but will reduce it.
Exercise: This is a good way to manage stress. Exercise is very good for the mind and body. How does exercise help in the treatment of stress? Exercise will help us to use up extra sugars and fats released into our blood when we are under stress. Even if you don’t like exercise, take it as a medication for stress. It mustn’t be a strenuous exercise. Exercise which one can do ranges from walking, skipping, dancing running, playing foot ball, tennis etc. Just try and find exercise that you like and enjoy.
Rest and Sleep: The work of most individuals doesn’t allow them to have adequate and enough rest and sleep today. Rest and sleep should be viewed as a medication for stress. Every individual should have a minimum of 8 hours of sleep daily. When a doctor prescribes bed rest for you, try and take it serious. But I will advise that you should not wait for a doctor to prescribe bed rest for you be you consider it worthy of having one. Not having enough sleep is stress itself and will make it difficult for and individual to cope with other stress.
Victor Ezeaku is the webmaster for www.vickywebworld.com/index.htm your can read more on stress on www.vickywebworld.com/stress/What_is_stress.htm
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