Are you susceptible to stress?

No one is immune to stress. Donald Trump has it. Britney Spears has it. Jill Smith has it. (Jill is you!) Stress comes in all forms everyone is effected by it. No standard can be applied to predict stress levels - one need not have a traditionally stressful job to experience workplace stress, just as a parent of one child may experience more stress than a parent of several children.

Commitments Plus Responsibilities Equals Stress

The degree of stress in our lives correlates to individual factors such as our physical health, the quality of our personal relationships, the size of our commitments and responsibilities we carry or unwittingly put on our self. Other factors include degree of others' dependence upon of us, expectations of our self, the amount of support we receive, and the number of changes or traumatic events that have recently occurred in our lives.

Some generalizations can be made. Persons with adequate social support networks report less stress and overall improved mental health in comparison to those without these social contacts. Take marriage for instance, according to a new US study, married adults are healthier than divorced, widowed or those never married. The report, issued by the National Center for Health Statistics was based on interviews with 127,545 adults in the US.

The study found that married couples are less likely to suffer from a variety of ailments, including, back pain, headaches, and psychological stress. Although married men are more likely to be overweight or even obese, married adults are less likely to smoke, drink heavily or be physically inactive.

Persons who get inadequate sleep, or who suffer from illness also have reduced capabilities to handle pressures and stresses of everyday life. It would be too simple to associate stress with certain age groups or life stages. Anyone facing a transition in life faces stress and will exhibit the consequences.

What are the symptoms of excess stress?

Expression of excess or poorly-managed stress can be extremely varied. Many people report that stress bring on headaches, sleep disorder, feelings of anxiety or tension, unexplained anger, or attention problems. You may complain of depression, eating disorders, weight gain, or more. Research has shown that high levels of stress are known weaken our immune systems leading to other medical illness. Stressed individuals can experience frequent colds, infections and illnesses. At first glance. these symptoms might not be recognized as being stress induced.

Take time to evaluate your life and lifestyle. Check off stressors and set out to limit most and eliminate many. Change your diet, get exercise, relax and refresh often, build networks of friends and family, and take dietary supplements as necessary.

This page is for informational purposes only.