Silent Killer

Stress, in our modern world, is something we just can’t seem to avoid. It seems to come from everywhere and it occurs at various levels of severity. Our body is built to withstand high levels of stress, but despite that strength, there is a limit to how much stress can be received without periods of restoration in between. There are two types of stressors, major and minor, which overtime can lead to many physical and emotional problems. The first would be the minor stressors, which we have termed “daily-hassles”, because they are those irritating events that occur every day at moments we would rather them not. If you are stuck in traffic and are most likely going to be late  for work, if your pet decides to go to the bathroom on your clean floor, and when you think of all the things you have to do today, those are all daily-hassles. The important piece of information to note is that these minor stressors are not only for that particular day. They don't all fade away when we go to sleep at night and get a fresh start in the morning; in reality it carries over and continues the next day. The effects of these minor stressors are something we should not take lightly. We need to realize that the accumulation of every minor event can lead to an actual problem in the future. The second would be the major stressors, which are more commonly known as “major life events”. They don’t occur very often, but have such intense effects that they are equivalent to multiple accumulated minor stressors. These major life events include the death of a family member, unexpected tragedy, the sudden loss of a job, amongst many others. It may seem like there is a big difference between major and minor stressors, but in reality they are both dangerous and will eventually harm our bodies physically.

The following clip explains what stress is and what physical illnesses it causes. The video shows some of the effects which also include concentration and decision making. Long term stress can cause insomnia, sleep apnea, headaches, constipation, upset stomach, high blood pressure, chest pain and even a heart attack.

 

Knowing that stress is so dangerous and hurtful may make us want to prevent any future damage. There are many techniques people can use to help reduce the effects of stress.You can begin by simply breathing deeply. It is physiologically impossible to be stressed while breathing deeply. Other techniques are meditation, calm activities such as walking, knitting, swimming, or reading, a massage, petting your cat or dog, and simply thinking positive thoughts. It is very important to begin to think of the negativity stress causes and start a plan to prevent it or reduce it. It may seem like a difficult or time consuming thing to do, but isn't our life worth it?