It is important
to ask questions and so once a week we will post a new
e-mail. if you have a question feel free to ask Dr.
George H. Green. Unfortunately not all of the e-mails
we receive will be posted but if you have an important
question that you would like to see here please keep trying.
What
is Stress?
Stress is
actually a relative term. What's stressful for you may
not be stressful to someone else. This concept is vitally
important since it sets the scene for recognizing that
stress is a very personal thing. With this recognition
comes the start of self-control. Not the self-control
that gets you to stop smoking overnight. This is self-control
that is relaxed and far more potent. This is stress management.
The clinical
definition of stress is "an over-reaction to a perceived
stimulus." In all situations of potential stress
we have the same basic choices: react or over-react. Reacting
would be behaving in a manner that resolves the problem
with minimum discomfort to you while achieving maximum
effect. Over-reacting entails all the various excessive
responses that we usually create.
Stress is
also a product of accumulated hassles. We tend to get
tense when there are very few resolutions in our lives.
The kids are having problems in school. Your spouse wants
more attention. The car needs to be repaired. With all
this on your mind, you're supposed to go to work and be
pleasant. If you can, you're doing very well. Most of
us feel the weight of all these unresolved issues and
find that pressure at work becomes intolerable.
The opposite
is also true. After a difficult day at work, you may find
yourself less than sympathetic to the problems you come
home to. Re-perceiving these stresses permits you to create
enough resolution to keep your home life and work life
separated.
Isn't
some stress good? Aren't there 'good' stresses and 'bad'
stresses?
If what you're
asking about is really stress, then the answer is 'No'.
Stress is not a requirement for a healthy, active, happy
and productive life. Stress is defined clinically as an
over-reaction to a perceived stimulus. Therefore, if you
are reacting to a stimulus without going overboard then
the stimulus is a not noxious. When we move into the realm
of over-reacting, we turn on our emergency mechanisms
in such a way that we have difficulty turning them off.
Having the emergency system on or even in a state of preparedness
when it is not needed produces what we call 'stress'.
While there are many ways to turn this off, biofeedback
is certainly one of the most effective.
As far as
good and bad stress is concerned: if it's really stress,
it's bad.
What
about job stress?
Having an
anxiety attack after your supervisor informs you that
your performance is not what is expected and your job
may be on the line is possibly the most common response,
but it is hardly the best one. Anxiety is an over-reaction.
We may not always be able to control it, but understanding
it takes you a long way out of over-reacting.
Stress is
a cycle. When you over-react to something, you send a
message to both brain and body that you are in imminent
danger, your life is threatened. This message sets up
an emergency response that continues even after the stressor
is gone. To prove this, think about something upsetting
and you can feel yourself responding even though it's
only in your mind. This is the mechanism responsible for
high blood pressure, ulcers, headaches, panic attacks,
insomnia and more.
How
can Biofeedback help my stress?
Biofeedback
is a science that measures various physiologic functions
and converts them into combinations of visual images and
audible sounds so you can work with them. In the case
of muscle tension biofeedback (EMG) as you learn to relax
the feedback device informs you of your progress and your
muscle tension gets less. With this you will have broken
the anxiety loop. Eventually, the new pattern becomes
your normal response and over-reacting is greatly reduced.
Biofeedback also works with attention deficit disorders,
depression and other conditions by teaching you to modify
the brainwaves (EEG) that interfere with mental focusing.
Once again, as you learn more about yourself through these
means, you gain a higher degree of control.
A simple technique
is breathing. Not deep breathing. This may cause hyperventilation
which will make you feel even worse. Slow breathing. Easy
breaths taken deep in your stomach with your diaphragm.
Find a relatively quiet spot to sit down and put your
feet up. Become aware of your breaths and gently focus
on your exhales. Do this for about 15 minutes at a time.
If you do this simple exercise just once each day, it
can make a difference on your stress perceptions and reactions.
Most important
in stress management is how you perceive yourself. Consider
making yourself a high priority. Give yourself some time
to regroup. Nurture yourself without feeling guilty. Before
you can be effective in other people's lives, you must
take care of yourself. Go for a walk, go window shopping,
call an old friend, join a club, read a book. These are
not examples of irresponsible behavior. These are you
behaving more responsibly about your own life.
