If asked if your job is stressful, chances are you would answer with an emphatic “Boy is it ever”!

Work is by far the leading source of stress in our lives. Nine out of ten people say they experience high levels of stress several times a week. And one out of four of us have high stress levels every day.

What you may not know is that your stress from work may, in fact, be affecting your health. Stress affects the body in many different ways. Some kinds of stress are beneficial. Others can cause serious health problems.

Chronic stress weakens the body’s physiological systems and leads to innumerable health problems. In fact, WebMD estimates that 75% to 95% of all doctor’s visits are stress related.

Major stress related health problems include:

work stress, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep problems, headaches, faster aging, strokes, depression, ulcers, asthma, weaker immune system (reducing your natural ability to fight off infection), loss of memory

Even more frightening is that job stress is at an all-time high and continues to rise. For most people the number of hours worked has increased. Where hours don’t increase the number of responsibilities increase and deadlines become more and more intense.

Job stress even invades our vacation time. According to Anderson Consulting, 80% of people who took vacations in 2000 stayed in touch with the office by taking their laptop or cell phone with them.

There are several indicators you can use to determine if you suffer from chronic stress. Warning signs of chronic stress include headaches, teeth-grinding, back pain (especially in the shoulders or neck), anxiety, and insomnia. Even lots of day dreaming as escape from your situation is a sign you need to begin to manage your stress. If you suffer from chronic stress, there are a lot of things you can do to reduce the stress. Some of the most effective stress management techniques include relaxation exercises and meditation.

If you are at work and need to reduce stress, try deep (abdominal) breathing while visualizing a peaceful scene or wonderful past memory that brings a smile to your face.

Ultimately, virtually every job is stressful somewhat. But by identifying and effectively managing your stress, you can reduce its negative effects and enjoy a healthier life.

Why risk being taken by surprise with a health problem when the stress begins to hit your body. Manage your stress today. The effects of your efforts will increase over time. But you have to start immediately.

About the author:

Abbas Abedi CHt If you are interested in natural techniques to reduce stress and anxiety in your life today, then sign up for my free eCourse titled, “4 Days to Break Free from a Stressful Lifestyle” at Instant Stress Management

While we often worry about stress, not all stress is bad. We need a certain amount of stress to make our lives interesting. And since there is no way to eliminate every commitment or deadline in our lives, we should try to control our stress levels in the best ways we can.

It would be nice if someone created a mathematical formula for stress that would measure how much stress an individual could take without become overwhelmed. Optimal stress levels vary from individual to individual, however, as well as from situation to situation. Some situations that would make you feel very stressful are considered fun and invigorating to someone else. People who love constant change in their lives would feel too much stress in a tedious, mundane job. You can see how different people s definitions of stress may be. Scientists believe that many illnesses are directly related to stress. If you find that you are sick a lot of the time, or that you feel nervous often, you must develop effective strategies to cope with your stress level. Otherwise, you could be open to serious physical deterioration. Stress management is a practiced art, however. You will not relieve your stress in one day; you must keep at it and eventually, you will discover methods that work for you.

A first step is to learn what things make you stress out. While you may not be able to eliminate these things, you can work to make them more manageable. If cooking dinner causes stress, for instance, you may consider getting take-out food once a week to give yourself a break. If giving a presentation at work worries you, maybe you can learn to focus on just one section at a time and reduce your stress in that way. If commuting to work makes you stressful, leave a little earlier. It will become easier to address your overall stress if you discover the things that cause it and then try to limit their impact.

The next step is to try to reduce your emotional reactions to the things that stress you. You may find that these stressors make you think in a negative fashion, focusing only a situation s worst aspects. Try, instead, to think of a stressor as a chance to improve your life. Try to see if you are overreacting to a situation. It may be that every stressor you encounter does not require an urgent response. Maybe you can take some time to study a situation before it bothers you. Think of yourself as in control while you may not be able to do anything about the stressor itself, you can control how you feel about it.

Be sure to be aware of any physical reactions you have to stress. Deep-breathing techniques can help you decrease your heart rate, for example. If you have severe reactions, consult your doctor to determine if medication can help you. You can also reduce your stress levels by making your body stronger. Do aerobic activities three times per week, and make sure you eat nutritious foods. Avoid stimulants like sugar and coffee. And recognize that stress is a part of life. While it can t be eliminated, you can develop coping strategies that will help when you feel overwhelmed.

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Whenever we think of stress , negative thoughts come into our minds. Most of us believe that stress is similar to worries, tensions, failures, sadness, pressures, and what not. Basically negative things. Dictionary meanings of stress are mental pressure, physical pressure, illness or an extra force on a word or syllable. These meanings also signify the negative attributes of stress whether directly or indirectly.

Stress is negative. This is what most of us believe or I must say we have started believing. This negativity ruins us. Whenever a person is under stress he feels strange, afraid, dull and weak in a way that now he can do nothing and needs a medicine or rest. This slows down our lives and destroys our creativity. In this world one thing is very interesting most of the people are mostly under stress. So how will be this world if we start believing stress as a positive force than a negative one.

Then this world will be a great place to live in.

Great philosopher OSHO emphasizes on positive side of stress. He believed that we suffer because of stress because we treat it as a condition or a position. So whenever we people are in a position or condition of stress we find ourselves weak and search for some cure. BUT stress is an indication not a condition or a position. It is an indication of more strength, more energy, more enthusiasm and more life. Whenever someone has a cut on his body blood and pain are there. These are the indications that something is going wrong inside your body.

In same way, stress is an indication that something is going wrong around you and your body is ready to fight, so fight. If we take an example of business professionals they are mostly under stress. This stress is not gone if they start resting their bodies. This stress will go if they will work on their projects and finish them. It is the case with students also. When they are to take tests they are under stress and they go to a doctor or take a medicine and sleep. But then also stress is there. When they try and finish the syllabus stress is gone without any medicine.

So stress must be seen as a positive force and not a negative one. It should be treated as an indication of more power, more energy more enthusiasm and more life.

This will change our lives.

Bharat Gaurav Kapur
(Lecturer in Commerce)
Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management,
Ludhiana, Punjab India.
E-mail - bgkapur_bg@yahoo.co.in
bgkapur_bg@rediffmail.com