Stress Management Q: What exactly "is" Stress?
By award-winning author and stress-relief expert Susie Mantell
Simply put, stress is a signal that something needs to change. It's the body-mind's innate response to internal and external factors that disrupt
normal functioning or disturb emotional, cognitive or physical well-being.
Perhaps you've heard stories of, say, a 5' 2" mother suddenly lifting a
car to save her baby? That's the "Fight or Flight" response of the
central nervous system that occurs whenever stress, fear, anger or pain
are present...in this case working FOR her! In this automatic reaction,
pulse quickens, blood flow to the large muscle groups increases (as if
literally preparing do battle ...or run for our lives!) Respiration
quickens and becomes more shallow, and stress hormones release to help us
do what we must.
But when these resources are summoned unnecessarily and
habitually, due to excessive stress levels, it sends an "emergency" signal
that sets in motion a mechanism that can tax our intricate systems.
Mindful relaxation, for example meditation, is a kind of physiological
self-regulator, to counter the "Fight or Flight" response and when we
enter a meditative state, muscles begin to relax, respiration and
blood-flow slow, as adrenaline and cortisol levels shift. This clearing
process allows the inner wisdom of the mind-body into awareness, often
permitting some profound psychological and physiological healing to take
place. While meditation, moderate exercise and other relaxation
techniques may not necessarily cure, they are a powerful, drug-free
complement to professional health care. Symptoms can often be
substantially diminished, thereby greatly enriching the quality of life!
[Copyright 2000, 2008 Susie Mantell, Relax. . .Intuit (tm) LLC. All rights reserved.] Federal law prohibits use of this material in whole or in part without the express written consent of Relax...Intuit™ LLC. For Reprint Permission: Kindly email your request for guidelines, pasting in the full text of the specific article you wish to use, to info@relaxintuit.com We'll try to reply within 72 hrs.]
Award-winning stress-relief expert Susie Mantell ...is the author of the deeply soothing relaxation CD, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace,” clinically approved for symptoms associated with stress and sleeplessness, depression and grief, anxiety, P.T.S.D., Fibromyalgia, caregiver stress, cancer, pain, divorce and addiction recovery. Featured in The Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, CBS-TV, Town & Country, The American Pain Society, Hazelden and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, listeners include The Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, The Betty Ford Center, V.A. Hospitals,and Canyon Ranch (#1 Spa.) Customizing stress-reduction for Fortune 500 companies, distinguished hospitals and spas, Mantell has facilitated thousands in relieving health-related, work-related, chronic or traumatic stress. Her multi-sensory, mind-body techniques appear in national media, medical and corporate publications. Susie Mantell's Stress-Relief & Wellness Tips are intended as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, professional health care. Order “Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace” and find more of Mantell’s stress-relief tips at www.relaxintuit.com