We all feel stress at some point, but what exactly is it? According to most authorities, it is a psychological reaction to the environment suffered to various degrees by everyone throughout their lives. A commonly held belief is that it is a primitive survivor from our experiences on African savannas, when dealing with carnivorous animals. According to this theory, ancient humans had the choice of fight or flight. In our more complex lives such options are not clear-cut, decisions delayed or confused, and anxiety results.

Responses to stress are individual, dependent on temperament, general health, childhood and adult experiences. Some people appear better able to deal with different levels and kinds of stress than others. Nowadays, our lives are often full of stimuli and change, where stress is an everyday occurrence. We experience stress at work, home, in relationships, when absorbed by both past and future. Living in close proximity to others can cause anxiety, as does our relationship with time. Many people feel anxious if they are late for appointments or if their work is not on schedule. A common cause of stress is lack of money, not being able to pay the mortgage or rent for example.

Constant stress affects over time. Many of us can happily deal with it but often one huge dollop; a relationship breakup, death of a near one, crashing into our lives can prove the final straw and set off physical or emotional problems. There is a view that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) may be a response to continuous stress early in childhood.

Stress accounts for approximately a third of all work-related illnesses. The occupations most affected are in education, health and social care and surprisingly the civil service. Housing officers are particularly affected. The reasons given are workload, lack of managerial support and bullying. These are broken down as demands, control, relationships, change, role, support, representing management issues. Good management appears to mean less work-related stress, at least in the above professions.

As stress causes immense financial problems to the country, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has devised Management Standards involving step by step risk assessment and follow up surveys. Within the process, active discussion is expected with employees, main risk factors and underlying causes identified, and prevention put in place. Identifying what causes stress usually results in the relevant risk factors being dealt with successfully.

Can this practical approach be utilised by individuals in dealing with their own stress? First, let's look at the approach of help sites and medical authorities. While there is general understanding of its effects, what help is there? Most help sites correctly list a various number of reasons, including work, family life, difficult people and even thwarted ambition. Many high-achievers may suffer from a high level of internal stress, which is often simply evidence of their drive.

NHS Choices, an advisory NHS website, faithfully details the effects of stress, from general behaviour to headaches and dizziness, and then explains how the stress can be managed. Apparently, if not dealt with quickly, it can lead to illness, but the site provides little clear evidence of how this might occur. So be careful! When reading such sites, try not to develop hypochondria! However, the site provides good advice on coping with stress, including keeping a diary and writing down when it occurs. It advises that people should also record how they feel at such times. The site advises attending stress management groups, although many people find cognitive therapy useful. Stress can certainly cause additional problems for those with a tendency towards psychiatric problems.

Believe it or not, the BBC also has a site devoted to stress. It takes a slightly jollier approach to the matter than the above. It points out that too little stress can make you ill as well as too much. Boredom isn't good for you! The elderly who exhibit strange behaviour may not be dementia-sufferers but simply lack a social life and the benefits of day to day stimulus. We all need to feel bad or experience difficult problems occasionally! We all need a challenge! Too much stress, the BBC experts say, can lead to high blood pressure, strokes or heart disease. It can also cause feelings of distrust, anger, anxiety and fear, which in turn can destroy relationships at home and at work.

All advice sites point to the environment as being responsible for stress, but tend, like NHS Choices, to advise that people take a passive approach to the problems. The HSE takes a proactive approach, which may be more beneficial. It concludes that dealing with the environment will effectively sort out stress. Sometimes, of course, that is hard to do. But better perhaps to record the stresses in our environments and seek to change them than navel-gaze endlessly and attempt to change ourselves. One helpful hint: look at Carl Gustav Jung's ideas on self-actualisation where achieving one's potential is essential for each person. Stress may be what occurs when reaching one's potential is difficult or blocked by others, and overcoming difficulties and removing blocks is perhaps the only way to overcome it.

Original article at: https://www.medicalium.co.uk/news/id24-Hey--Stress-Can-Be-Good-For-You-