Why is it so? The stress has been part of the human race from the beginnings of the history, why do we pay it so much attention now?

Has it changed? Is it now more more dangerous than before? Or is it because now we have discovered its incidence in our lives?

Stress is an unavoidable consequence of life and it is not something exclusive of the human beings, because the animals also have it. But the stress it is not necessarily bad.

To win the lottery can produce much more stress that to not win it, but the difference rests in the organic answer that we will have in a case and the other.

On the other hand, there are many people that need some pressure to reach more, and stress can provide a state of alert, anticipation and excitement.

How can we achieve a fair balance between not having stress and having too much? Stress is the answer of the body in front of external conditions that are perceived as dangerous, worrying or irritating.

And our natural answer is the modification of the behavior of almost all the body organs, to allow us to escape or to face that danger.

Although in fact for the body any CHANGE in our life implies stress. When we face a change, the brain activates the secretion of certain hormones that untie a chain reaction in the whole body, and this is not bad, but rather it is the way that the nature uses to protects us, getting us ready to react to the stressor.

If the situation is prolonged during a short time, the stress and its changes are something good, but if the situation is prolonged in time...

It can be exhausting and cause ulcers, cardiovascular illnesses, migraines, sexual problems, asthma, nervous tics, baldness, diabetes, back pains, and even weight modifications increasing or removing the appetite.

What Causes Stress?

Anything can cause stress, since what a person perceives as irritating or dangerous, can be indifferent for another person in the same situation, that is to say that the stressors are different for different people.

And we should distinguish among the stress produced by pleasant situations (vacations, to get marryed, to win the lottery) that it is known as "eustress".

And the stress produced by unpleasant situations (a divorce, a death, to lose the employment) that it is known as "distress".

For this reason many people carry a load of stress much bigger than they can imagine. Any change in our routine and any change in our body is lived with stress.

Some of the more common stress producers are:
1. To work in excess without the appropriate time to recover
2. To live in places with extreme climates or extreme altitudes
3. Toxins like the poisons, the tobacco, the alcohol and the drugs
4. Fights and discussions
5. Illnesses
6. The puberty, with all the physical CHANGES that it bears
7. The pre-menstrual syndrome: once a month, before the menstruation, the lack of the same hormones that produce stress in the puberty, causes stress states in the mature women.
8. For the same reason, the sudden fall of the hormones level that takes place in front of the childbirth and the abortion, produce stress
9. The menopause, although of gradual appearance, it produces stress for the lack of the same feminine hormones.
10. Being in charge of the actions of another person. This produces CHANGES over our life, which we can't control, and for this reason it is a strong stressor.

How Does It Feel To Have Stress?

As well as different people react in different ways in front of the same stressor, they also feel different things when they have stress and those things can be:
1. headaches
2. diarrhea
3. constipation
4. insomnia
5. edginess
6. sexual inability
7. depression
8. anxiety
9. throbs
10. indigestion
11. etc.

How Can You Treat stress?

If the stress symptoms persist during many days, it is reasonable to go to see a doctor or to request psychological support.

As emergency measures the doctor can prescribe analgesic, beta blockers, tranquilizers and antidepressants, but the ideal is to learn how to control the stress by natural means like yoga practices, gymnastics, relaxation and mind control.

When the stressor is an unique cause, like a divorce or the loss of a loved one, it is convenient not over weight yourself with concerns and responsibilities, until the organism adapts to the new situation.

But if the stress reasons are a series of different daily stressors, then it is really necessary to think in the necessity of the psychotherapy or the mind control, to learn how to control your reactions in front of an adverse reality.

How Can You Eliminate Stress?

We have already seen that the stress is part of the natural answers of our organism, and that the good news can produce as much stress as the bad ones.

Therefore it is IMPOSSIBLE to ELIMINATE THE STRESS and all that you can aspire to do is to learn how to manage it, to learn how to react in front of the CHANGES.

The stress lack will lead us easily to the depression, the boredom or a sensation of rejection, and an excessive stress it can make us get sick.

Which Is A Good Stress Level?

A good stress level doesn't exist. A person with sedentary habits, can feel stressed if you put him in a work that requires excessive mobility.

A person accustomed to work on the stock market or in positions that requireS a high level of adrenaline and stress, can feel stressed if it is confined to a sedentary work on a desk.

The good level of stress is different for each person, and for that reason each one must determine what he likes and makes him well. And even this way, this level will modify with the years.

When you feel that the stress has gone beyond YOUR acceptable limit, you should look for a way of dealing with the excessive stress, since more than the strong stressors, what makes us feel sick is the accumulated stress.

Once we detect that we carry accumulated stress, we have two ways to solve it, one is to eliminate the stressor from our lives (which is not always possible) another is to modify the way in which we react.

The steps to follow should be to learn how to become aware when you have been surpassed by the stress.
1. What is it it that usually produces stress on you?
2. What do you feel in your body?
3. How do you react emotionally?

Recognize what it is that you can do about it, like:
1. Can you avoid that situation?
2. If you can not avoid it, are you able to experience it with less frequency?
3. Can you shorten the time that you are exposed to that stressor? It is not the same when something breaks your nerves for one hour, that when it does it during the whole day

Learn how to react in different ways:
1. Do you feel responsible for things that you can not control?
2. Do you feel in the obligation of pleasing everybody?
3. Do you always want to be right?
4. Don't you agree that everything can not be so serious neither so urgent?
5. Get used to think that the stress is something that you are learning how to control, and NOT something that overcomes you

Learn how to modify your emotional answer
1. Learn how to breathe slower in front of stressing situations
2. Practice relaxation and mind control
3. Take anxiolitics (only if your doctor has prescribed them) until you learn how to control your mind and body
4. Build a physical reservation to respond better to the stress:
5. Feed in a moderate form avoiding the excesses of fat and alcohol
6. Swim, walk, ride in bicycle, practice jogging or gymnastics of some type, three times a week
7. Try not to have overweight, neither be below a normal weight
8. Try to not smoke, and not no drink tea or coffee in excess
9. Learn how to have resting intervals during your work or study
10. Rest enough at night and if it is possible take a short nap (30 minutes) after lunch.

Modify your social behavior
1. Frequent your friendships. Mainly those that are mutually protectors (not those that will always hang emotionally from you, without allowing you to do the same thing when you need it)
2. Put on realistic goals, according with your age and capacity
3. Put YOU your own goals, don't live after the goals that OTHER tell you that you should have (beware of fashion)
4. Prepare yourself to have failures, displeasures, frustrations and sadness, since they are part of the life. NOBODY is perfect, and NOBODY came to this planet only to enjoy it.
5. Be always kind with yourself and with the other people (although they are not always going to be kind with you) and this will make you feel well