Is being stressed a good thing or a bad thing'It has been proved that any change in your life, whether good or bad can cause you stress. The Journal of Psychosomatic Research published a scale of Stressful Situations in 1967. This was adapted from the ‘Social Readjustment Rating Scale’ by Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe.

Eg Losing your job on the scale of Stress is 45 while starting a new job is 35 so both can be stressful and cause you worry.

Quite often the person will be worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet. For example, fear of losing their job.

Worry comes first before Stress, then Stress causes Worry. It’s a vicious circle. It is fear of what may happen. The old acronym for ‘FEAR’ is False Evidence Appearing Real.’ In other words, quite often it turns out that there was no need to worry in the first place.

Stress is a fact. Ignoring it is not going to make it go away.

While Stress in itself is not an illness as such, it’s the worrying bit that can cause the damage.

But while Stress, Tension or Worry initially start off as a Mental Problem, these Toxins will cause physical symptoms. Such as:

• High Blood Pressure
• Nausea and other tummy upsets
• Headaches.
• Fatigue

What Can Be Done To Help'We all get Depressed or Stressed at some time in our lives. Often it will go away as suddenly as it came on.

The Doctor will either try to sort out the problem or refer the sufferer to someone who deals with mental problems, rather than physical ones.

Sometimes, all the sufferer needs is someone to talk to. The ‘Mind Doctor’ has heard it all before. So a counselling session or two may help put things in perspective for the sufferer.

Maybe a new training course is what’s needed to give the person more confidence and a new skill.

Useful Contact Details: The Grief Centre Tel: +44 (0) 161 371 8860 E-Mail: grief@mabf.org.ukThe point is, nobody needs to feel they are alone. Seeking help from your GP is the first step to recovery.