What Is Stress?

Have you ever watched your pet dog when someone it doesn’t know rushes up to it?  Even real friendly dogs will either run away or snarl as if ready to fight.  Our brain works in a similar way if there seems to be some kind of threat: it gets us ready to run away or fight.  This is often called the “fight or flight response.” 

If we are in real danger (for example, someone has pulled a weapon on us), this response is a good one, for it may save our lives.  But, there are many situations today in which we are not really in danger, but the brain responds as if we were.  It gets us ready by making changes in our bodies, like tensing muscles, making breaths short, and increasing blood pressure.  If we face stress day after day, our bodies stay in a stress mode, and stress symptoms appear.  That is when we are truly stressed out!

Take a look at the following list of symptoms of stress.  How many of these signs of stress do you have?

Ø  Feel angry just about every day

Ø  Frequent headaches

Ø  Take a long time to fall asleep

Ø  Feel frustrated a lot

Ø  Get into trouble often

Ø  In bed, just keep thinking about things over and over

Ø  Lose temper quickly

Ø  Not eating right – too much or too little

Ø  Can’t think straight

Ø  Don’t feel good, but don’t know why

Ø  Friends start to stay away

Ø  Get in someone’s face or fighting often

Ø  Heart races and beats fast

If more than just one or two of these signs of stress are going on with you at this time, your body may be in a major stress mode!

What’s So Bad About Stress?  Besides just not feeling good, people who have stress all the time can develop some serious problems, including stroke, heart attack, depression, and anxiety, among others.  They also are more at risk for starting or relapsing into drug and alcohol use, which makes the problem many times worse. 

In addition, people who are stressed often have problems getting and keeping a job (Remember? It’s the reason you came to Job Corps!) or in relationships, as others get tired of being on the receiving end of someone who’s taking out their stress on them.

Fortunately, there’s good news: stress does not have to ruin your life!  There are many proven ways to combat and eliminate stress in your life, and reduce the level of stress inside you.  The important thing is that you don’t wait until stress does you in!  Stop by the Health & Wellness Center for help.  Take a look also at some of the links below for quick and easy ways to reduce your stress level and make life better. 

Exercise Fuels the Brain's Stress Buffers

Stress

Managing Stress

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