Stress plays havoc on health, social life and work. Ultimately it is a killer. For these reasons, it is essential to respond to stress. Without a fight or flight response for many everyday situations, one needs a way to help the body escape the situation or cope with the situation in a healthy fashion. In doing, so there are four types of interventions that can take place in dealing with stress.
Interventions to stress or in many ways we look to fight it within a civil and acceptable way. Since we cannot like our ancestors flee or fight a situation, we do not want to internalize stress and damage our bodies. It is important to look at each stress and see what type of intervention is the best way to deal with it.
Life change interventions are one important way to fight stress. It may involve changing how we handle things via organization to a complete restructuring of a career. The changes may be minor, or may be major depending on the level of the stress. Some stressors are internal while others are external. Some we have more control over while others we cannot control. Our life changes all hinge upon that in how severe we can alter a life style. Some changes may alter the extremity of the stress, while others may limit the duration of the stress. Some life changes seek to avoid the stress or limit the stressor’s affect on one’s life. Ultimately, the life change depends on the person’s situation and the stress. Each person is different and what stresses some, may not stress others. Hence the life change is subjective in many cases.
Does one change a career completely, or make smaller changes within the paradigm of the work itself. Hence these changes are based on the person’s individual needs and their ability to deal with the stress.
Not all stresses require outward life changes, but can be managed other ways. One way include perception. How one perceives things ultimately shapes one’s world outlook on life. One can be a glass is half empty person or a glass is half full person. If one perceives a stressor as something that will destroy them, then it will cause a great amount of worry, but if one sees such stressors as challenges or ways to improve oneself, then this outlook totally changes the stress reaction within the person. One may lose a job and see new opportunities, while others may see the loss of income and fear of unemployment. Again, it ultimately lies within the person’s perception. The ability to alter one’s perception to stress is a key way to manage it and make situations better.
Another intervention against stress is emotional response. We can help our emotional responses to stress through a variety of interventions. One includes meditation. Meditation is correlated with many health benefits. Individuals who meditate regularly overall have better health and are able to refresh themselves against stress. Besides meditation, biofeedback is a helpful tool. Biofeedback looks at how our body responds to certain stimuli and understanding what our body does when affected by stress. Most of these functions are subconscious, such as our breathing and heartbeat. Individuals can identify stress and how the body responds and use techniques to control heartbeat and breathing to reduce the damage of stress. There are a multitude of other ways one can emotionally reduce the power of stress in one’s lives. Utilizing these methods can help one deal with a life situation that cannot be altered or changed.
Equal to emotional release, physical and physiological methods of reducing stress are critical to health. These interventions and responses tie deeply with the fight response. Physical response to stress in the gym can be very beneficial. One can lift weights, punch a bag or run to escape the reality of stress. The body responds well to exercise not just for health but also mental health. Endorphins are released that help the body overcome stress damage to the organs. Those in high stress fields, should consider a regular exercise regiment to cope with the daily stresses of life.
Stress interventions are key to good health. Stress kills and one must be able to alleviate the responses of the body through a variety of coping strategies. These strategies can help one cope with stress and increase good health.
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it meets your standards. Qualified professionals can earn a four year certification through AIHCP’s independent study and online program in Stress Management.