Everyone goes through stressful experiences of varying degrees. We sometimes think that stress is just in the mind: a reaction to a situation that will go away by itself (or when the situation resolves). Then, we think, we recover and go back to feeling normal.Stress, however, has many long-term effects on your body and is ageing many different parts of you. What exactly is it doing, and how is it doing it?
According to the Mental Health Foundation, four to 10 per cent of people in England and the US will experience depression in their lifetime.
The group also say that mental health problems like anxiety and depression have contributed to one fifth of days lost from work in Britain alone.
Here are nine little tips and tricks you can employ when you need them to help decrease the symptoms of anxiety:
Many studies celebrate the calming power of music. Listening to music can have a relaxing effect on the mind. Decreased anxiety by 65 per cent.
Whether you’re enjoying a soothing hot bath at home, a visit to a spa, an acupuncture treatment, a deep massage, a Reiki session or sitting quietly in a garden or in nature, you will benefit more when you are deeply relaxed. Listening to healing music can help you let go and surrender to relaxation, it can inspire you as well, resulting in a deeper experience. Meditation is what this is all about relieving your anxiety.
New evidence that men are more likely to cooperate in difficult circumstances
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 |
Ever feel that stress makes you more cranky, hot-headed or irritable? For men in particular, we think of stress as generating testosterone-fueled aggression – thus instances of road rage, or the need to “blow off steam” after work with a trip to the gym or a bar. On the other hand, in circumstances of extreme stress such as during natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy, we hear moving accounts of people going out of their way to help others. Hurricane Sandy has led to a flourish of supportive tweets and Facebook messages directed to people on the East Coast. The tsunami in Asia a couple of years ago led to a huge influx of financial support to help afflicted areas. Many who lived in New York City during 9/11 remember that, for a few days afterward, the boundaries and class divisions between people dissolved: people greeted each other on the street and were more considerate, sensitive to each other, and gentle than normal.
The classic view is that, under stress, men respond with "fight or flight,” i.e. they become aggressive or leave the scene, whereas women are more prone to “tend and befriend,” as has been shown in research by Shelley Taylor. A new study by Markus Heinrichs and Bernadette von Dawans at the University of Freiburg, Germany, however, suggests that acute stress may actually lead to greater cooperative, social, and friendly behavior, even in men. This more positive and social response could help explain the human connection that happens during times of crises, a connection that may be responsible, at least in part, for our collective survival as a species.
How stress can make us overeat
It’s been another hectic day. On impulse, you grab an extra-large candy bar during your afternoon break. You plan to take just a few bites. But before you know it, you’ve polished off the whole thing — and, at least temporarily, you may feel better.
Rest assured you’re not alone. Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” push people toward overeating
For people prone to anxiety, the holiday season may be stressful as well as exciting. While some people find Halloween thrilling, others may find it overstimulating. The subjective feelings of stress may interfere with the ability to be mentally present so as enjoy the socializing, fine food and festivities. Continue Reading →
