Stress And You

Are you addicted to stress? Do you thrive under tight deadlines and adrenaline fueled situations? Do you take on more than you can handle or create bigger problems out of small issues? Here’s some information from About.com that might help define a few things.

1. You can begin to keep things exciting, but take the ‘crisis edge’ off, paring down unnecessarily stressful activities and distinguishing the subtle difference between a true crisis and a somewhat overblown situation.
2. You can practice relaxation techniques to reverse your body’s stress response when you find yourself overwhelmed so you don’t experience the full negative effects of chronic stress.

What Is An Adrenaline Junkie? What Can You Do If You Are One?

What kind of stress is good or bad?

Episodic Acute Stress, where acute stress seems to run rampant and be a way of life, creating a life of relative chaos (e.g. the type of stress that coined the terms ‘drama queen’ and ‘absent-minded professor’)

Chronic Stress, the type of stress that seems never-ending and inescapable, like the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job (this type of stress can lead to burnout)

How It Affects Your Body, and How You Can Stay Healthier

When overwhelmed, here are five ways to calm down quickly.

1. Take a Walk:
2. Take a Breath
3. Take a Mental Break
4. Reframe Your Situation: Sometimes we intensify our experience of stressful situations by the way we look at them. If you can look at your situation differently, you may be able to put it into a different perspective–one that causes you less stress!
5. Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation

What are some ways I can calm down quickly when I’m feeling overwhelmed?

Have your own tips for stress?