Life, Love, Stress

 

By: Nakeem Grant 

Have you ever had trouble sleeping because you were angry at something or someone? Do you come home from school or work feeling physically and mentally drained? Well guess what? You’re stressing out. Stress is not something that should be overlooked or pushed to the side. It can cause anxiety, depression, and can lead to anger. Stress is an issue that more or less everyone deals with in some point of their lives, but there are various methods that we can practice in order to reduce and ultimately eliminate stress in our lives. I can relate to stressing out pretty well because I get stressed at least once or twice a week. Sometimes I put myself in a position where I overwhelm myself with tons of schoolwork and little time to get it completed. Another instance of when I stress out would be when I fail to do something correct the first time. It turns out that stress is different for everyone in that we all respond differently to stress. Some people might have strong physical responses to stress while others (like me) may have strong mental responses.

Stress is the body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment. Stress can be hard to define because it affects each of us differently. Stress can cause anxiety, insomnia, frustration, and other mental issues of that sort. However, stress can also cause physical changes such as sweaty hands, dizziness, and grinding your teeth. Although stress doesn’t sound like a positive aspect, there are some effects that can be somewhat helpful and beneficial. Feelings of anxiety could be compared to as having the feeling of butterflies in your stomach. For example, winning a race or kissing a significant other can put your mind and body through stress just as much as losing a race or being rejected. Now that I’ve defined the true meaning of stress, let’s take a look at a break down of different categories and statistics involving stress.

Based on whatcausesstress.org, more than half of working adults and 47% of all Americans say that they are concerned with the stress in their lives. Each person however has different reasons for being stressed out. A scale known as the Holmes-Ray scale is used to measure the level of stressful occurrences. Death of a spouse causes 100% stress in the grieving member. Subsequently, the divorce process is at 73% on the scale. The top five causes of stress in the U.S. are job pressure, money, health, relationships, and poor nutrition. 76% percent of Americans state that money and work are the leading causes of stress in their lives. Also, 77% of Americans state that physical issues they deal with are caused by stress. It’s clear to see that based on these statistics, stress is a prominent issue in each of our lives to some extent. However, there are ways to deal with stress and better your lives in the process.

There are various techniques and methods that people can practice in order to reduce the mental and physical aspects of stress. WebMD.com explains that one of the best techniques of reducing stress is to meditate. Meditating helps to relax your mind and ease those stressful thoughts. It can be any activity that helps to keep your attention in the present moment. Another great technique is picturing yourself relaxed. Picturing yourself relaxed can be great for people that struggle with quieting their mind. The art of visualization (picturing yourself on a quiet beach, a penthouse in New York City, etc.) can help to keep thoughts away from any negative feelings.

In the end, the emotional and physical adjustments that our body and mind goes through are known as stress. In addition, I think it is safe to say that you and I are not alone, knowing that 82% of Americans are also dealing with some form of stress. Lastly, exercising on a daily basis, meditating, etc. are great practices that can help to diminish the stress in our lives. To reiterate what I stated earlier, we all deal with some form of stress. But I can’t stress enough (no pun intended) that if we take the necessary steps towards eradicating stress, it well better and benefit all of our lives.