Stress should not be underestimated

Mental Health Awareness month - July 2011

Ronald Sumter* is a 45-year-old administrator at the Department of Arts and Culture. Recently he decided to visit his doctor after experiencing periods when he would feel anxious and start sweating uncontrollably. His doctor told him he was showing signs of being very stressed and that he needed to find ways to relax or he might go on to develop a serious medical condition. Ronald was also told that his blood pressure was high and that it would need to be treated with medication soon if he did not take steps to reduce his stress and improve his lifestyle.

As part of the Government Employees Medical Scheme's (GEMS) ongoing effort to educate our members and future members on a range of healthcare topics, we would like to share real life member stories with you and explore certain important healthcare issues. This article looks at the subject of stress.

Life in today's world is full of stress and for many people it has become so commonplace that it is a permanent part of their lives. Occasional stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It can help us to take action, and perform under pressure. It can motivate us to get ahead in our work and get that promotion. However, when you and your body are constantly under stress over a long period of time, you can pay a heavy price for it and possibly even become ill.

For many people work becomes the centre of their lives and it is estimated that most professionals work at least 44 hour a week. A long working day and the need to constantly perform at your best, coupled perhaps with other worries in your personal life, can result in a level of stress that is detrimental to physical, emotional and mental health.

It is therefore important to learn how to deal with stress before it has a harmful effect on your mind and body. So if you find yourself overly stressed, do not ignore the problem, and if necessary seek help to overcome its negative effects like Ronald did when he visited his doctor. If you are concerned you are not coping with the psychological effects of your day-to-day stresses, contact a doctor, clinic or psychologist. Check to see whether your medical scheme offers mental health benefits and allows visits to mental healthcare professionals such as psychologists, who can really help you to deal with the daily stresses in your life. All GEMS options now offer such a benefit.

Stress is a normal physical response to a situation that makes you feel threatened or uncomfortable in some way. The human body reacts by releasing stress hormones into your system, including adrenaline, when it perceives itself to be threatened. Hormones such as adrenaline are a means to call the body to action. Our heart beats more quickly, muscles tighten up, breath quickens and our senses are sharpened. In other words, our bodies are prepared for action.

All the above helps us when it comes to needing to perform at work or on the sports field and it is perfectly natural. Where stress is not so positive however, is when we experience too much of it. Having your body in such a ‘state of action' for long periods of time, day-in and day-out can cause permanent damage to its systems over time. Indeed being too stressed over a long period can help contribute to the development of illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. It can also lead to mental conditions such as anxiety and depression, or auto-immune system problems. Some individuals who are stressed eat too much and can become obese.

There are ways that you can change your own view of stress and reduce your daily stress to acceptable levels. If you look at the people around you, you will notice that some individuals are not as stressed as others. This is because they have different ways of dealing with stress and might not see stress in the same way. So, for example, you may work well to deadlines but a colleague of yours does not and regards them as highly stressful. This tells us that stress is often about how we perceive a situation to be rather than how it actually is. If we see it as stressful, that is what it becomes. If we approach a problem with joy and as a challenge, on the other hand, we may find it a lot less stressful. Different people are able to handle different levels of stress, and it is important for the individual to establish just how much stress is ‘too much' for him or her and to manage it effectively.

If you are in danger of literally stressing yourself to death, the following are some practical things that you can do to reduce your stress and make your life more rewarding:

Balance your life. Your life should not all be about work. It requires balance between work, family and play. Don't sacrifice seeing your family or your health for your career.

Learn to say no. It is easy in your career to take on more responsibilities than you are capable of dealing with. Remember that you also need time out and to be able to spend time with your family. So learn to be assertive or to say no in a nice way.

Stay focused. Unless you have a sense of priorities, you can work hard all day but be further from your goal than when you started. Get into the habit of starting every day with a "to do" list.  Give each task a time allotment proportional to its importance. Review the list several times during the day.

Take time out. Make sure that you have at least one day a week in which to take it easy. Taking a day off is a way of saying that we have earned the right to rest; that the world and its concerns do not own us seven days of the week. Shorter periods of relaxation are also important during the working day.

Eat well and exercise. What we eat is the fuel that keeps our bodies and minds operating. If we feed ourselves too little fuel, or fuel of poor quality, we are not going to operate like a well-oiled machine.  If you want to be well you need to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that contains a maximum of natural foods and a minimum of chemicals. For some information of mood-boosting food, read the healthGEMS in your latest issue of Facets. Along with a good diet the body also requires exercise if it is to be more stress proof.

Ronald listened to the advice of his doctor and has made an effort to make himself less vulnerable to stress. He makes sure not to work too late and to take some time out. He has also taken up daily exercise and has improved his diet, eating plenty of fresh vegetables. The good news is that it is paying off and his doctor is happy that his health is much improved.

Stress is not to be underestimated. We should all take care to ensure that we deal with it appropriately. In some cases this may just require the individual making a few modifications to the way they deal with other people, while in other cases it may require the intervention of a healthcare practitioner. Whatever your situation, make sure that stress does not get the better of you.

If you would like to know how GEMS can assist you to obtain more information about any of your healthcare needs, you can contact the GEMS call centre on 0860 00 4367 or send an SMS to 083 450 4367. GEMS will assist you in every way possible to ensure your family's health and well-being.

References

1. Dr Melinda Smith et al, Understanding Stress - Signs, Symptoms, Causes and Effects, Helpguide.com, www.Helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm.
2. MedicineNet.com, What is stress? - www.medicinenet.com/stress/article.htm.

*The member's name has been changed in order to protect his identity.