Tag: stress

Attitude is everything!

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS:

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” Hans Selye

Scientist Hans Selye (1907 – 1982) developed a General Adaptation Syndrome model showing the three phases of stress and the effects on the body. According to Selye, chronic stress causes long-term chemical changes in the body and is therefore a major cause of disease.

3 PHASES OF SELYE’S GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME

Alarm Stage

This is also known as the fight or flight response where stress hormones are released for immediate energy. This energy needs to be used up in physical activity so the stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline do not harm the body, particularly the heart.

Resistance Stage

As the source of stress is being sorted out, the body begins to restore its balance and starts recovering. If the stress continues the body remains in a constant state of vigilance or arousal.

If there is no time for recovery the person will proceed into the next phase.

Exhaustion Stage

All adaptation energy supply is depleted and the result is burnout, chronic anxiety and depression. The stress levels go up and stay up. This stage is dangerous to your health and can damage nerve cells and body organs. Thinking as well as memory are also affected.

The Answer?

The answer is really quite simple! We have to learn better ways of dealing with stress. With our hectic lifestyles, this is easier said than done, but for the sake of good health our responses to stress need to be re-examined. We need to change our attitudes. Stress is a known cause of depression so to overcome depression it is essential to learn how to deal with it.

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” Hans Selye

The Stress of Life by Hans Selye is available from Amazon and has good online reviews.

Please register for our Free 5 Part Overcoming Depression Course which focuses on learning how to deal with stress, particularly as regards changing the way we think.

 

Stress – A Bad Idea!

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS comes from Frederick Saunders.

“Brain cells create ideas. Stress kills brain cells. Stress is not a good idea.”

When one looks at the brain and all its capabilities, one cannot but stand in awe and admiration! And the brain also has a warning system to tell us to change some of the unhelpful things we do.  There are chemicals in the brain that are used for thinking. Stress causes these chemicals to get used up, to become depleted and the brain gets sick. Yes, the brain can get sick, just like any other organ in the body. This illness caused by stress is called depression or burnout.

After a stressful event, the brain needs time to recover. Relaxation, or chilling out allows the brain chemicals to return to their normal levels. Sometimes this is not possible and the person needs medical treatment for depression. A typical characteristic of depression is uncharacteristic negative talk.

“Stress is not a good idea”  says Saunders. I couldn’t agree more! The solution is to learn how to handle stress in a different way. For more about stress take a look at my other site, Overcoming Depression. This gives much more information about the effects of stress and how to handle stress.