Читать книгу Stress Relief. How to Manage Stress in Everyday Life, Prevent Depression and Improve Mental Health - Егор Кузьмин - Страница 2

Almost daily we hear people use the word stress, so it seems that almost everyone knows what this phenomenon represents and how to recognize it, not not how to prevent or mitigate its harmful consequences.

People often say that they are under stress, where the term stress includes some external factors that they cannot possibly influence. They complain of stress at work, at school, at home, at the store, in traffic jams, but at the same time feel powerless to do anything about it.

However, it is important to know that stress is something that comes from within us. It is a subjective response to a person’s experiences according to her experience and her own assessment of the situation.

Stress is a set of emotional, physical, physiological and behavioral responses that occur when an event is thought to be hazardous or disturbing, and beyond our capacity to cope with. Of course, we should not forget that stress is essentially a very positive part of human nature.

This reaction has primarily a protective role in dangerous situations, when the body needs to be ready save itself. We also know the saying, “What doesn’t kill us, gives us strength.” When we deal with difficulties successfully, it is highly likely we will emerge from the struggle stronger, more experienced and wiser. Therefore, we can talk about stress as a challenge, something that motivates and encourages our personal growth.

However, when the level of stress remains elevated for a long time; when the load is large and our strategy for fighting the problems is not effective, it has a negative impact both on psychological and physical health, capacity, productivity and quality of life in general. It is therefore important to understand the essence of stress, be aware of its sources, assess our own strength, willingness and ability to take action in terms of facing and overcoming its unhealthy consequences, as well as to learn new or improve existing strategies in this fight.