Check Your Balance


Stress

Do you feel overwhelmed? Hurried and harried? Tense? Overworked? Fatigued?

Stress is any pressure in your life, physical or mental, good or bad, that calls for a response that will help you adjust. It can be motivating or destructive, pleasant or unpleasant. It's any happening, any change.

Types of Stress

  • Specific (an automatic response to an event)
    Example: cold causes shivering, eating causes blood sugar to increase, running causes the heart to beat faster.

  • Non-specific (there's a choice of responses)
    Example: loss of a job leads to -- ?, a death in the family leads to -- ?, job pressure leads to -- ?, illness leads to -- ?
Symptoms of Stress

  • Physical
    Muscle tensions, high blood pressure, headaches, neck aches, back aches, indigestion, bowel changes, ulcers, sexual problems, breathing problems.
  • Emotional
    Anxiety, depression, hopelessness, powerlessness, hostility, irritability, resentment, fear, obsessions, worry.
  • Behavioral
    Changes in sleeping, inability to concentrate, restlessness, increased smoking or drinking, change in appetite, pacing, crying.
What Can You Do?
  • Accept the fact that bad things do happen.
  • Find out what's controllable and what's not.
  • Experiment with new behaviors (relax, reach out, use positive self-talk, write in a journal, prioritize, etc.)
Depression

Do you feel alone? Hopeless? Cry a lot? Can't concentrate? Can't see the meaning of life?

There is a continuum of sadness from being blue or down in the dumps to being clinically depressed. Occasional feelings of sadness are a normal part of life, but when the feelings are intense or persist for long periods of time or interfere with a person's functioning, a depressive disorder may be present.

Symptoms of Depression

  • Physical
    Change in appetite, sleeping less, sleeping more, waking in the middle of the night, fatigue, lack of energy, constipation, sexual problems, weight gain or loss.
  • Emotional
    Hopelessness, emptiness, sadness, worthlessness, shame, guilt, low self-esteem, agitation, anger, feeling alone.
  • Behavioral
    Withdrawal, avoidance, lack of interest, inattentiveness to personal hygiene, passivity, dependence, inability to sit still, pacing.
What Can I Do?

Whether you are clinically depressed or only going through a difficult time, there are things that can make the difference:

  • Talk to someone who will understand.
  • Learn stress management.
  • Do organized problem solving.
  • Use positive self-talk.
  • Identify the hurts and angers.
Anxiety

Are you nervous? Edgy? Have a rapid heartbeat? Difficulty swallowing? Excessive fear of a certain thing?

Anxiety is a response to an unexpected threat or fear due to anticipating possible danger. Nearly everyone experiences anxiety at one time or another. It generally occurs as an occasional, temporary reaction to the stresses of everyday life. When it becomes so severe or frequent that it interferes with a person's ability to function, it's best to seek help.

There are distinct illnesses such as anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and panic disorder. There are also, as mentioned above, the inevitable anxieties of life.

Symptoms of Anxiety

  • Physical
    Shortness of breath, increased heart rate, muscle tension, inability to sleep, dizziness, faintness, choking sensation, chest pain or pressure, tingling, numbness, nausea, diarrhea, sweating, shaking, ringing in the ears, change in blood pressure, urinary urgency, dryness of the mouth.
  • Emotional
    Restlessness, fears, phobias, terror, feeling of impending doom, fear of dying, fear of going crazy, fear of losing control, irritability.
  • Behavioral
    Trouble concentrating, pacing, avoiding certain situations, excessive washing or checking, hypervigilance.
What Can You Do?

When you are feeling anxious there are some things you can do that may help:

Learn stress management, practice relaxation techniques and meditation, look at behaviors and explore your expectations.

What Can You Do?

If you're having trouble managing stress, depression or anxiety in your life, a therapist can help you decide on an action plan and support and guide you as you put some healthy direction in your life. For confidential information and assistance, 24 hours a day, call the Behavioral Medicine Center's Assessment and Referral Service at (262) 928-4036.



Your Mood Can Affect Your Overall Health

There is more evidence every day that demonstrates how your mood can affect your overall health and recovery from illness. Take these startling findings from recent studies, for example:

Learning how to effectively express anger can reduce your risk of high blood pressure. Men or women who bear their grief alone have a higher than average rate of illness. Men have more accidents and illness during their wives' pregnancies than at other times. Having social support helps prevent coronary artery disease in people who are high achievers and find it hard to relax.

The ability to cope with feelings, especially anger, may decrease the risk of breast cancer. Chronic stress weakens the immune system which can increase your risk of physical illness. Since your state of mind is such an important factor in contracting and recovering from illness, take our quick quiz to help you find out how you've been feeling.

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