What Do You Know About Stress?

When you feel stress, the pituitary gland, at the base of the brain, increases its production of the hormone ACTH. This hormone tells the adrenal glands, found at the top of your kidneys, to increase their production of hormones. These stress hormones help you to concentrate, speed your reaction time, and boost your strength. An area of the brain called the hypothalamus also helps your body respond to stress.

Acute stress is exciting in small doses. Too much acute stress is exhausting and can lead to distress, tension headaches, and upset stomach.

Other common symptoms include anger, feeling irritable, anxiety, back or jaw pain, rapid heartbeat, nausea, shortness of breath, and cold hands or feet.

Chronic stress occurs when a person loses hope for changing what feels like a miserable situation. The long-term nature of chronic stress takes its toll on both the body and the mind. Over time it can lead to disability and death through heart attack, stroke, violence, or suicide.

People who are under stress become so involved in their own situation that they forget about other people. But because they are feeling stressed, they often begin taking out their feelings on family and friends. At work, stress over the long term can make it hard to concentrate and can lead to poor decisions. Because stress makes it hard to concentrate, people under stress may be more likely to have accidents.

Meditating for 20 minutes a day may help relieve chronic stress and increase your ability to cope with it. Exercise is another good way to handle stress. Twenty to 30 minutes of exercise each day helps not only your stress level but also your overall health. Be sure to check with your healthcare provider before starting an exercise program. Sharing your problems with others also can help you deal with stress by letting you know you're not alone. Friends and family can give you support when you're feeling under pressure. Other ideas for dealing with stress include learning to say "no" if you feel you have more to do than you can handle; using your imagination to picture how you can manage a stressful situation; tackling one urgent task at a time instead of feeling overwhelmed by many tasks; eating healthy foods and limiting your intake of alcohol and caffeine; and getting enough sleep.