For the last few months Approximately 80% of the visitors to my web site ended up here because of Google searches on stress. Managing or eliminating unwanted stress & anxiety is a complex topic that could never be given justice with just a web page. This has prompted me to update this page and start my free GOOD LIFE email coaching program. My goal is to add value to your life in an ongoing manner. If you are concerned about the impact that stress or anxiety is having on your life then subscribe to my GOOD LIFE coaching program by completing the form on the top right hand side of the page.

What is Stress?

Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger – whether it’s real or imagined – the body's defences kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the stress response.

The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life – giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.

The stress response also helps you rise to meet challenges. Stress is what keeps you on your toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration when you’re attempting the game-winning free throw, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety can be defined as excessive stress about a specific events in the future. If we were to look at the list of external causes of stress we would differentiate between stress and anxiety as follows: If you are going through a divorce, you would be experiencing impact of stress. If you were anticipating a divorce for any reason and this had an impact on you, then you would be experiencing anxiety.

Psychology has classified many different types of anxiety based on symptoms and frequency. I have even come across people that say they suffer from permanent anxiety. That is because there are so many specific events in the future that cause anxiety for them, that their mind has generalised the situation.

The fear that any individual experiences when dealing with anxiety has the ability to paralyse and completely take over anyone's life.

Effects of chronic stress

The body doesn't distinguish between physical and psychological threats. When you’re stressed over a busy schedule, an argument with a friend, a traffic jam, or a mountain of bills, your body reacts just as strongly as if you were facing a life-or-death situation. If you have a lot of responsibilities and worries, your emergency stress response may be “on” most of the time. The more your body’s stress system is activated, the easier it is to trip and the harder it is to shut off.

Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

Potential Health Problems caused by Stress

• Depression
• Obesity
• Autoimmune diseases
• Skin conditions such as eczema
• Pain of any kind
• Heart disease
• Digestive problems
• Sleep problems

What can be done about Stress & Anxiety?

Fortunately there are many ways to deal with or get rid of unwanted stress and any anxiety. Some people turn to medication or medical assistance, others focus on changing their circumstances and some people look for the root cause and deal with the issues there. My personal approach is the latter. The rest of this page is about helping uncover the root causes that are responsible for our stress and anxiety.

The diagram below graphically We can start by understanding what the cause or triggers for stress is in our lives. They will be different for everyone. I have grouped the triggers & causes in to 2 groups as knowing the origin of the problem is a good place to start.

Causes of Stress

When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones rouse the body for emergency action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus – preparing you to either fight or flee from the danger at hand.

What causes stress depends, at least in part, on your perception of it. Something that's stressful to you may not faze someone else; they may even enjoy it.

For example, getting to work in the morning may make you anxious and tense because you worry that traffic will make you late. Others, however, may find the trip relaxing because they allow more than enough time and enjoy listening to music while they drive.

Your perceptions are formed by what goes on in your conditioned mind. In other words, your values, beliefs, past experiences and decisions. Your conditioned mind determines your thinking. Let me demonstrate. If you like a specific sport or anything for that matter, then you find yourself thinking about that sport, thing or person. Let's assume that you don't like knitting. How much time do you spend thinking about knitting? I thought so. Our conditioned mind is home to our perceptions and determines what we think and stress about.

The situations and pressures that cause stress are known as stressors. We usually think of stressors as being negative, such as an exhausting work schedule or a rocky relationship. However, anything that puts high demands on you or forces you to adjust, can be stressful. This includes positive events such as getting married, buying a house, going to college, or receiving a promotion.

There are many resources available to assist you with dealing with specific stressors. Dealing effectively with anything outside of yourself requires specific skills and competencies. My focus is on helping with the internal aspects, more specifically the conditioned mind. The conditioned mind significantly impacts every single experience that you have.

Over time we adopt values and beliefs that don't support our best interests. We do this because of what we experience and what we go through. We develop fears and opinions the culminate into a platform that creates unsustainable and unhealthy levels of stress in our lives.

Interested in learning more. My face to face life coaching program equips you to be the master of stress in your life by equipping you with the resources to deal with it effectively. If you want to find out more about my face to face coaching program then contact me.