Identifying Stress
It is not clear whether stress causes hypertension or not. But one thing is certain. Stress is a contributor to hypertension. Studies have shown that stress control can certainly help in lowering high blood pressure. One other thing is certain, and that is that chronic stress causes the body system to break down over time. The focus for this article will be stress and its relation to hypertension or high blood pressure.

As you may well know high blood pressure is called the "silent killer" because it often has no signs or symptoms. We will discuss some of the signs of stress. As stated earlier stress is a contributor to hypertension or high blood pressure.

First we will discuss the physical signs of stress. Physical signs of stress can include dizziness, headaches, indigestion, increased muscle tension, insomnia, exhaustion, trembling or nervousness, and weight gain or weight loss.

Mental signs of stress can be seen in persons that worry constantly, they have problems with making simple decisions, they have poor memory, there is a loss of a sense of humor, and there is a lack of concentration often associated with the mental signs of stress.

Emotional signs of stress are signs we are able to often see in others. These are the things that most often let us know that the "other" individual is "stressed out". Those emotional signs are anger, anxiety, depression, mood swings, and irritability.

There are also several behavioral signs of stress, these are also signs that we often see in other individuals and signs that others may say they see in us when we're stressed. These signs include bossiness, compulsive eating, impulsiveness, increased alcohol or drug abuse, decrease social interaction, deterioration in spousal/family/friend relationships, and overall negative attitude.

How to Cope
Once an individual has learned to recognize some or all of the above listed warning signs of stress in their life then the empowerment phase can began. Empowerment begins with recognition and learning ways to cope with stress.

First, take control. We must learn that we do not have to meet and complete all of the expectations or demands placed upon us by others. Know that it is okay to say the word No. No is a complete sentence. It is simply okay to stand up and speak out for your rights and beliefs and at the same time respect the rights and beliefs of others. We should all care but, "not that much". What this means is we should care enough to help ourselves and to help others but not become so overwhelmed that it causes insurmountable stress in our own lives.

We should make it a practice to relax every day. One of the main causes of stress is that life is filled with too many demands and too little time. One of the most effective time management skills is simply minimizing the amount of tasks we wish to complete in a days time. There are hundreds of things we say "must be done" and we work ourselves into a frenzy to complete those things that "must be done". But think about it, if we become physically unable to do those things that "must be done" they will still be done even if they have to be done by someone else. My point is we do not have to do it all ourselves. When we delegate to a family member or co-worker we relieve ourselves of duties and responsibilities and we make others feel needed.

Coping with stress involves taking responsibility. Taking responsibility means responding only to those things that you have the ability to control and leaving those things alone over which you have no control over, until you have developed the ability to respond and control.

We need to work on getting back to the basics. Examine your life and the values you have and work toward maintaining good basic values. It is far better to have a few tasks and values that you give 100% of your attention to than to have many things that you work halfheartedly at. Quality is better than quantity.

Set realistic goals and expectations. There is a saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day". This means that anything you want in life that is worth anything will take time. When you embark upon a task set your long-term goal being sure you employ short-term goals. Often times you will probably want to take those short-term goals and make them into even smaller short-term goals; the smaller the more manageable, the more manageable the less stressful. If you want to know how small you should make your goals here is a rule of thumb: "Continue dividing your goal until you no longer feel overwhelmed or stressed." If you have minimized your tasks to the smallest degree and you still feel stressed and uncomfortable, rest and re-evaluate your life in this area.

Remember to eat a proper diet and get enough rest and exercise. You should strive to get at least eight to nine hours of continuous sleep per night. Limit your intake of excessive sugars, fats, and caffeine. Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day, three times per week. Remember those 30 minutes can be broken into 10 to 15 minute intervals different times during the day, until you can manage a full 30 minute workout.

In today's frantic and fast paced society there is hundreds of what I like to refer to as "self-empowerment" experts. These experts range from PhD's to individuals who have learned to cope through "tough" life experience. We can benefit from persons at either end of the spectrum and all of those in between. There are gadgets that range from biofeedback machines to meditation CD's and DVD's, to exercise videos. Begin today to empower yourself. Take control of the stressors in your life and delete them one at a time. Learn what your personal stressors are and how to master them, again one at a time. You were made to enjoy life. Start today.

Copyright (c) 2008 FOJ,LLC. All Rights Reserved

By: Charles Stewart II
Charles Stewart II is a registered nurse who has practiced nursing since becoming an LPN in 1992. Please visit http://www.fojmerchandising.com for more health and wellness articles. If you have questions regarding article content feel free to contact me at charles@fojmerchadising.com. Please note: Nothing on fojmerchandising.com or included as part of any project of FOJ,LLC/FOJ Merchandising.com, should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a medical opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of medicine.

Stress and weight gain - these 2 are said to go "hand-in-hand", by many researches that study the effect of stress on weights.

How does stress come about in the first place?

It's the result of our life that's so fast-paced; that's trying to do too many things at one time; that's so full of demanding requests of this and that at work, at school, in the family and in the society that we "stress up" when encounter these "challenging" situations.

How does your body deal with stress?

Well, when you encounter stressful situation, your adrenal glands release cortisol, a stress hormone. when you've lots of stresses, your cortisol also runs high.

When your cortisol is high, you could experience insulin resistance wherein cells in your body become resistant to the effects of insulin and your pancreas produces higher levels of insulin.

When you're insulin-resistant, your body converts sugars and carbohydrates into fat rather than burning them as energy. Hence, you gain weight.

That's how, in a nutshell, the connection between stress and weight gain begins......

Stress also contributes to weight gain in other forms, such as through:

A slow metabolism which makes you hard to burn off calories
A craving for unhealthy fatty, sugary and salty foods which of course cause you to put on weight when you excessively consume them
A change in blood sugar levels which can bringforth mood swing, tiredness and condition like hyperglycemia
A fat storage that's gone out of whack as you tend to store fat at the abdomen area, which spells higher health risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and certain types of cancers than fat stored in other areas of your body
An emotional eating episode which leads you to eat or binge more than you normally would, even though you aren't hungry


How to reduce stress?

Well, the best antidote is exercise.

Exercise promotes the secretion of the "feel good" neurotransmitters known as endorphins - the mood-elevating chemicals. They help to elevate your mood and alleviate your tension and bottled-up frustrations and anger, hence you feel good about yourself and have better outlook on every aspect of your life, including your stressful situation.

It relaxes your body and mind so you've clarity of mind and focus of attention in everything you do.

It also increases your self-confidence and reduces your inclination towards negative thinking and depression and gives you a sense of mastery over your life. These positive developments would be strong weapons to counteract the pressure of life you face.

You'd be surprised that even light exercise like slow walking can have positive effect on your brain and body, to let you handle your problems better. When you exercise, problems of work, family, kids, money and what nots seem less looming because you tend to shed off these problems during the workout.

Can I say exercise is thus a channel to vent off all your bottled up pressures, tensions and frustrations?

It is a channel, an effective one, at that.

Studies have shown that people who regularly exercise are less stressful and are able to better manage their problems.

Hence, make exercise an important part of your life.

You don't have to do lots, just a regular dose of 3-4 times per week for 30 - 60 minutes per session, is enough to de-stress you one way or another.

Go walking, jogging, biking, swimming, dancing.....and vent off whatever pressure and frustration you've, through your workout!

By: Cecelia Yap
Cecelia Yap is an avid exerciser and author of the popular exercise website: perfect-body-toning.com - a web site born out of her passion which she successfully turns into a profitable business

Perhaps you have a passion or hobby you'd like to write about. Find out how you too can turn it into a profitable business like Cecelia does, here: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/my-passion.html.

Contrary to believe, anxiety disorder is more prevalent in our society than initial thought and generally affects women more than men. In the US alone, almost 20% of the adult population is affected by some form of this mental condition. The various forms of anxiety related disorders include specific phobias, post traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety and panic disorder.

The development of anxiety is usually caused by factors such as family genetics, chemical/hormonal imbalance in the brain and environmental issues such as unresolved issues at home/work, built up stress as well as fixed defined behavioral patterns in the individual.

There are several physical symptoms that are tell tale signs of an anxiety attack. These manifestations include irritation, insomnia, tension, shortness of breath, feeling chest pains, rapid heartbeats and dizziness. Even though anxiety is prevalent in our society and can sometimes be rather serious, the silver lining is that is it definitely treatable.

The treatment for anxiety comes in many forms with the most common one being prescription of medications such as antidepressants as well as anti anxiety medicines. These medications can be used short term or long term depending on the severity of the anxiety attacks and can be used in conjunction with other forms of treatment.

Therapies which are conducted by counselors and therapist are an excellent treatment for anxiety disorders. Some of these therapies include behavior therapy, which involves the control of unwanted behavior and cognitive therapy, which is about getting rid of negative thought patterns in the individual. Other popular therapies include cognitive behavior therapy as well as relaxation and calming techniques such as aromatherapy, breathing and massage.

Natural remedies can also be used to treat anxiety disorders and symptoms. Some of these natural treatments include taking of dietary supplements, such as vitamin B complex, eating right to maintain the optimal blood sugar levels and exercising.

Know that you must exert control over your anxiety rather than letting it run your life. This disorder is treatable or at the very least, it's symptoms can be managed through the various treatments described above.

By: Rachel Andrews
Rachel Andrews is the owner of the anxiety and panic attacks site. Do sign up for her newsletter and learn more about eliminating your anxieties and panic attacks forever! Do not let these problems consume your precious life as it is treatable.

When I was a kid I used to read Readers Digest and one section I always think of was "Laughter is the best medicine". As I have gotten older I have come to realize that laughter may not be the best medicine but it sure is good medicine for what ails you. It's hard to be sad, depressed, stressed out or anxious when you are laughing. Laughter can sometimes even make you forget about physical pain.

Laughter may not actually cure stress, depression, anxiousness, sadness or pain but it can sure help decrease stress, lighten depression, ease anxiety, mitigate pain and lessen sadness. Many medical researchers say that people who laugh often live longer lives.

Laughing is not hard, in fact it's easy. Read some jokes, learn and tell some jokes, watch some comedy acts on television, go to a comedy club or have a friend tell you some jokes. Eventually you'll find some jokes, humor or satirical stories that will appeal to you and before you know it you will find yourself laughing.

When my wife gets depressed I read some jokes, learn them and then retell them to her. Pretty soon her mood starts to lighten and her depression either lessens or goes away all together. When I get sad or frustrated I start reading jokes and quickly I start to feel that whatever is making me sad or frustrated isn't so bad and my mood improves immensely.

Go ahead, read or listen to some jokes and turn on the laughter. You'll be surprised how much better you will feel.

Copyright 2008 The Joke Index

By: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.
This article was written for the Joke Index, a portal to blogs and websites dedicated to Funny jokes, humor, humorous anecdotes, satire and stories and first published in the Stress Management blog from Resources For Attorneys.