Hans Selye (1907-1982) was the Hungarian endocrinologist who coined the phrase "stress" in 1936. His original definitions of stress were physical as a result of his work studying rats to find a new hormone. He noticed that when they were deprived of food, worked hard and had drugs injected into them, the rats had non specific symptoms of an enlarged spleen and a coated tongue. It would be ten years before he realized that these conditions applied to humans' as well.

Today stress is likely to be described as mental rather than physical as our lives have become more complex nut nonetheless the body react to stress in three distinct biological phases.

The Alarm reaction to stress.

The first reaction is the body realizes that something is wrong and it has to make a decision, usually known as the flight or flight response. This reaction would go back to the very earliest of men, when faced with danger they had two choices either face it and fight or run away. This creates an adrenalin rush so that you can deal with the pressure.

Resistance to Physical Stress.

Unfortunately the human body is not capable or maintaining that level of stress for long and it resists the changes that the body is going through such as the rush of adrenalin.

Exhaustion

If the body is exposed to too high a level of stress for sufficient time it changes by aging in real terms it begins to burn out.

Good stress if it does not go on for to long can energize us and motivate us to succeed. It increases the awareness of your physical surroundings as the body takes stock of the immediate challenges. Hans Selye definition of stress was

"Stress is the human response to changes that occur as a part of daily living.".

Eventually Selye joined up the dots in his research and applied the principals to humans and he found that although we all react to different things which stress us we all an identical physical reaction. It ages us and ultimately he proved a direct relationship between excessive levels of stress and cancer and coronary heart disease. Unfortunately the physical results of too much stress do not manifest themselves immediately even though the extra hormones pumped out leave you feeling physically drained.

Stress management is self explanatory. It is the effects of reducing the physical effects of the body of bad stress. There are various techniques to manage stress such as exercise and relaxation. However they both come down to the same thing getting the levels of mental and physical stress we face more or less equal. Relaxation means total relaxation, for instance watching the television is not relaxing, though we use it as such, the brain is still energized and engaged. Sleep is important as it allows the body to recuperate. Deep breathing and meditation can also relax the body and reduce stress.

That explains stress but how does that affect the immune system specifically. Stress has the same affect on the immune system as it does on the rest of the body. The act of a massive input of adrenalin allows the immune system to take action it effectively prepares our immune system to deal with infections or problems, arising from burns, cuts, and other injures. It prepares the body to heal itself.

However the immune system cannot cope with elevated levels of stress anymore than the body can, in all cases long term stress has a negative affect on the immune system as across the board it does not work as well. Specifically if you are elderly or your immune system is already under threat then the stress can cause the immune system to almost stop functioning entirely.

By: Rita Goldman
If you have been diagnosed with cancer or have a reoccurring cancer visit us at http://www.thewordisHOPE.com and find the hope for healing. Make a leap of faith from Cancer victim to Cancer Survivor by reading the stories of Hope and Encouragement from simple people like you that fought and believed and recovered. If you are a cancer survivor, we need your story with all the details you are willing to provide.

Mommy Stress isn't a term you will hear until you become a stressed out Mommy yourself. It can almost feel like an impossible task to prepare meals, be the perfect Mother and partner, keep a clean house and meet all the social commitments on a daily basis. Contributing to the Mommy Stress is the feeling of lack of achievement. It doesn't matter how well you changed diapers, kept up with the washing or entertained the little ones, there is the same amount of work to do the very next day, and still the same amount of Mommy Stress.

To combat Mommy stress there are some simply strategies that we need to put into place. The first one is to be kind to yourself. Many Mommy Stress sufferers are guilty of putting themselves last on the list of things to do and still feel guilty at the end of each day for not being perfect. The easiest way to turn this around is to be kind to yourself. Be kind with your internal dialog; congratulate yourself on your achievements no matter how big or small. Be the first one to praise yourself for the wonderful job you are doing keeping the family functioning. Most importantly make time for yourself. A Mommy who allows herself time each day to pamper, even if it is only for the smallest amount of time, is going to be a much less stressed Mommy.

Another great strategy is to make sure you leave the house at least once a day. A walk in the park with the stroller or even just around the block can do wonders for putting things into perspective and reducing your Mommy Stress. Remember the things you used to enjoy before you became a victim of Mommy Stress and schedule at least one of those activities into your week, every week. Breathe. This may sound a little silly at first but without your health how are you going to keep the family running? It is a known fact that when we are stressed we take shallower breaths and this can contribute to the Mommy Stress. So relax and try to take slower deeper breaths, especially when things are becoming overwhelming.

With this age of digital technology and fast communication, don't forget to pick up the phone and connect with your friends. By all means keep up to date with instant messages and e-mails but a good friendly conversation with one fellow Mommy Stress sufferers, your friends will help to unburden you as you laugh off the week's worth of diaper disaster stories and meal flops. And just remember, if you are going to laugh about it later, why not laugh now.

By: Lisa Baade
Lisa Baade is the Author and Company Director of Toddler Interpreter. Toddler Interpreter specializes in Baby Sign Language products including Books, Posters and Complete Learning Packs. Toddler Interpreter Baby Sign Language Products can be purchased online from http://www.toddlerinterpreter.com

Stress bans us from living an enjoyable life. It creeps up on our mind through our own deeds which are continuously becoming more and more stressful and just somehow affects us from acting wisely in difficult situations. You can and you should find ways to let off some steam from your mind in a constructive way. One of these constructive methods is to laugh it out. In this article I have shared some of the ideas that can help you in relieving stress by humor. Today it is a known fact that humor is a stress reliever that does miracles and helps you to improve your overall physical and mental health.

These humorous steps, if you follow can provide you with a peaceful and calm mind. These are just a guide that you should follow with utmost sincerity.

First, try to change your attitude to a humorous one, i.e. speaking of small and healthy jokes among your friends while at work or at home is found to be very productive. This not only relieves you but also takes off your mind from your tensions for small moments.

One of the other methods that you can try is, try to find happiness in even small parts of your daily life. Now this may look easy and like wasting your time on small things, but when you follow this and find happiness in even small things, half of your time will be spent on finding these moments and the rest on laughing on them so that stress won't have any time to enter your mind.

The next step is now a days getting popular which is, to laugh every morning you get up, may it be for no reason. Just laugh your heart out as loudly as you can. No need for me to tell how easily it brings humor to your life but to just site an example I am sure reading the above lines and assuming yourself in that situation must have given you a smile.

What you can also do is follow this: "A man is known by the company he keeps". What I mean to say is you should spend more of your time with people who like to bring humor in their talks so that your character will also be shaped accordingly.

Now all the above are some of the important points that you can do to relieve yourself of stress but the most important thing is to laugh.

By Luka Malgaj
More information on stress relief and stress management can be found on website dedicated to stress management stress management.

There are few instant stress relief techniques which can help you to feel better if you have noticed that stress is overwhelming you. If you carefully follow the instructions, you will see how your body and mind are reducing tension and anxiety.

Take a deep breath
There are a lot of people who do not realize how important proper breathing is. Breathing is one of the most important instant stress relief techniques. Only few people know that without thinking how we breath we can't deal with stress properly. When we are stressed, we take shallow breaths and they just increase the feeling of tension.

So as you already know, it is good to think about breathing. If you get stressed next time, take a minute for yourself and try to concentrate. Take few deep breaths. Remember to inhale through the nose for about four seconds, hold it for two seconds and exhale for six seconds.

While breathing, try to do it so deeply that you will be able to notice your abdomen rise and falls when you exhale. It is called yoga breathing technique. And you can use it to relax any time you want.

Whenever you feel anxiety or tension, take from five to ten of deep breaths. You will see how stress disappears.

Talk about it
If you have the opportunity to talk to somebody about how you feel- do it! When you are stressed and there's someone near you who you can tell what is worrying you, that might be a great stress relief technique for you. You can also write a diary or even an e-mail if you can't talk to any person. This technique is good for woman, who are more likely to have a will to talk about emotions and problems they are facing.

Go for a walk
Going for a walk or doing some other activity or exercise is another brilliant technique which helps in reducing stress. Walking is effective because it takes you away from the problems you are facing in your work place or in any other place. Moreover walking makes you feel more alert because the blood flowing increases your energy level. It also reduces stress because walking and relaxing makes muscle tension smaller. After this you will be able to cope with your problems more effective.

Other ideas helpful in reducing stress instantly

* First of all don't be shy to express your emotions. If it happens to you to feel a need to cry, scream or even throw something you can try to do it as long as you know that you are not in a public place and that what you do will not bring attention of other people. If you are able to express these feelings you will feel how tension decreases.
* If you have the opportunity to be in a calm place for a few minutes you can try out to visualize calm. It is a kind of meditation. Sit down, take few deep breaths and imagine "calm" or "peace" in your mind. Instead of this you can also think about favourite place which makes you happy. Afterwards you will feel calm and relaxed.
* If you like nice smell you can try to use it to get rid of stress. Smell something sweet like aromatic oil which you like or which you know to be calming. You can try to use spicy apple or lavender for example. Install a source of good smell in your work place and at home. It will make you feel more happy.
* Naturopathy. There are various therapeutic methods of Naturopathy which minimize the effects of stress such as anxiety, depression, hypertension and lethargy. Natural elements such as aromas of plants, herbs or flowers and colours are used in treating stress related disorders.
* If you want to get rid of stress quickly and for good you have to notice what is the source of stress and how to deal with this source. When you have already found out what makes you feel stressed, you can use some instant stress relief techniques.

Here are instant stress relief tips which you can use when you are at work:

* First of all, breath deep and often. It has been proven by scientists that breathing is able to relax your whole body. Take slow deeps. About 7 or 10. You can repeat this action few times until you notice that your heart rate decreases and your body stops sweating too much.
* Another good idea when dealing with stress is to block stressful thoughts. Don't sit all day thinking about bad things that may happen. It doesn't help you. Instead of helping, it increases pressure on the mind. So don't be pessimistic. Forget about bad things which rarely ever happen.
* Sleep more. Try to get healthy sleep each night. Nowadays people suffer from lack of sleep, no exercise and bad diet. All these factors are combined with being stressed at work or at home and as a result we can become depressed. So all you have to do is to stop thinking about problems when it is time to sleep and give your mind a chance to relax.
* It is essential to know what makes you most stressed. It might be for example work presentation or important meeting which makes your heart rate increasing. Try to discover stressful spots and make a list of them. When you know what bothers you the most, you will be able to cope with stress faster and better. Think how you can prevent stressful situations or reduce them. For example if you don't like to speak in public, you can try to exercise in front of the mirror for few days before the speech.

By: Luka Malgaj
For more information and tips to reduce stress fast you should read a complete guide on instant stress relief. If you are interested what are some other ways of reducing stress you might want to read about stress relief techniques that will help you to become relieved easily.