Stress and Stress Management

Stress is the way an individual responds to the environments demands and pressures. In the 1950s when stress was first studied its term was used to explain the causes and effects of the pressures. Stress is a normal part of life but when it becomes constant it can lead to physical and mental problems. Stress-related diseased is usually caused by excessive, prolonged demands on a person’s coping resources. Stress related physical illnesses can be influenced by stress-related overstimulation from a part of nervous system that regulates the heart rate, blood pressure and digestive system.
Stress resulting from major life changes, such as graduating, becoming a parent, getting fired, retirement and marriage can cause a loss of interest in or ability to perform a job because of stress and result to stress- related emotional illness.
SWhen a doctor suspects that a patient's illness is connected to stress, he orshe will take a careful history of recent stress (family or job problems, other illnesses, and so on). Many doctors will evaluate the patient's personality as well, in order to judge how well the person copes with stress. There are a number of psychological tests that doctors can use to help diagnose the amount of stress that the patient experiences and the coping strategies used to deal with them.
Stress-related illness can be diagnosed by family doctors as well as by mental health specialists.
Recent advances in the understanding of the many complex connections betweenthe mind and body have produced a variety of popular ways to treat stress-related illness:
• Medications. These may include drugs to control blood pressure or other physical symptoms of stress, as well as drugs that affect thepatient's mood (tranquilizers or antidepressants).
• Stress managementprograms. These may be either individual or group treatments, and usually involve analysis of the stressors in the patient's life. They often focus on job or workplace related stress.
• Behavioral