Stress and Health Management

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Stress and Health Management
Adapted from the Weigh to Live Program Darnall
Army Community Hospital, Fort Hood, Texas
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Stress and Health Management

• Goals
• To define stress
• To better understand the stress response
• To explore the consequences of stress on health,
  productivity and well-being
• To practice techniques and strategies to cope
  more effectively with work and life stress

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Definition of Stress

• A state of mental or physical tension.
• A reaction to anything that makes you adjust,
  adapt or change.
• What stresses you out?

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What Are Your Major Work and Life Stressors?

WORK
HEALTH
FAMILY
FINANCIAL
OTHER?
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Facts About Stress

• Stress is not simply what happens to us, it is
  how we react.
• We choose our attitude towards stress.
• Stress can be positive.
• People often react to stress in unhealthy ways.

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Positive Reactions to Stress

• Alert
• Improved memory
• On Your Toes

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Symptoms of Negative Reaction to Stress

• Trouble sleeping
• Irritability
• Accident proneness
• Tendency to misjudge people
• Forgetfulness
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Loss of appetite or excessive eating

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Stress Response(or Why do we have these
symptoms?)

• Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
• Epinephrine (Ep also known as adrenaline) and
  norepinephrine (NEp) activate/arouse us during
  stress
• Immediate response to stressor (within seconds)
• Hypothalamic Pituitary-Adrenal Axis (HPA)
• Releases stored energy (glucose/fatty acids) to
  deal with emergencies via glucocorticoids (e.g.,
  cortisol)
• Slower onset following stressor (within minutes)

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Stress Response Continued

• The Stress Response Has a Specific Pattern
• Alarm
• Fight or Flight activation of the autonomic
  nervous system (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure,
  cortisol, etc.)
• Resistance
• Immune suppression reaction, release of
  endorphins and growth hormone
• Exhaustion
• Exhaustion phase contributing towards stress
  related illness and exacerbation of medical
  conditions (e.g., memory impairment,
  immunocompetence, accelerated aging of the brain,
  coronary heart disease, breast cancer and
  increase in free radicals)

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Stress and HealthImportant Points

• Sickness and disease are not the same
• Stressors do not make you sick
• Stressors make you more likely to get diseases
  that make you sick
• Chronic stress exacerbates pre-existing
  conditions, rather than, causing disease directly
• There exists substantial individual variability
  in response to disease

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The Mind-Body ConnectionChronic Stress

• Problems Associated with Chronic Stress
• Cardiovascular (e.g., arteriosclerosis)
• Digestion (e.g., ulcers, decreased nutrient
  absorption)
• Bone (e.g., osteoporosis, stunted growth)
• Glucose (e.g., late onset diabetes)

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AAA of Managing Stress

• Accept
• Alter
• Avoid

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Coping with Stress

• Eliminate the stressor, if possible
• Alter your response to the stress
• Accept the stressor, if necessary
• And move on!
• Nurture the healthy, social relationships with
  others important to you in your life.
• Focus on your good qualities and accomplishments.
• Learn to say No.
• Be assertive.

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Approaches to Preventive Stress Management

Change Your Perception or Belief About the
Stressor
Modify the Stressor
Practice Stress Inoculation Behaviors
Change Your Reaction to the Stressor
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• If Id known I was gonna live this long, Id
  have taken better care of myself.
• Eubie Blake at 100

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Health Habits Exercise

• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Hydration
• Adequate rest and sleep
• Preventive health/dental screenings
• No tobacco use
• Keep alcohol consumption in check

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Action Plan

• List three stressors in your life which you would
  like to eliminate.
• Identify what you can change about these
  situations and what you cannot.
• List two methods of dealing with those stresses.

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Coping with Stress Relaxation

• Mental Relaxation
• Meditation
• Breathing Exercises
• Visualization
• Self-Hypnosis

• Physical Relaxation
• Stretching
• Progressive Relaxation
• Yoga
• Massage

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Determinants of Individual Health

• Genetic
• Social Circumstances
• Environment
• Medical Care
• Behavior/Lifestyle
• McGinnis et al., 2001

• 30
• 15
• 5
• 10
• 40

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• Change before you have to.
• Jack Welch