For some time my wife and I were involved in research on student with reading disabilities. Our interest was to determine the relationship between reading disabilities and stress. Using a self-report pencil and paper test, we measured the stress of a group of nine-year-old students. To our great relief, there was no significant relationship between stress levels and reading disability. So there was no need for us to worry about stress relief programs.
Do you think it would be reasonable for you to measure your stress levels? You want to relieve your stress? Do you think your results would be accurate using a self-report instrument? The answer is - 'Yes'. You can measure your own stress levels just as easily and reliably as you can tell a psychologist how well you feel, your level of depression and anxiety and so on. When people start to understand themselves and become attuned to the variations in their 'wellness', they CAN report reliably. After all, emotional well-being is a person and subjective business, isn't it?
Apart from self-report, you can also measure stress through an analysis of a urine specimen. Blood analysis continues as levels of cortisol which is a market for stress levels. Cortisol increases as your stress increases. As well as cortisol changes, there are other physical changes as well. Flushing, skin blotching, increases in heart rate and blood pressure are other signs of high levels of stress. Some people experience what is called an aura and they might also have headaches and migraines.
If you want to find out about your stress levels you can use online testing. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that these tests are reliable. I use a structured self-report system to measure my patients' stress. I need to be able to keep track of stress changes with my patients so measure them several times over several months. To know if my stress relief therapy is effective I need frequent measures.
When some people are stressed, they report that they can't sleep, have wild mood swings, feel physically ill, upset, worried and distracted. If you looked carefully at their emotional and physical reactions you can see they fit into four different patterns. These are physiological and physical responses, cognitive or thinking changes, interpersonal variations, and emotional responses.
You need to know how stressed you are. If you have some idea of your stress levels, you can respond better to stress relief programs. I always says that stress is a silent killer and that is the enemy in terms of our feelings of security and emotional comfort. No one needs the emotional challenges of high stress, burnout, and constant feelings of being stressed out. There is very little of value to an individual who experiences high levels of stress. For a stress relief program to be effective, the patient needs to be able to know and understand their stress levels. I have 15 strategies for stress relief. For me, the stress relief challenge is to set the best strategy to the individual patient. I do not want my patients to have miserable, stressed lives.
When we are stressed, our relationships suffer. The danger of relationship breakdowns is that we lose the capacity to seek social support from our loved ones, one of the most effective stress relief interventions. Talking with others and sharing feelings is great for stress relief. Social support equals free therapy. Sharing worries and concerns reduces the stress. Some people are so worried that social support does not provide stress relief. One good example is mortgage stress and impending foreclosures. Professional help is essential in these cases.
I hope this information on stress and stress relief is helpful. Naturally, these short articles are like icebergs - we can cover a small amount of the issue but much remains under the surface and requires deeper reading and investigation. My final point is that the more you know about your personal psychology, mental health, stress levels and anxiety, the more YOU can take charge of your life, successfully relieve and manage stress. - 15615
Do you think it would be reasonable for you to measure your stress levels? You want to relieve your stress? Do you think your results would be accurate using a self-report instrument? The answer is - 'Yes'. You can measure your own stress levels just as easily and reliably as you can tell a psychologist how well you feel, your level of depression and anxiety and so on. When people start to understand themselves and become attuned to the variations in their 'wellness', they CAN report reliably. After all, emotional well-being is a person and subjective business, isn't it?
Apart from self-report, you can also measure stress through an analysis of a urine specimen. Blood analysis continues as levels of cortisol which is a market for stress levels. Cortisol increases as your stress increases. As well as cortisol changes, there are other physical changes as well. Flushing, skin blotching, increases in heart rate and blood pressure are other signs of high levels of stress. Some people experience what is called an aura and they might also have headaches and migraines.
If you want to find out about your stress levels you can use online testing. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that these tests are reliable. I use a structured self-report system to measure my patients' stress. I need to be able to keep track of stress changes with my patients so measure them several times over several months. To know if my stress relief therapy is effective I need frequent measures.
When some people are stressed, they report that they can't sleep, have wild mood swings, feel physically ill, upset, worried and distracted. If you looked carefully at their emotional and physical reactions you can see they fit into four different patterns. These are physiological and physical responses, cognitive or thinking changes, interpersonal variations, and emotional responses.
You need to know how stressed you are. If you have some idea of your stress levels, you can respond better to stress relief programs. I always says that stress is a silent killer and that is the enemy in terms of our feelings of security and emotional comfort. No one needs the emotional challenges of high stress, burnout, and constant feelings of being stressed out. There is very little of value to an individual who experiences high levels of stress. For a stress relief program to be effective, the patient needs to be able to know and understand their stress levels. I have 15 strategies for stress relief. For me, the stress relief challenge is to set the best strategy to the individual patient. I do not want my patients to have miserable, stressed lives.
When we are stressed, our relationships suffer. The danger of relationship breakdowns is that we lose the capacity to seek social support from our loved ones, one of the most effective stress relief interventions. Talking with others and sharing feelings is great for stress relief. Social support equals free therapy. Sharing worries and concerns reduces the stress. Some people are so worried that social support does not provide stress relief. One good example is mortgage stress and impending foreclosures. Professional help is essential in these cases.
I hope this information on stress and stress relief is helpful. Naturally, these short articles are like icebergs - we can cover a small amount of the issue but much remains under the surface and requires deeper reading and investigation. My final point is that the more you know about your personal psychology, mental health, stress levels and anxiety, the more YOU can take charge of your life, successfully relieve and manage stress. - 15615
About the Author:
Dr Jeff, psychologist, provides stress relief. Why put up with stress? Learn stress relief tricks. Click here for the free What is Stress by Dr Jeff. Don't waste another minute stressed and burnt out. Get moving - learn how to relieve stress.
