Stress and Anxiety

“Stress does nothing but change reality into a big bad wolf while making us feel like little piggies.” -Author Unknown
 
“Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it.” -Lily Tomlin (born 1939)
 
“There are two times when I feel stress - day and night.” -Author Unknown
 
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” -Lou Holtz (Louis Leo ‘Lou’ Holtz (born 1937))
 
“In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” -Lee Iacocca
 
“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” -Walter Anderson (born 1944)
 
Stress can cause headaches, as the body reacts by rerouting blood flow to other parts of the body, in preparation for survival through the instinctive fight or flight mechanism.
 
“If you feel like you’re losing everything, remember trees lose their leaves every year, and they stand tall and wait for better days to come.” -Author Unknown
 
Recognize Stressors
- Chaotic surroundings and disruptive people.
- Noises, particularly startling and alarming noises.
- Vibrations or swaying from under our feet or objects such as machinery.
- Lights that are too bright, too dim, flickering, flashing, or unnaturally colored.
- Smells, including offensive odors and air pollutants.
- Constant dealings with strange, hostile, or abnormal people.
- Lack of familiar and comfortable stimuli, particularly that found in nature, in friendship, in a good home, and in a good work environment.
- Having no place to ‘get away from it all’ in order to de-stress.
- Having no plans or workable ideas for dealing with difficult circumstances and difficult people.
- Being mistreated by people, as for example, being bullied, being lied to, being lied about, being blamed, or being ridiculed.
- Maladaptive methods for attempting to deal with stress can create additional stress, as for example, overeating, withdrawing from all human contact, or turning to electronic devices for comfort.
Can you think of other stressors to add to this list?
 
“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” -Lily Tomlin (born 1939)
 
Chronic stress floods the brain with powerful hormones that are meant for short-term emergency situations. However, chronic exposure is also believed to damage, shrink, and rapidly age brain cells.
 
“Anxiety is the rust of life, destroying its brightness and weakening its power. A childlike and abiding trust in Providence is its best preventive and remedy.” -Tryon Edwards (1809 - 1894): as quoted in Tryon Edwards, editor: “A Dictionary of Thoughts: Being a Cyclopedia of Laconic Quotations from the Best Authors of the World, Both Ancient and Modern” (1891), page 22
 
During stress, eye pupils dilate, which is referred to as ‘mydriasis,’ to gather more visual information about a situation. This is one of the many automatic, or instinctual, actions built into us to ensure survival.
 
“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.” -Morris West
 
The word ‘stress’ was originally an engineering term. It was adopted for use as a medical term by a scientist named Hans Selye. Mr. Selye found that lab rats became sulky and sickly when he upset them by trying to catch them by cornering them and snatching at them. This activity broke down their resistance to ailments. Because no medical term for this phenomenon existed in the 1930’s, he used the word ‘stress’ to describe it.
 
The word ‘stress’ is derived from the Latin word ‘stringere’ meaning ‘to draw tight.’
 
“The bow too tensely strung is easily broken.” -Publilius Syrus (85 B.C.E. - 43 B.C.E.): as attributed in Darius Lyman: “The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus, a Roman Slave: from the Latin” (1856): “Sententiae,” Maxim 388
 
“You will soon break the bow if you keep it always stretched.” -Gaius Julius Phaedrus
 
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” -William James (1842 - 1910)
 
While it is not true that stress turns hair gray, stress can cause hair loss. Telogen effluvium, the medical term for hair loss, can begin up to three months after a stressful event.
 
“Take a shower, wash off the day. Drink a glass of water. Make the room dark. Lie down and close your eyes. Notice the silence. Notice your heart. Still beating. Still fighting. You made it, after all. You made it, another day, you’re doing just fine.” -Charlotte Eriksson
 
“Nothing in human affairs is worth any great anxiety.” -Plato (about 427 B.C.E. - about 347 B.C.E.))
 
“Stress-Buster Tip: Do yourself a favor. Overlook at least two things today.” -M. J. Ryan
 
“If I knew what I was so anxious about, I wouldn’t be so anxious.” -Mignon McLaughlin (1913 - 1983)
 
The hyper-arousal of the body’s stress response system can lead to chronic insomnia.
 
“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” -Sydney J. Harris (Sydney Justin Harris (1917 - 1986))
 
“I am pretty much 3 percent human and 97 percent stress.” -Author Unknown
 
“Anxiety is the interest paid on trouble before it is due.” -William R. Inge (William Ralph Inge (1860 - 1954))
 
“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.” -Thomas Paine
 
“When we are distressed, going outside for some fresh air, taking a walk in the park, or wandering deep into the woods quickens our attention, bringing us instantly into the present. Being outdoors provides mental space and clarity, allowing our bodies to relax and our hearts to feel more at ease. Putting ourselves in the midst of something greater than our personal dramas, difficulties and pain - as we do when we walk in the open plains, hike in rarefied mountain air, or ramble on an empty beach - can give us a sense of space and openness, lifting us out of our narrow selves. Similarly, gazing up at the vast night sky helps us see our problems and concerns with greater context and perspective. The natural world communicates its profound message: things are okay as they are; you are okay just as you are; simply relax and be present.” -Mark Coleman: “Awake in the Wild” (1 November 2006), page xv
 
“Forget the times of your distress, but never forget what they taught you.” -Herbert Gasser
 
“I read some article, which said that the symptoms of stress are impulse buying, eating too much, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That’s what I call a perfect day.” -Author Unknown
 
“You have probably heard of ‘contagious’ or ‘infectious’ smiles. There is a reason for this - when you smile, it tends to make others around you smile. Even in the most stressful times, a roomful of smiles can brighten everybody’s mood.” -Author Unknown
 
“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” -Thich Nhat Hanh (born 1926)
 
“It is an experiment worth trying to be alone and to be quiet for a brief period every day. Under city conditions it may be difficult to carry out but most of us could do it if we tried. At any rate we should moderate the pace at which we are living. If we remain at high gear, at top pressure, we are bound to suffer from fatigue and strain.” -Robert J. McCracken
 
“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” -Walter Anderson (born 1944)
 
“The better work men do is always done under stress and at great personal cost.” -William Carlos Williams
 
“Nothing is more destined to create deep-seated anxieties in people than the false assumption that life should be free from anxieties.” -Fulton J. Sheen (Fulton John Sheen (1895 - 1979)
 
“Being on the tightrope is living. Everything else is just waiting.” -Karl Wallenda
 
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started.” -David Allen
 
“Never hurry; take plenty of exercise; always be cheerful, and take all the sleep you need and you may expect to be well.” -James F. Clarke
 
“Working towards your goals should be fun. Don’t get stressed because you don’t see results fast, enjoy the ride, because that’s where experience, knowledge, and value reside. If you are moving forward, it means you are already succeeding, so relax and cherish every moment. You will do more if you think it is fun; acknowledge that you are growing every step of the way. Remember that, whatever happens, it is worth it, because you are becoming a much better, more experienced, and more mature individual. There is nothing more rewarding than making your dreams come true and living the life of your dreams, thus, get going and never look back!” -John Hersey
 
“Without stress there is no growth.” -Author Unknown
 
“Sometimes the most urgent and vital thing you can do is take a complete rest.” -Author Unknown
 
“Help someone in distress and you lighten your own burden; the very joy of alleviating the sorrow of another is the lessening of one’s own.” -Fulton John Sheen (1895 - 1979): “On Being Human” (1982)
 
“Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.” -C. H. Spurgeon (Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892))
 
And when things start to happen,
     Don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
     You’ll start happening too.
-Dr. Seuss: “Oh, The Places You Will Go” (1990)
 
“Just because we’re in a stressful situation, doesn’t mean that we have to get stressed out. You may be in a storm. The key is, don’t let the storm get in you.” -Joel Osteen
 
“Storms don’t last forever.” -Author Unknown
 
“Outer chaos, inner peace . . . all is well.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
 
“Even the darkest night will end and the Sun will rise.” -Victor Hugo: “Les Misérables” (1862)
 
Do you need an antidote to stress and anxiety? Laughing strengthens the immune system by releasing health-enhancing hormones such as cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline, which can lower stress.
 
“Don’t stress, just do your best.” -Author Unknown
 
When feeling overwhelmed, simply S.T.O.P.
Stop, or momentarily pause in whatever you are doing.
Take a slow, deep breath.
Observe your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
Proceed with a one-simple-thing focus.
-Author Unknown
 
Bad stress is believed to make people physically sick from its resulting headaches, muscle fatigue, lowered immune system response, and increased susceptibility to infections and diseases. Bad stress is believed to make people mentally sick from its resulting anxiety, worry, depression, and troubled thoughts. Stress is believed to degrade our entire systems. We become like trapped animals - trapped in circumstances by bad stress, we instinctively try every means to escape, and finding none, we wear ourselves down and tire ourselves out, exhausting ourselves and yet failing to recognize that it is the bad stress that is harming our bodies and minds.
 
How to Stress Less
 
1. Focus on what you can control.
2. Go for a walk.
3. Make something.
4. Talk to friends and family.
5. Breath.
6. Look for new opportunities.
7. Exercise.
8. Treat yourself.
9. Daydream.
10. Change your daily routine.
11. Go to bed earlier.
12. Smile more often.
 
by Author Unknown
 
“Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.” -Loretta Laroche
 
Did you know that stress can make you fatter? Stress can make losing weight and maintaining the right weight much harder. Why? Because when we are stressed, we instinctively eat more foods and foods high in calories in order to build up our energy, including our energy reserves that are stored as body fat, to be prepared for action. Unfortunately, these days there isn’t much action of the sort we were programmed for long ago, such as running from animals that want to eat us, or running to catch animals we want to eat. But there is good news! Laughing actually reduces stress, so get out there and do some serious laughing. Laughing allows people to live well and be healthier by handling stress better.
 
“In stressful times it’s okay to not be perfect. It’s okay to cut yourself some slack. Because right now, you might not be your best self. But you are growing, and you are trying your best, and that is good enough.” -Ashley Hetherington
 
This is MFOL! . . . where you can briefly withdraw from the deeply troubled world and the problems it imposes on your otherwise wonderful life . . .