Stress is something everyone must endure.

To combat it we have to find the cause, confront it and control it. Easier said than done but just knowing the negative effects stress can have on our lives we have to try to understand stress, recognize the symptoms, pinpoint the sources, manage it, reduce it and perhaps most importantly, recover from it.

Mind Tools’ Stress Management Masterclass is a comprehensive resource on stress. With nearly 200 pages, the Stress Management Masterclass shows participants how to:

• Understand Stress
• Pin-Point the Sources of Stress in Your Life
• Cope with Work Overload
• Survive Problem Jobs
• Work Successfully With Powerful People
• Reduce Co-Worker and Team Stress
• Manage Performance Stress
• Reduce Stress With Rational Thinking
• Build Defences Against Stress, and
• Avoid or Recover From Burnout
  
  The Stress Management Masterclass is complete with resources, exercises, tried and true tips and techniques, all aimed at combating stress once and for all.
  
  This practical course shows you how to win control of your job and career, build positive relationships with powerful people and co-workers and thrive under intense pressure. Click here to find out more about Mind Tools' Stress Management Masterclass.
  
  Warning: Stress can cause severe health problems and, in extreme cases, can cause death. While these stress management techniques have been shown to have a positive effect on reducing stress, they are for guidance only, and readers should take the advice of suitably qualified health professionals if they have any concerns over stress-related illnesses or if stress is causing significant or persistent unhappiness. Health professionals should also be consulted before any major change in diet or levels of exercise.

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches are caused by muscle contractions around the neck, scalp and jaw. The pain is often described as a dull pressure, or as if a tight "hat band" were strapped around the head. Unlike migraines, which generally cause pain only on one side of the head, this type affects both sides of the head. It is the most common form of headache, accounts for 70 per cent of headaches and can occur in people of either sex and at any age but it is most common in adults and adolescents.

Treatment often centres on prevention. Stress, depression and anxiety can all aggravate muscle tension. Stress management and relaxation exercises may help reduce muscle tension.

Neck and Shoulder Massage

By relaxing tense muscles, massage helps to restore blood flow and to dispel pain. It has been found that treatments that focus on relaxing the neck and shoulders are particularly helpful.

Essential Oils

Lavender oil is a well-known headache remedy; at the onset of a headache, mix eight drops with 20ml carrier oil and massage the mixture into your temples. Other oils with fresh scents that help to relieve tension include rose, chamomile, peppermint, and eucalyptus. Research at the Neurological Clinic, University of Kiel, in Germany has demonstrated that essential oils of peppermint and eucalyptus can have significant benefits for headache sufferers. Peppermint oil and eucalyptus oil preparations were found to have beneficial neurophysiologic and psychological effects on 32 healthy subjects.

Shiatsu

Shiatsu, which means finger pressure in Japanese, is an ancient therapy developed in Japan. Some people who suffer from severe headaches find shiatsu helpful. Time and time again, headache sufferers have told me that they can control pain by massaging acupressure points, particularly those found in the hands, wrists, ankles, and feet.

Instead of using needles or herbs Shiatsu practitioners use a variety of techniques to improve energy flow. These may include gentle pressure on the meridians, using the palms, thumbs, fingers, elbows, knees or feet and, when appropriate, more dynamic rotations and stretches. Shiatsu is said to leave a patient feeling invigorated, yet relaxed.

Face Massage

One of the fastest ways of lifting a headache is through massage. To quickly diminish even the worst of headaches, first massage the back of the neck and head, then concentrate on the forehead, around the eyes, and on the temples. Very gentle, light stroking on the forehead also helps relieve even the most stubborn headache

If headaches are a persistent, it is always wise to consult your doctor as they may be an indicator of another illness.

Stress - Start to Relax

So now you have a good idea where in your body you are holding your stress. Time to start to try to release the tension caused by the stress. Do not expect miracles. You cannot expect immediate results. Think how long it has taken to build up this level of stress. It will be a slow process to release it and, remember, it will not go away completely and for ever. You will meet new stressful situations in your life. Some you will be able to deal with easier than others. Hopefully with experience you will recognize the signs of build-up earlier and will know the best release regime for you.

What is a good exercise to start with? We have already touched on this in a previous article. Lie or sit comfortably, whichever you find easier - preferably in a place where you will not be disturbed. Close your eyes. Now start to concentrate on your breathing. Begin by breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Breathe slowly and deeply. A good exercise is to count slowly to five as you breathe in, hold for three seconds and as you gently breathe out say the word “relax” silently. Do this ten to fifteen times and then return to a normal breathing pattern of in and out through your nose but continue in a slow rhythmical pattern.

Now start to concentrate on each area of your body in turn, paying particular attention to the areas that you have already identified as the main holder of tension. Keep thinking “relax”. Keep your breathing slowly and steady. If your neck and shoulders are tight, as they usually are one of the worst areas, concentrate on them until you feel the muscles relax. This can take a while and can suddenly unlock. The first time you try this and you get a result, do not try to release then other parts of your body. At first, as your mind moves on to other areas it is easy for your neck and shoulder muscles to tense up again. Keep thinking about relaxing those neck and shoulder muscles. You may be surprised to find that the muscles suddenly release a second time or even to a third level of relaxation. Believe me, it is a wonderful feeling of achievement when that happens! Be satisfied with small progress. Take ten, preferably twenty, minutes out of your day to give yourself a chance. Move on to other parts of your body when you feel ready. An important area to master is the diaphragm. If your stomach / diaphragm muscles are tight you are not breathing correctly and to your full potential. You should be able to feel the gentle rise and fall of your abdominal area as you breathe in and out.

An excellent aid to relaxation as you do this breathing exercise is aromatherapy. Buy a good quality diffuser and good quality oil. A diffuser with a built in fan that blows the aroma around the room is ideal. For this exercise you need to put two or three drops of lavender oil onto the diffuser pad. Lavender oil is very relaxing - do not be surprised if you find yourself falling asleep!

As previously described stress can manifest itself in many ways in our minds and bodies. We are all individuals with different and varying life experiences and have our own ways of responding to stress. Perhaps the next step we should take is to find out where in our bodies the stress is causing tension.

To begin, find 15 minutes in your day when you can sit quietly and not be disturbed. It helps if it is “the best time of day” for you. There is a theory that we all have a “best time of day” when we can concentrate better and achieve results. Personally I have to admit that this can change from day to day but, as I said, we are all individuals! Get comfortable. Sit relaxed in a chair or lie on a bed or couch.

Start by closing your eyes and breathe with a steady rhythmic motion. Don’t worry if this stage is the best you can achieve at your first attempt. This is not a race you are trying to win; it is the first step on the ladder to a better understanding of how and where stress is affecting you.

When you feel ready, start concentrating on each part of your body in turn. Again, you may find this difficult as all you can sense is your body as a whole- give yourself time.

As you work your way down, take notice of any feeling of tension. A key area for me is my neck followed quickly by the shoulders. The next key area for me is abdominal. This seems to also cause some tension in my thighs. Have you reached your toes? Why not work your way up again, you may find that some of the areas you noticed on the way down actually feel a little more relaxed now.

You have taken an important step in recognising that your body is holding tension and more importantly where you are holding that tension and have to concentrate your efforts to release.

Recognising Signs of Stress

So we know what stress is. We know it has been around in one form or another as long as there has been a life form with some intelligence. Certainly life forms that understood that their own life could be in danger. We can probably recognise it in other people but can we recognise it in ourselves?

Are you impatient and have a tendency to “snap” at people, especially those close to you? Think back, were you always this way or has it recently become the norm for you?

Headaches. Regular headaches or ones that do not seem to go away no matter how many painkillers you take.

Stiffness or soreness in your neck and / or shoulders as you turn your head from side to side.

Feeling of nausea or excess acid (heartburn) – caused by the tightening of your stomach muscles.

Tiredness. You have a good night’s sleep but wake up feeling as tired as when you went to bed.

Having three or four hours sleep waking and not being able to get back to sleep.

Constipation. Yes, even constipation. Not surprising really if we are holding our abdominal muscles taught all the time and not realising it.

Unable to concentrate for long periods or there is a “thought somewhere” but it just will not come to the fore.

Finding it difficult to relax no matter how tired you feel. When you are “relaxing” and watching television, are your legs still or do you have a foot tapping in mid air or on the ground?

Alternatively, you have a burst of energy in the morning but just feel like sleeping all afternoon.

Panic attacks. A feeling of panic that sweeps over you. You may hyperventilate or hallucinate, everyday objects “coming at you” or going out of shape.

Quite some list. I am sure you could add other tell-tale signs. Of course all the above may be signs and symptoms of the onset of other illnesses, something that must be taken into consideration.

Stress can cause all the above and can be a contributory factor to many illnesses of body and mind, this is why we need to try to control it.

You may identify one or more of the above in yourself and wonder why you have reached this state of mind. The next thing to do is to look back over the last few months. Have you had a death in the family that has affected you more than you think, gone through a divorce or separation from a partner, lost you job, been overworking, had a serious illness or noticed a change in health in a close relative? The list goes on.

Introduction to Stress

“You look stressed”. Ever heard that before? Yes, I had and assumed it was normal. Perhaps that is the problem, being stressed has become the norm.

Anthropologists say it is built into our genes. I have read that it goes back to the days when we needed to be mentally alert to run from or react to danger. That sounds a plausible explanation to me as does the statement that there are two types of stress, positive and negative. To achieve a result, especially to a timescale, we need the adrenalin flow to drive us to success but if that turns into overload too often then we are in trouble. After a period of “stress” or being “on a high” we need time to “come down”. If you don’t get that time, then in my experience it takes more than a little relaxation or personal time to relieve the stress.

When I was younger I do not remember feeling “stressed”. I felt a little pressured when examination time came around. In my first jobs I sometimes felt pressure but never to a level where I would describe it as stress. The other thing was that a good weekend cleared the mind, relaxed the body and prepared me for that Monday morning. I have noticed that as the grey appeared in my hair I became more stressed and it became more difficult to relax after great periods of stress. It is reassuring to read the experts view that this is normal.

So is stress a new thing? It is said that we live in stressful times. I am not sure that our lives are more stressful than our parents or grandparents; maybe it is a different kind of stress. Life is lived at a faster pace, of that there is no argument. I remember as a youngster hearing that someone “is living on their nerves” or “suffering with nerves”. Give it new name if you like but to me it is the same thing.