Stress Management and Wellness

Stress Management and Wellness
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Institution
Stress Management and Wellness
Stress management involves preventing the occurrence of negative consequences that arise from particular life situations through specific interventions (Charlesworth & Nathan, 2004). In this respect, interventions are essential in stress management as they inhibit stressors from causing negative effects such as illnesses. More so, comprehensive stress management programs are effective as they involve teaching individuals on how to intervene on each stage of the stress model. On the other hand, partial stress management programs are those that teach few stress management skills. Usually, stress interferes with normal body functioning by disrupting the balance. This results from emotional reactions such as anger, feelings of insecurity and fear. These reactions eventually lead to psychological arousal, which may lead to adverse outcomes such as poor performance, disease, and weakened interpersonal relationships when prolonged. Stress may also lead eustress, which is a definite outcome; this condition is growth producing and welcome. However, it may be regarded as a form of change that still requires adaptation. Therefore, managing stress requires one exercise control over themselves rather than allowing others or the environment to do it on their behalf.
Proper nutrition is vital in stress management. To ensure optimum nutrition, food should be consumed from a variety of sources while observing the recommended amounts.

More so, maintaining a proper diet involves cutting down on the consumption of unhealthy foods such as those containing saturated fats and even alcohol. Consumption of cruciferous vegetables and fiber-rich foods helps reduce stressors. Food products that are responsible for the production of stress like responses are known as pseudo stressors; this is due to their ability to mimic the sympathetic nervous system (Charlesworth & Nathan, 2004). Examples of such foods include caffeine-containing products. Stress may lead to depletion of essential nutrients in the body such as Vitamin C and the B complex; this can be worsened by consumption of sugar and processed flours since they exhaust certain nutrients during metabolism. As such, a situation of chronic stress may require supplementation of these vitamins and minerals. Further, noise is regarded as relaxing or distressing, when it exceeds a certain level it may result in hearing damage, and at the same time, white noise can is used to relax. Holmes and Rahe discovered that significant changes in life result in higher chances of physical and psychological illnesses. This is because they viewed stress as adapting to changes in life. More so, Richard found out that re-occurring life activities may be damaging to one’s health depending on their frequency.

Reference
Charlesworth, E. A., & Nathan, R. G. (2004). Stress management: A comprehensive guide to wellness. Random House Digital, Inc.