The Causes of Stress

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Environmental stress

Urban decay and deprivation are a major source of distress for large sections of the population. Inadequate housing, noise, pollution, overcrowding, violence and poverty create some of the most cumulative and pervasive forms of stress. These factors affect how we live, work and play. Their impact depends on the infrastructure of the location, transport requirements, and availability of opportunities to spend time away from the environment.

We all have different reactions to stress, and experience helps us to develop our own methods of dealing with it. While some of us may lead less stressful lives, it is impossible to lead a completely stress-free life, as things happen to all of us unexpectedly and ;out of the blue'.

The trick comes in weeding out as much of the trivial stress as possible and learning how to control our response to unavoidable, accumulative stress. If we can do this then we can be better prepared for the surprises life springs on us and learn to enjoy rising to the challenges they present.

All of us will have times in our lives that cause us great distress and leave us feeling unable to go on. Bereavement, family break-up and redundancy are devastating events, but even moving house or changing jobs, usually seen as happy occasions, can produce high levels of stress.

This is because stress doesn't just occur when we feel angry or are in grief. Welcomed events can be just as stressful if they create self-doubt or anxiety. Any sort of change, with relationships, homes or occupations, can induce stress, as human beings are essentially creatures of habit.

The fight for homeostasis-internal and physiological equilibrium-is a relentless process and is made more difficult when drastic changes in the way we organize and live our lives are forced on us. The amount of stress we experience, therefore, is largely dependent on how we adapt to circumstances.

One of the most prevalent causes of stress is our immediate environment. Urban living, in particular, with its associated problems of inadequate housing, noise, pollution, crowding, violence and poverty creates some of the most cumulative and pervasive forms of stress.

These factors affect how we live, work and play, and much may depend on the infrastructure of the location, transport provision, and our ability to spend time away from our environment. If we feel unable to escape stressful surroundings, even for a brief time, then feelings of helplessness can grow to the point where they become very damaging to our self-image and the way we interact with other people.

There are ways of improving how we live and deal with stress that most of us recognize only subconsciously. For example, our home to most of us is more than a place to eat and sleep. In an increasingly hostile society we use our home as an oasis of calm. In our own homes we can shut the door on the outside world and surround ourselves with our personal possessions, family and friends. The 'feathering the nest' syndrome is well documented-it is an instinctive need to create a comfortable environment, one where we can relax and be ourselves.

In creating comfort, space is one of the most important factors. We all have invisible boundaries which outline our personal space. But these are difficult to maintain when our personal space is constantly being invaded. We should all be able to retreat inside ourselves and find peace, but many of us experience a physical lack of space that has an affect on our mental wellbeing as overcrowding and lack of privacy make personal calm all the more difficult to achieve.

Also, advances in technology have Jed to increasing numbers of people working from home, and in many instances this has put a further strain on space allocation, as work space is carved out of resources already stretched between family members and various activities.

Our individual space requirements depend heavily on what we are used to. In Hong Kong, for example, where overcrowding has reached epidemic proportions, what most of us are used to in Britain would look positively luxurious.

Building and space cost money, however, and in all societies those with lower incomes are usually restricted in their choice of accommodation or, increasingly, deprived of it altogether. Without privacy and space, quality of life undoubtedly suffers, as certain activities such as meditation, relaxation or making love need uninterrupted peace and quiet.

Light

Light is another important factor in determining the quality of our everyday lives. In the depths of winter most of us look forward to the long summer days ahead. This is because natural light is almost as vital for healthy living as the air we breath. It regulates levels of the hormone melanonin, which influences sleep, mood and the reproductive cycle.

Our instinctive love of light and the sun explains our annual migration to hotter climates. A lack of daylight can influence the natural production of melanonin, creating lethargy and depression. SAD-seasonal affective disorder-is increasingly seen in the winter months. Sufferers feel antisocial, tired and depressed. In order to counter such feelings

it is advisable to work beside windows and let as much daylight into the workplace or home as possible. Fluorescent lighting, the most unnatural from of light, should be avoided wherever possible. As artificial light is a necessary evil, it is best to use full spectrum lights, as they simulate daylight.

Natural light is as vital for healthy living as the air we breath. It regulates levels of the hormone melatonin, which influences sleep, mood and the reproductive cycle. Our instinctive love of light and the sun explains our annual migration to hotter climates.

Colour

Colour affects many aspects of our lives and can have a significant effect on our moods and perceptions. We are all colour biased-we may chose colour as a response to their innate properties or we may just have a distinctive preference for it. Colours have physical as well as psychological effects.

Research has shown that physiological responses such as blood pressure and brain-wave patterns vary according to which colour we are being exposed to. For example, exposure to red, the most stimulating colour, can lead to an increase of blood pressure while exposure to blue light has the opposite effect.

Colour can have a huge effect on our moods and ability to relax. Effective and intelligent use of colour is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to improve our surroundings. This is increasingly being recognized by health and education authorities, and more thought now goes into selecting the decor for classrooms, hospital wards and waiting rooms. Scientific research has also shown that colours can have physical as well as psychological effects. It has been found, for example, that exposure to red light can often raise blood pressure, while exposure to blue light can actually lower it.