Natural Way to Combat Stress

The body's internal reaction to external pressure

Stress is the 'wear and tear' our minds and bodies experience as we attempt to cope with our continually changing environment.

People often think of stress as pressure at work, a sick child or rush-hour traffic. These events may be triggers, but stress is actually the body's internal reaction to such factors. Stress is the automatic 'fight-or-flight' response in the body, activated by adrenaline and other stress hormones, which stimulate a variety of physiological changes, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, faster breathing, muscle tension, dilated pupils, dry mouth and increased blood sugar.

In simple biological terms, stress is the state of increased arousal necessary for an organism to defend itself when faced with danger.

Whenever we feel anxious, tense, tired, frightened, elated or depressed, we are undergoing stress. Few aspects of life are free from the events and pressures that generate such feelings, and stress has become an acceptable and unavoidable part of normal everyday existence.

In fact, contrary to popular assumptions, stressed lifestyles are not an exclusively modern phenomenon-stress has always been intrinsic to human existence, and life without stress would be unbearable. For example, certain types of stress, such as physical and mental exercise, sex, and intense creativity, are actually very desirable. It is only when real or perceived change overwhelms the body's ability to cope, that stress becomes harmful (distress), leaving us prone to unwanted physical, mental or emotional reactions and illnesses.