According to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 22nd edition, stress is defined as the reactions of the body to forces of a deleterious nature, such as infections and various abnormal states that tend to disturb its normal physiologic equilibrium (homeostasis). This definition highlights the body’s reaction to outside forces which have become known as stresses.
Stress is a normal part of our lives. Everyone experiences stress on a daily or even a moment to moment basis. It is not a disease and is not necessarily bad, but stress aggravates many conditions including allergies, arthritis, atherosclerosis, asthma, cancer, colitis, diabetes, emphysema, gastritis, hypertension, low back syndrome, neurosis, neuromuscular syndromes, speech problems and ulcers.
Reactions to stress can vary enormously, and some of these reactions are not healthy. The most frequent undesirable reaction is anxiety. The degree of anxiety is much more a function of the individual than of the degree of stress. This means that some people cope with the stresses of daily living better than others and the degree of anxiety can show how well a person is coping.
Some common symptoms of anxiety are butterflies in the stomach, lump in the throat, a rising sense of panic, insomnia, lack of attention at work, and palpitations. Palpitations are painless and represent an extra beat of the heart. These symptoms are the effects, not the cause of stress, and the person who focuses on the symptoms as the cause of the problem is far away from the solution.
Sometimes these symptoms are simply due to a vitamin deficiency, particularly the B vitamins and vitamin C, which are rapidly used up in times of stress. Sometimes symptoms may be due to an overdose of one of the minor toxins of everyday life such as tobacco or caffeine. Remember that No-Doz, diet pills, ma huang, guarana, APC’s, a variety of cold, headache, and menstrual remedies, and many soft drinks contain caffeine.
Most people, however experience symptoms of anxiety after times of particular stress, such as after several days with less sleep than usual, before a test or an important meeting, or 
during a week of discord in a personal relationship. This same period of stress is often accompanied by excessive use of coffee and cigarettes. The combination of these things can overwhelm a person’s normally successful coping mechanisms.
How can you tell if you’re coping well? The following quiz from by Frank S. Caprio, M.D. may help you determine where you fit in
Answer Yes or No to each of the following questions:
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Do you have a feeling of continuous anxiety and sometimes of panic?
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Do you feel tired all the time and find that you complain more and more often that you are not getting enough sleep?
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Are you always worrying about your health?
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Do you feel your work is suffering onaccount of it?
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Do you often feel depressed for no good reason?
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Are you tense and restless and unable to relax?
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Do you get sudden tremors -“the shake”?
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Are you afraid of being alone?
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Do you ever want to end it all?
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Do you sometimes wonder if you are losing your mind?
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Do you take other people’s criticisms as personal threats or rejections?
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Do you lose your temper more often and find it harder to get along with people?
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Do you find it hard to concentrate these days?
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Do you feel remote from people who were close to you and things you used to like- your family, friends, sports, books?
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Have you started to let your appearance run down- are you careless about cleanliness, your hair, your clothes?
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Are you worrying a great deal, taking life more seriously, enjoying it less?
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Are you dependent on tranquilizers to carry you through a day?
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Is it becoming harder for you to make small decisions, such as what to wear, what to have for dinner, what to do next?
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Do you dread ordinary everyday situations-caring for your children or playing with them, going to parties, or even to the store?
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Has your attitude toward food changed–do you find it tasteless, hard to swallow so that you don’t care if you eat or not?
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Do you find yourself living more and more in the past?
If you answered yes to three or four questions, you are not coping as well as you should and may be headed for trouble. If you answered yes to six or more questions, you would be wise to check with your naturopathic physician, minister, psychiatrist, or other healthcare provider.
When your body shows signs of anxiety such as tension in your neck muscles, or the other symptoms we have discussed, seek the cause and do something about it. Something positive and realistic. Dr. Hans Seyle, author of “Stress Without Distress,” points out that over-ambitious goals and objectives, beyond our experience and skills are a frequent cause of stress. Dr. Seyle suggests you be really sure that stress is worth it. Do the do-able, and avoid the undo-able. In effect, don’t waste your time trying to befriend a mad dog.
Give us a call directly at 719-539-7065 or fill in the message below to talk to Dr. Keri about your health, wellness and supportive learning.
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