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By: Dr.
Carolyn R. Kubiak
Stress is as much
a part of our modern American age as apple pie and motherhood.
But even though stress affects us all, gender impacts how it is
expressed.
Under stress, Men
tend to:
-
Have trouble
making decisions.
-
Withdraw and
sleep more.
-
Watch more TV
than usual.
-
Become curt and
critical.
-
Eat, drink, or
smoke more.
-
Clench or grind
their teeth, especially while sleeping.
Under stress
women tend to:
-
Feel anxious or
depressed.
-
Lose interest
in being physically intimate with their partners.
-
Have more
frequent headaches.
-
Feel
disorganized and scattered.
How the sexes
respond to stress may be due to innate physical differences that
can be attributed to body chemistry and hormone structures.
However, we all have the ability to minimize the effect that
stress can produce by impacting our environment, regardless of our
gender. This can be done by identifying techniques that can put
us in control of our stress.
To counter-act
physical stress alter patterns in how you:
Breathe breathe deeply, hold
it, breathe out with a slow sigh. This slows the pulse rate and
produces alpha waves.
Exercise burns off adrenaline
and triggers natural mood elevators, which improves endurance.
Eat stress depletes nutrients
more quickly. Include a multivitamin during peak stress, vitamin
B and C strengthens the immune system.
Sleep helps the body recover
from stress. Eliminate work tasks, newspapers, and TV prior to
bedtime and avoid arguments.
Relax condition your body for
rest and increase awareness of your stress points.
Smile and Laugh relaxes
muscles, lowers blood pressure, and stimulates the production of
mood lifting hormones.
To reduce stress,
focus on managing your time more efficiently by:
Clarify your Goals list goals
by category: personal, professional, family, and financial.
Rank by Importance break them
into small tasks.
Put Goals to the Test
Is it a should?
Can someone else do it?
Is it too hard to handle? Eliminate
it.
Celebrate your Accomplishments
move it from the to do list to the did it list.
Respect your own Rhythms
schedule the most demanding tasks when you have the most energy.
Say no more often before
adding another task ask yourself if it fits with your goals and
priorities. If it does not, turn it down!
Do not be Greedy Pick and
choose activities, then let some go!
De-stress and soothe your mind
by:
Knowing yourself are you a
Type A or B? Control your thinking and minimize your critic,
eliminate blaming others, be optimistic, cut yourself some slack,
and stop obsessing!
Shifting to Anti-stress
Problem-Solving Strategies brainstorm 5-7 ways to respond,
and then identify the most workable one that fits in with the
ultimate goal.
Meditating simply be fully
present which reduces stress of brooding over past mistakes or
anticipating future problems.
Doing what you Love list
things that give you pleasure and schedule time for one of them.
Give your self-permission to enjoy it!
Spending Time with Friends --
seek friends who will listen to you and offer insight or a new
perspective.
Creating an Oasis escape
demands by creating a ritual to help you remember to relax.
Valuing Unstructured Time
hang out without an agenda.
If this article has caused you even
more stress, please feel free to disregard it.
Dr. Carolyn R. Kubiak, a Licensed
Marriage and Family Therapist and Board Certified Clinical
Sexologist, maintains a private practice in St. Petersburg
specializing in Couples Therapy
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