New
Beginnings Support Group
A Chapter of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
A free support group for people with mood disorders & their loved ones
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A Chapter of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
A free support group for people with mood disorders & their loved ones
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Ideas For Wellness
There are a lot of things you can do in your life to reduce both physical and mental health problems. Here are some of them. At the top is an index where you can click on a topic and it will take you directly there. Below the index are the various topics.
Common Initial Steps Towards WellnessFinding Mental Health Professionals
Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
Frequently
Asked Questions About Deep Meditation Mental
Health Advanced
Directives (MHAD) also known as Psychiatric Advance Directives (PAD)
Common
Initial Steps Towards Wellness
The first thing is that a person has to recognize is that they have a problem requiring investigation. It is necessary to get a correct diagnosis from a professional (self diagnosis is not good). If the diagnosis is questionable then other professional opinions should be obtained until you can believe that the correct problem has been identified. It is crucial that a person gets a good understanding of the meaning and implications of the diagnosis. Knowledge can be very helpful to reduce the stress of a new diagnosis and help you understand what can be done You need to know if this might be a temporary problem or if it is a disorder that will require lifetime monitoring and care. It is important to know if there are dangers associated with not adequately caring for the disorder. It is important to get professional support you can depend upon. Just as you would not go to your family doctor for a prescription of cancer chemotherapy, it is better to see a psychiatrist for treatment of a mood disorder. They are experts in psychotropic drugs and how they interact with each other. There are a variety of treatments. Working as a partner with a psychiatrist is the best way to decide a good course for you. Studies have shown that psychiatric medical treatment when done in conjunction with psycho-therapy is much more effective than either alone. There are a variety of types of therapy and therapists have various degrees. What is important is to get a therapy and therapist that best fits your needs. Some people like to get recommendations from others when finding a therapist. Others prefer to go through the selection process completely on their own. In addition, most psychiatric problems are also improved by lifestyle changes. Exercise, diet, sleeping right, reducing stress, relieving stress, and being around people who foster wellness are some of the things that can help the mind and moods.
Finding
Mental Health Professionals There are various ways to locate psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals in your community. It is an important decision but you do not need to worry about possibly selecting someone who does not meet your needs. You can always look for someone else if you if you aren't satisfied with any aspect of your treatment and you do not feel that you can resolve the issue. Locating a mental health provider that is right for you is a personal process and it can take time. There are a number of things many people look for. The person should be someone with whom you will be able to openly and honestly express yourself. It should not matter who you are or what has happened in your past. They should respect you and your background. You need to know exactly what their boundaries are with confidentiality, safety, and privacy. It is important that they understand what is going on with you and be sensitive to it. They need to be able to help you deal with whatever challenges you may face. They need to respect your rights and needs. They have to help you cope with the various financial situations you may get into. You also have the right to a thorough explanation of your treatment options. Places
To Find Providers Many insurance companies only cover services offered by their selected mental health providers. If you have insurance that may pay for mental health services it is usually a good idea to contact them before choosing providers. If you have Medicare coverage then it can be good to look for mental health professionals that accept it. Other ways to local a mental health professional are:
NJMentalHealthCares
http://www.njmentalhealthcares.org/ American Psychiatric Association http://www.healthyminds.org/locateapsychiatrist.cfm The APA's organizational objectives include the advancement and improvement of care for persons with mental illnesses through nationwide public information, education, and awareness programs and materials. To locate a psychiatrist in your area, please contact our APA Answer Center. Please be sure to provide us with your postal address, including your city, state/province and zip code, as well as the postal address, email and or fax to which we should reply. APA Answer Center American Psychiatric Association 1000 Wilson Boulevard Suite 1825 Arlington, VA 22209 OR Call Toll-Free: 1-888-35-PSYCH From outside the U.S. and Canada call: 1-703-907-7300 Email: apa@psych.org American Psychological Association http://locator.apahelpcenter.org/ A psychologist can help you cope with many of life's problems. To locate a psychologist in your local area using our new and growing online locator service, enter your zip code or a city and state and click "Search". You can also obtain a referral to a psychologist in your area by calling 1-800-964-2000. The operator will use your zip code to locate and connect you with the referral service of the state psychological association. American Medical Association http://webapps.ama-assn.org/doctorfinder/home.html Doctor Finder provides you with basic professional information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States. This includes more than 690,000 doctors. Phone (312) 464-5000 National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists http://www.nacbt.org/searchfortherapists.asp You may search for a mental health professional near you who is certified by the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. Simply enter either the state for which you are searching and click on the "Submit" button. National Association of Social Workers http://www.socialworkers.org/register/default.asp The NASW Register provides a listing of clinical social workers that meet verified uniform national professional criteria. It also facilitates improved inter- and intra-professional referrals and consultations to accommodate individualized treatment planning sensitive to diagnosis, preferred treatment modality, cultural issues and geographical locations. Many Web listings of psychotherapists fail to verify the credentials and education of the applicants. However, NASW has verified this criteria for every individual listed in the NASW Register. Anxiety Disorders Association of America http://www.adaa.org/GettingHelp/FindATherapist.asp The Anxiety Disorders Association of America provides a list of its members who have identified themselves as mental health providers. For ease of use, these providers are listed geographically.
The International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy http://cognitivetherapyassociation.org/refhome.aspx The International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy (IACP) provides the names and contact information for the individuals listed below who offer their services for psychotherapy. The IACP makes no judgment about the licenses or specific qualifications of individuals. We suggest that you ask any potential provider about their credentials, licenses, and experience dealing with the particular problems that you are presenting. Listing on this website does not constitute endorsement by the IACP. Dr. Ivan's Depression Central http://www.psycom.net/depression.central.psychiatrists.html This is a listing of psychiatrists in the U.S.A. specializing in the treatment of individuals with all types of depressive disorders including Bipolar (manic- depressive) Disorder, Cyclothymia, Dysthymia, Major Depression, and other mood disorders. Locate a Doc http://www.locateadoc.com/ Find psychiatrists or psychologists by city or state International Psychiatric Organizations by Country http://www.psych.org/psych_pract/countrys.cfm American Association of Christian Counselors http://aacc.net/resources/find-a-counselor/
NOTE: We could not find any other mental health professional location services for any other faiths. If you have such information, please contact us with as much information about the service as possible.
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It can be very helpful for you and the professionals working with you to have a daily record of how you are doing. There are a number of ways to do this, one of the most popular is a Mood Chart. Simplistic charts are better than nothing, but more comprehensive charting can do you the most good. A very fast way to do comprehensive charting can be found at: MyPsychTracker www.mypsychtracker.com This is a free online, mood and symptom tracker. The methods used tend to be more objective than standard mood charts. They suggest that a therapist or psychiatrist can use this info to see how a patient is doing. (assuming the patient supplies the information). Something that can really help is that they will send out free reminders so people don't forget to chart. It is important to realize that although the person filling out the chart knows what a number means (say for an example a 7 for Sadness)... another person does not. If the info is shared a person should define, in general, what a few of the numbers in each category actually represent.
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Daily exercise can be very helpful in keeping moods level. Working large muscles hard enough to affect your heart rate and breathing is best. Many people enjoy outside activities such as vigorous walking, bicycling, or swimming. Others prefer workouts at home or at a gym. If you are usually fairly inactive, any increase in exercise is good. Small things like parking further away from a store (or at least stop the habit of searching for the nearest park.) Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator. When you are walking, pick up the pace. Even if you are watching TV there are ways of increasing your activity in steps. If you usually lie in bed then sit in a chair. If you normally sit then stand (it may seem a little silly but it really does make a difference.). If you typically stand then try walking around or using a treadmill. Some people slowly increase their activity by using an inexpensive pedometer to keep track of the number of steps they take a day. Making a commitment to continually increase your steps each day not only increases your exercise, it shows you when you are slipping back to inactivity. Lots of people have the basic problem of motivation. It is much easier to exercise once than to do it regularly. It can be extremely difficult to exercise when you need it most... such as when you are severely depressed. If you can make exercise part of your daily routine then you are less likely to have to make a decision to exercise and when. If you have something you normally do and can increase the degree of activity that can help. (such as transforming a leisurely activity of walking your dog into a longer more energetic one.) Some people find that having a personal trainer can be good. Remembering that part of the trainer's personal income is lost every time you do miss... might help you get to the sessions regularly. Another way people get an exercise routine is to join a group of people working out. It can be aerobics, jazzercise, yoga, low-impact swim exercise, Tai Chi, self-defense, etc. It doesn't matter what you do so much as whether it interests you enough to keep up the routine to do it.. Supplementing regular exercise with special times can be good. Most sports provide good exercise. Including activities such as hiking interesting areas can be a great way to enliven trips and vacations.
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There are three major reasons for someone with a mood disorder to watch what he eats. First, eating the right diet helps a person stay healthier and therefore it is easier to do the things to stay mentally stable. Second, a large number of federally funded studies support each other in showing that certain nutrients can improve mood disorder problems. Third, a major health risk, Metabolic Syndrome X, has recently been connected with very high mortality rates and people with mental illness have been shown to be more susceptible to this syndrome than the average person. Changes in diet can possibly prevent the syndrome and can definitely reduce problems for people who already have it. It is best to develop a specific diet with the help of a registered dietician. Your doctor should know about any major changes in diet that you make. Simplistic diets involving the drastic reduction or increased consumption of either proteins, fats, or carbohydrates are not healthy. Special diet pills, drinks, and packaged foods are not a way to change your eating habits. Just eating a balanced diet is healthier and can be just as slimming (for those who wish to lose weight). Learning how to eat healthy is easier than most people think. There are five primary things in food; fats (animal fat, oils, etc.), proteins (meats, cheeses, beans, nuts, seeds, etc.), carbohydrates (sugars, grains, potatoes, etc.), minor nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.), and fiber (grain husks, vegetables, etc.). It is necessary to eat all of these on a regular basis. The right amount of each of them contributes to a healthy body and mind.
There is a nutrition guide listed on most packaged foods and available by request from many major restaurant chains (especially fast food). Reading these guides are the first step to learning about the foods you eat. They contain a breakdown of what is in the foods and the calories based upon serving size. It is important to note the amount of the serving size which is listed at the top. If you eat more or less than the listed serving size then you should adjust the numbers on the guide by that amount. Fats (oils) are often shunned by those trying to eat healthier. They actually are important for overall health. There are good fats and bad fats. It is simply a case of knowing the difference and managing the number of calories from fat that you eat. Saturated fats (often animal fats) and especially trans fats should limited as much as possible. These fats help raise the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol in the blood and therefore increase the risk of heart disease. Many dieticians say that a person should never eat trans fats. Fried foods when you eat out can be the worst. One individual meal from KFC can contain more trans fat than is currently deemed safe for a full week of meals. Poly and Mono unsaturated fats are the healthiest fats. They can help increase the amount HDL or good cholesterol in the blood. Most people eat too many calories from fats. By weight, fats contain twice the calories as proteins or carbohydrates. Also fats require less energy to digest and are more easily converted for storage into fat cells. Limiting the total calories from fats is generally considered to be the easiest thing to change in a diet in order to lose weight. It is important not to eliminate fats. Dropping fats below 12% of your total daily calories can prevent your body from producing some of the molecules required to stay healthy.
Some people equate eating a lot of protein with having a healthy diet. U.S. dietary guidelines do not agree. Too much protein can be hard on the kidneys. Ounce for ounce, protein creates as much weight gain as eating pure sugar. Proteins from meat often have much more calories because of hidden fats. Many dieticians suggest a serving size of meat or cheese to be no greater than the palm of your hand. Total calories when eating protein can be reduced by eating only lean cuts of meat and taking the skin off of poultry before cooking. Many cheeses are now available in fat-free versions. Different beans have varying amount of proteins and different amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Eating a variety can be a healthy way to get protein without the associated saturated fats. Nuts and seeds can contain a lot of protein. Although there are usually a large percentage of fats, they are usually healthy fats. So the key is to keep your total caloric intake within limits.
To simplify the discussion of carbohydrates I am going to ignore the fact that fiber is also a carbohydrate. Fiber is necessary for good health, but you can't digest it. It simply passes through your system and provides 0 calories. If you are reading the nutritional guide on a package, subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrates in order to find out how many grams of carbs there are that provide calories. Carbohydrates are primarily sugars (including sources such as fruits, soft drinks, juices, corn syrup, maple syrup, etc.) and starches (rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, breads, pasta, flours, etc.) Gram for gram, sugars and starches have the same calories. Numerous recent studies have shown that most starches are digested just as quickly as pure sugar. The blood sugar spikes produced by them are the same. The body reacts to them in the same way. Most breads, doughs, white rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. have the same number of calories and are handled by the body the same as the same weight of pure sugar. If you believe in "sugar highs" then feeding your kids a serving of bread shoots as much sugar into their blood and just as fast as the same weight of pure sugar. Highly processed carbohydrates are believed to be a primary cause of the current diabetes epidemic. The government suggests that carbohydrates be the biggest part of our diet though. They are very important for good health. The key is to treat them like fats. There are good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates. It is important to eat the right kind and the right amount when possible. Don't try for a "perfect diet". To make a lasting difference it is usually better to make reasonable changes at a slow continuous pace... and make sure you do not feel deprived. Unlike fats, the nutrition guide on packaged foods give you little useful information to help you determine if the carbs are bad ones. To make matters worse, good carbs and bad carbs actually are chemically the same. Since these carbs all end up as sugars in the body... the difference between good carbs and bad carbs are how fast they are digested. Although most carbs are digested very quickly and produce a surge of sugar entering the bloodstream, many do not. These slower digesting carbs are the good carbs. Glycemic
Index and Glycemic Load
A large number of high carb foods have been measured to see how fast they digest. This measurement is called the Glycemic Index (or GI). Foods with high GI numbers are the bad carbs. Foods with low numbers are the good carbs. As you would expect, a lot of foods fall somewhere in the middle. Much of eating healthier is simply a matter of choosing foods that digest slower than ones you might normally eat (and make sure your portion sizes are reasonable.) There can be a wide variation in the GI number of the same type of food. If you overcook pasta it can actually digest faster than sugar. If you cook it "al dente", it can be a good carb (Note: Most Americans eat much too large of servings of pasta. So make sure you are only eating the amount of carbs that you really need.) Instant white rice is not good. Wild or brown rice that is cooked just enough is much better. The big baked russet potato is amazingly bad. It is much too large of a serving and it digests much faster than sugar. New potatoes are a lot better choice. Most breads (even multigrain or whole wheat) are pretty bad. Some types of true whole grain (especially cracked grain) breads are a better choice. If you have a sweet tooth, consider the varieties of artificial sweeteners out there. Some you can actually cook or bake with. Some people like to grow/buy the herb, Stevia, which is a natural way to add a lot of sweetness without the calories. If you really love something sweet on top of your pancakes... instead of using a "Sugar-free" syrup that contains sugar alcohols which might cause you to actually eat more carbs/calories than if you used regular syrup... try using half the amount of honey (because it is twice as sweet as regular syrup or sugar). Instead of consuming canned fruit or fruit juice, eat the raw fruit. There are also various studies about Glycemic Load (GL). This number is based on the idea that some servings of a high carb food have more carbs than others. This number is not as important as the GI if you figure your serving size based on the number of grams of carbs in it. Here are a couple of links to lists of GI and GL values of numerous foods. http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm http://www.mendosa.com/common_foods.htm Which are better carbs... 25 grams of carbs from a pack of organic multigrain baked chips or 25 grams of carbs from Peanut M&Ms? "Organic" simply tells you about the chemicals used growing and processing the food. "Multigrain" tells you it contains various starches. "Baked" says it probably has less fat than fried chips. From experience you know that M&Ms are sugar coated chocolate. These just happen to have peanuts in them. Both foods are probably highly processed so that their sugars and starches will digest quickly. It is the lowly peanut that tips the scales. It is not highly processed and the carbs are slow. Strangely enough Peanut M&Ms are just about the best high carb "junk food" out there as far as how fast the sugars enter the blood stream. (Note: Eating a small pack of most any type of nut is much better than either choice above. Just remember they usually have a fair amount of fat and therefore often more calories for the same weight of snack food.)
Vitamins, minerals, and special nutrients are very important for physical and mental health. The best way to get them is to eat a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, and specific foods (such as fish to get more Omega-3 in your diet).
Fiber is not only important for a healthy digestive system, soluble fiber is a good way to reduce bad cholesterol. Most fruits, vegetable, and the husks of grains are good sources of fiber.
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The above information was about eating a healthier diet. Some people need to reduce the total number of calories in their diet. Next is a discussion of easy ways to do so.
It may seem obvious, but cutting back on high calorie foods makes a big difference. You do not have to eliminate them and feel neglected. Eating them less often and eating smaller amounts helps a lot.
Something as simple as drinking a full glass of water before you eat can help you. Research has shown that a number of foods can make you feel more full than others. They measure them on a scale called the Satiety Index. http://www.mendosa.com/satiety.htm
Snacks can actually be good for you. You just need to define snacks as a single portion of a healthy food eaten hours after you last ate. Such a snack can keep you from getting so hungry that you eat too much at your next meal. Fresh vegetables with a fat-free dip or a single portion of fruit are examples of a healthy snack. Candy, a granola bar, and fruit-at-the-bottom yogurts are examples of snacks that are usually not healthy.
Slowly reducing your portion size can make a big difference. It also can be good to try taking smaller bites and chewing thoroughly. This is one way to...
There are chemical messengers that tell your brain when you are no longer hungry. One is how full your stomach is. Another one just as important is produced as your food is digested. It is important that your brain receives both messages that you have eaten enough. If you eat slowly then your digestive system has more time to tell you that you are no longer hungry.
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Unfortunately there are a number of ways to be fooled as far as trying to eat a specific diet.
"No Sugar Added" foods often have very high percentages of sugar. The label simply means that pure sugars have not been added as individual ingredients. The sugars in these foods come from the ingredients used that already contain sugar. Also, fats are frequently added to make such foods more "tasty". The total calories are often much higher than the standard food.
"Sugar-Free" foods often contain sugar alcohols. These ingredients have just as many carbohydrates and calories as pure sugar. If the food has an ingredient list look for names such as maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, xylitol, and lactitol (frequently the ending letters "tol" are a good indication that the ingredient is a sugar alcohol.). Another way to make an educated guess whether the food contains sugar alcohols is to look for artificial sweeteners in the ingredient list. Usually foods will have one or the other, not both. Also, fats are frequently added to make such foods more "tasty". The total calories are often much higher than the standard food.
"Whole-Wheat Bread" does not mean that the flour is all whole wheat. Often whole wheat breads contain less than two tablespoons of whole-wheat flour in a loaf. Look for the total fiber content of "Whole Grain" foods to find out exactly how much you are getting in a serving. Keep in mind that "soluble fiber" makes the biggest difference in controlling bad cholesterol (and is much cheaper than drugs). If you do not know if you are getting enough soluble fiber you might consider adding psyllium fiber (generic unflavored Metamucil) to your diet. It can be taken as a supplement or added to certain foods being prepared.
"Vitamin Fortified" foods are simply foods with vitamin supplements added. It is far better to get correct amounts of vitamins by eating healthy. "Vitamin Fortified" foods often lack various essential nutrients. It can be quite difficult to keep track of what you are getting too much of what you are lacking. If you fear that you are not getting the right essential nutrients through your diet, consider supplements that allow you to exactly control the extra nutrients you get.
"Natural Sugar" is not as natural as people may think. A 1948 federal law requires all products sold as sugar in the United States to be at least 96 percent pure sucrose, so even "raw" sugar (sometimes called "turbinado sugar") is by law compositionally close to white table sugar -- about 96 to 98 percent sucrose. It simply has a little molasses added to white sugar to provide extra color and flavor. It is not healthier for you.
The "Ingredient List" on the side of a package can be misleading. The ingredients are listed in the order of the amount of them the food contains. If High Fructose Corn Syrup is the first item on the list, then that food contains more of it than any other ingredient. Manufacturers have learned an effective way to fool many people who carefully read the ingredient lists. A "fruit bar" list might read... Rolled Oats, raisins, grape juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, molasses, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sugar. Everything on that list except the Rolled Oats is virtually 100% sugar. There only has to be a fractional amount more of Rolled Oats than any other single ingredient in order to allow them to list it first. Over 87% of this bar is probably made up of fast sugars that react in the body almost the same as eating that same amount of pure table sugar.
Finding foods with no Caffeine can be tricky. Decaffeinated coffees and teas still contain caffeine. Most bottled drinks contain caffeine. If they do not say Caffeine-Free, do not assume they have no caffeine. Energy drinks can be the opposite of decaf, they can have much more caffeine than typical drinks. Note some OTC medications like Anacin, Excedrin, energy pills, No-Doze and diet pills can contain high dosages of caffeine. If the intent is to stay off of stimulants then you might want to limit chocolate which has theobromine. The darker the chocolate generally the higher amounts of theobromine in it. For people looking for anti-oxidants found in teas and chocolate. There are other choices that do not contain stimulants.
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People usually do best with about 8 hours of sleep. Several days of less than 7 hours or greater than 9 hours is usually unhealthy. Mood swings can cause problems with sleep. When in a depression many people sleep too much. When on the manic side many people sleep too little. It is important to know that the wrong amount of sleep can cause those same mood swings. If you are having problems getting enough sleep you might want to look for these possible causes. * Persistent stress * Relationship problems * Use of stimulants such as caffeine, cocaine, and some diet drugs * Alcohol consumption * Shift work or keeping erratic hours * Inactive lifestyle * Environmental factors like noise and light * Depression, mania, or anxiety disorders Things you can try to get better sleep * Keep a regular schedule with a consistent bedtime * Use your bedroom mainly for sleep * Exercise regularly, but try to finish exercise at least 3 to 4 hours before going to bed * Avoid caffeine for at least 6 hours before going to bed * Avoid large meals close to bedtime * If you nap during the day, try to do so at the same time each day, and limit napping to an hour or less *
Too much
sleep can be cause shallow, unrestful sleep * Do not lie in bed unable to sleep for more than 30 minutes. It is usually good to get up and do a restful activity such as reading, taking a warm bath, listening to music, etc.
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Most people can recognize stressful things in their life. A lot of the time the stress is viewed as unavoidable. After all, who would choose to keep stress in their life? Actually since it is impossible to eliminate stress, everybody makes choices about stress. A very important thing to remember about stress is that is not only damaging to a person's mental health, is also is a primary cause of major physical illnesses. Stress can impair you from having a good life and stress can kill you. Managing stress is an important way to move towards wellness and to remain healthy. This involves not only reducing and avoiding stress, but also actively throwing off the effects of stress on your body and mind. Stress makes life miserable, and it can take its toll on
your health, both emotionally and physically.
The longer stress continues without being dealt with, the more damage it
can do. Depression, anxiety,
irritability, fatigue, high blood pressure, heart disease, digestive problems,
aches and pains, unhealthy weight gain or loss, and trouble sleeping can all
result from unresolved stress. Eventually,
relationships may become strained or lost, and work or school may become too
difficult to maintain. So, it is
important to cope with stress before you lose the balance in your life. People find all sorts of ways to cope with stress.
Many strategies are healthy and are proven to work.
Unfortunately, some are self-destructive and can compound the effects of
stress. Healthy ways to cope with stress:
Self-destructive ways to cope with stress:
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One of the first ways people think of when trying to reduce stress is to eliminate stressors from their life. For example, they may decide their working conditions to be very unhealthy but feel that they are trapped in it due to finances. There are things that can be done to reduce job stress without quitting your job or taking a job with lesser responsibilities. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is the Federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related illness and injury. They have produced a pamphlet about job related stress. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html Here are some excerpts: Stress sets off an alarm in the brain, which responds by preparing the body for defensive action. The nervous system is aroused and hormones are released to sharpen the senses, quicken the pulse, deepen respiration, and tense the muscles. This response (sometimes called the fight or flight response) is important because it helps us defend against threatening situations. The response is preprogrammed biologically. Everyone responds in much the same way, regardless of whether the stressful situation is at work or home. Short-lived or infrequent episodes of stress pose little risk. But when stressful situations go unresolved, the body is kept in a constant state of activation, which increases the rate of wear and tear to biological systems. Ultimately, fatigue or damage results, and the ability of the body to repair and defend itself can become seriously compromised. As a result, the risk of injury or disease escalates. In the past 20 years, many studies have looked at the relationship between job stress and a variety of ailments. Mood and sleep disturbances, upset stomach and headache, and disturbed relationships with family and friends are examples of stress-related problems that are quick to develop and are commonly seen in these studies. These early signs of job stress are usually easy to recognize. But the effects of job stress on chronic diseases are more difficult to see because chronic diseases take a long time to develop and can be influenced by many factors other than stress. Nonetheless, evidence is rapidly accumulating to suggest that stress plays an important role in several types of chronic health problems-especially cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders. One-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. -Northwestern National Life Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor-more so than even financial problems or family problems. -St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. The concept of job stress is often confused with challenge, but these concepts are not the same. Challenge energizes us psychologically and physically, and it motivates us to learn new skills and master our jobs. When a challenge is met, we feel relaxed and satisfied. Thus, challenge is an important ingredient for healthy and productive work. The importance of challenge in our work lives is probably what people are referring to when they say "a little bit of stress is good for you. Examples of individual and situational factors that can help to reduce the effects of stressful working conditions include the following: * |
