Quitting Smoking Stress: Understanding and Managing It
Many people think of stress as tension or pressure. Actually, stress is just the way we respond to change. Understanding stress and its effects can help you use it to your advantage and turn potential stressors into positive challenges.
The Mechanics of Stress
Stress is defined as a response by your body to any demand made upon it. Your body responds to stress in many ways. Hormones, like adrenalin, surge. Your heartbeat and blood pressure increase. Your blood pressure rises. These effects, unchanged for thousands of years, helped prehistoric humans survive by helping them run away faster or fight harder, which is why we often call our body’s reaction to stress the “fight or flight” response.
Positive and Negative
Most people think of stressors, or things that cause stress, as negative, such as traffic, a difficult job, or divorce. Many people are aware of tense muscles, headaches, or stomachaches during, before, or after such situations. But stressors can also be positive experiences. Having a baby, taking a vacation, or completing a satisfying project are all changes that can activate your stress response.
The Effects of Stress
We experience stressors that are very different from early survival ones. Yet positive stresses such as getting married, or negative stressors such as family conflicts, still cause the same physiological fight or flight response. Your body cannot tell the difference between a positive or a negative stressor. In either case, your body experiences the same stress effects. If you are not able to let off steam and relax, these effects can be harmful. You may feel tired, depressed, or anxious. You may experience physical symptoms such as clenched jaw or backache. If a stressful situation goes on for too long without any relief, you are vulnerable to becoming ill. During periods of stress, take care of yourself by getting plenty of rest, eating healthily, exercising, and relaxing without alcohol or drugs. Help your body recover from all the stress, even when you feel satisfied or excited, to protect your health.
Use Stress to Your Advantage
Stress is like body temperature — if it is too low or high you cannot survive. But the right balance can keep you going strong. It makes sense to use stress energy positively, to meet life’s challenges, experiences and goals. Stress is not all bad. In fact positive stress can make life both enriching and satisfying.
The Mind-Body Connection
Your mind and body are connected. When your mind is healthy, your body can better resist illnesses. When your body is healthy, your feelings are more positive. During stressful times, take care of both for maximum health and satisfaction.
How Self-Talk Affects Stress
Most people carry on a silent conversation with themselves during much of the day. These internal dialogues can actually direct your thoughts and behaviors. Understanding what self-talk is and how it affects you is the first step in learning how to rewrite your own self-talk “script” and talk your way to a less stressful way of life. Self-talk is very much like a self-fulfilling prophecy — something you think about so much you actually make it come true. When your self-talk is positive — “Everything will work out” or “I know I can do it” — you are giving yourself permission to succeed and chances are, you will. When your self-talk is negative — “I know I will have a lousy time” or “There is no way I can quit smoking” — you are giving up on yourself and chances are you won’t even try to succeed.
Stress Response
Negative self-talk can cause or increase your distress and make effects such as headaches or stomach pain much worse. Self-talk can also encourage you to behave in destructive ways, which further stress your body. (”No one cares, so why shouldn’t I have another cigarette?”) Fortunately, positive self-talk can have the opposite effect, leading to lower stress levels and greater chance for permanent success!
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