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Types of Stress

Our brain processes sensory information. So everything we see, touch, taste, smell, hear, think and feel are potential stressors – or de-stressors if we make positive changes. Designed for our survival, the Fight/Flight automatic and autonomic stress response can be on constant mode in 21st century life.

Types of stress include:

•  Chemical

        – Toxins, allergens (including foods, caffeine etc)

        – Pollutants, alcohol and other drugs

•  Emotional/Psychological 

       – Anxiety, worry, tension.

       – People, places, things (time + old thoughts)

•  Physical

      – Accident, fall, injury (events)

      – Infections (colds etc), surgery

      – Extreme cold/heat

      – Lack of sleep/food/water

      – Noise

Our sympathetic nervous system is like the accelerator – stimulated by stress. Relaxation stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system – like putting on a brake, reducing levels of stress hormones in the blood stream.

There are numerous Warning Signs and Symptoms of stress that many of us are unaware of .

Becoming aware of the problems stress can cause in our lives and recording our personal stressors (knowing what presses our accelerator), then learning how to apply the brake, allows us to function at optimum level.

For some it is mainly physical symptoms such as muscle pain/headache, or others it may be mostly emotional such as crying or anger.