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Stress Management Information
10 Ways to Monitor Corporate Stress Levels
10 Ways to Monitor Corporate Stress Levels
Stress Control: Tough Leadership vs. Easy Does It
Tough leaders are usually seen as ogres. Their
exacting demands and high expectations add to
stress levels. And their obsessive compulsive
behavior can have a negative effect on results if
they don't understand how to control stress to get
positive results without serious negative
reactions.
Control Stress with High Morale
When Army leaders fail to control battlefield stress, they lose as many soldiers to combat stress as they do to enemy bullets. Even when they are well trained, these soldiers are more likely to collapse in the face of great stress.
10 Ways to Benchmark Workplace Stress
With almost 50% of workers complaining that their jobs are very stressful, it is no surprise that more than two-thirds of all medical problems are stress related.
13 Stress Reducers & Profit Boosters
The United Nations declares workplace stress to be
a worldwide epidemic. In the United States alone,
forty-six percent of workers report that their job
is very stressful. This adds up to a million stress
related workplace absences each day.
3 Kinds of Workplace Stress
Workers across America will tell you that stress
Overcome the Top 10 Causes of Workplace Stress
Workplace stress is on the rise and it's costing
corporate America a fortune. Some estimate that
80% of health care costs are stress related, and
these expenses go right to the bottom line.
Stress Causing People to ?Super Size?
Stress Causing People to ?Super Size?
by Georgianna Donadio D.C., M.Sc., Ph.D.
It is currently reported that two out of three adults is either overweight or obese, and the numbers continue to climb. As a result, statistics demonstrate that a significant portion of our population is being diagnosed with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. Even more shocking is that we are experiencing these conditions at earlier ages than previously reported. It is not unusual today, to hear about a young person in their 20?s diagnosed with mature onset diabetes, normally developed during middle-age.
On May 7, 2004, a controversial and award-winning movie aimed at exploring the obesity epidemic hit theatres. In ?Super Size Me?, a tongue-in-cheek look at the legal, financial and physical costs of our hunger for fast food, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock explores the horrors of school lunch programs, declining health education and physical education classes, food addictions and the extreme measures people take to lose weight. As a centerpiece of the film, Spurlock puts his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald's for 30 days following three rules:
1) Eat only what is available over the counter2) No supersizing unless offered3) Consume every item on the menu at least once
In the end, Spurlock has a weight gain of 24 pounds and experiences harrowing visits to the doctor. The issues that are explored in ?Super Size Me? beg the question, what has changed in our environment to cause this obesity problem to reach epidemic proportions? Furthermore, what is causing people to overeat as we do?
A groundbreaking study, reported in 2003 by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, found that between 1977 and 1996, portion sizes for key food groups grew markedly in the United States, not only at fast-food restaurants but also in homes and at conventional restaurants. In particular, portion sizes for salty and sugary foods, essentially, ?comfort foods? experienced the most dramatic portion size increases. For example, the USDA's recommended serving size for a cookie is half an ounce, while the average cookie sold in restaurants was found to be 700% larger.
The by-products of our affluent American society, envied by many around the world, have a definite dark side, our obesity rate, for starters. In a culture where more is better and disposable income is abundant, when it comes to eating we have developed a ?more food, more conveniently and more often? attitude.
Stress: A Pre-Cursor to Obesity
Certainly, no one forces us to eat more than our body needs, so what is driving this ?hunger? for more? Over the last two decades, almost proportionally to the dramatic increase of food consumed and chronic disease diagnoses, the amount of stress in our society and on each of us individually has increased significantly. Stress is the term medical researcher Hans Selye, M.D., PhD, gave to the experience our bodies go through when we have to adjust or adapt to the various changes our bodies experience during the course of the day. While many of us think of stress in relationship to emotional states, many other factors can exert an equally detrimental effect on our bodies as well. When we do not get enough sleep or rest, work or exercise too much, nutritional status, have an infection, have allergies, injuries or trauma, undergo dental or surgical procedures, have emotional upsets, or deal with any aspect of reproductive function such a pregnancy, menopause, etc., our bodies must chemically and neurologically adapt in order to survive. Part of this adaptation process relies heavily on the nutrition that is available for the kidney?s adrenal glands to produce the adaptive hormones. It is often this aspect of stress that can lead to overeating, and what?s more, overeating the types of foods that cause unhealthy weight gain.
How it works
Thanks to the work of M.I.T. Professor Judith Wurtman, Ph.D. and others we now understand the significant role that a neurotransmitter or ?chemical messenger? called Serotonin plays in producing our cravings for complex carbohydrates and sugars, two of the largest contributors to unhealthy weight gain. Serotonin along with other neurotransmitters, are produced by our bodies as "feel good" hormones. Under stress, we do not have enough of these hormones and we become motivated to "self-sooth" by behaviors that lead to the increase of Serotonin. Overeating of carbohydrate and fatty-rich foods or ?comfort foods? such as cookies, ice cream, etc. significantly increases these hormones. Many addictions such as smoking, alcohol, and drugs are also attempts to self-sooth and increase Serotonin, but no other addictive or unhealthy behavior is as socially acceptable and as easily available as over eating. We can do it anywhere, anytime, alone or with company. It is no wonder we have such a love affair with eating.
In addition, our bodies need for certain nutrients, specifically protein, Vitamins A, C, and E, unsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol, and minerals, skyrocket when we are ?adapting? under stress. Often, if we do not stop the stress cycle or do not appropriately supplement these nutrients, we can turn to overeating to satisfy the body?s demands for the fuel it needs to keep dealing with the stress we are experiencing.
For a period of time, foods that comfort, sooth or supplement can make us feel calmer until our level of Serotonin drops again or until we become more exhausted and need to feed ourselves, yet again. Then, we start the cycle all over and consume more carbohydrate and fatty rich foods until we feel better. This is the cycle of self-medication or self-soothing practiced in homes, offices, restaurants, automobiles and yes, even bathrooms across America. The long-term effect of such behaviors, apart from obesity and escalating chronic diseases, is that our nervous systems are being hyper-stimulated. Anxiety, exhaustion, depression, overeating and insomnia are just a few of the symptoms we experience when our nervous systems are working on overload.
As a result, it is no wonder that within the last year, low-carbohydrate diets have proven effective for so many people. Approximately 20% of Americans or 20 million people are currently on a low-carb diet. For many of us, our stress level is a major factor in the over consumption of carbohydrates, therefore reducing or eating normal amounts of carbohydrates is spawning weight loss. The real issue, however, is how long can we reduce are carbohydrate loading without reducing our stress levels and the behaviors that create elevated stress in the first place?
Stress & Burnout: The Adrenal Factor
Beyond the Stress of Success - Access Your Thriving Zone
Genuine enthusiasm...real feeling of accomplishment...sense of satisfaction and fun. Welcome to your thriving zone!
20 Ways to Shift Worry Into Attractive Energy
Worry, big or small blocks positive vibrations from entering your realm. The longer the behavior, the deeper the roots, the harder to override. Staying in its merry-go-round places the person in a form of trance. And like all trances, the person in the trance isn't aware that they are there. If told they are in a trance, they would simply deny it.
Stress Reduction Tips for Parents
The best way to reduce your stress is to really know what it IS, that is making you stressed! So sit down for a minute and think about last year. You can look at a calendar to remind yourself of events, or appointments. This may jog your memory, such as realizing that taking your kids to the doctor can stress you out. Stress can also grow from your surroundings. Are you disorganized? Are your drawers and closets filled with clutter? Do you waste a lot of time searching for items?
7 Tips to Relieve Stress At Work
Do you feel stress at work? Do you carry your stress home with you at night?
5 Steps to Stress Relief
Take a moment to think about the week that just passed. Are your first thoughts of long hours at work, driving your kids to every kind of practice imaginable, hurrying to make dinner, clean the house, do laundry, vacuum and wash dishes? Is it any wonder that in today's busy world, more and more women suffer from stress-induced anxiety than ever before?
How to Recognize Stress Before it Turns Into Anger
After a stressful day as a computer programmer, Jim pulled into his driveway. The children?s toys were scattered on the walkway to the house.
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Reduce Stress and Help Shoo the FluEON: Enhanced Online News (press release)“and that connection certainly applies to the impact of stress on our immune system.” “When we talk about seasonal flu, the focus most often is on vaccinations and good hygiene – both of which are important – but there's a tendency to overlook the ...and more » |
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Reduce Stress and Help Shoo the FluMarketWatch (press release)The American Psychological Association (APA) assessed some 300 studies and concluded that long-term stress significantly suppresses the immune system. Other findings included: -- The longer the stress, the more negative change in the immune system.and more » |
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Learn how to beat stressHouma CourierBy Helena Oliviero ATLANTA — Exercise and eating a healthy diet are always good ways to fight stress. Dr. J. Kip Matthews, an Athens, Ga., psychologist, offers five more ways to ease stress. — Nurture your spiritual health: Whether it's through ...and more » |
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Preventing Military Misconduct Stress BehaviorsHuffington Post (blog)According to a January 2012, CareerCast.com article, "The 10 Most Stressful Jobs in 2012," the No. 1 stressful vocation in the US is an "enlisted soldier." • An Iraq War veteran is arrested for the brutal murder of five homeless men after his friend's ...and more » |
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Islamists Defend Arab Democracy, Stress InclusionABC NewsThe prime ministers of Tunisia and Morocco, brought to office by elections prompted by region-wide protests last year, stressed their commitment to freedom of expression as they took the spotlight at the World Economic Forum. A revolt against Tunisia's ...and more » |
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