Stress on the "normal" person

As I sat in class today, every possible thing seeming hillarious, I began to realize that my mind and body were finally responding to the stress of the semester. There had to be a release, and it just happened to come during Miss Marcus's class (sorry Miss Marcus). I think the class as a whole is feeling this stress and I started thinking ... what are the implications, mental and physical, of stress and what can we do to manage this stress?

I, myself, tend to bring stress on myself, but it has been many years since I have felt this amount of stress. Everyone has it. Not just students, but instructors and those in the work force. The different types of stress and different amounts of stress take their tolls differently for each individual.

For instance, Brenda has an enormous amount of stress on her with her son being deployed and her home life being turned upside down with her DIL and grands moving in. There are others with family, money, health and many other issues that we aren't even aware of.

What good does stress do for us? According to the University of Maryland, stress can heighten our awareness for our surroundings, raise our level of performance during critical events and can assist us in adapting to a dangerous situation.

However, when stress becomes chronic and persistent, it can have negative effects both mentally and physically.

Mentally, according to the University of Maryland, an increase in stress that is not adapted to or is too long-standing can cause depression.  How does this happen?  According to studies, the pituitary gland can become hyperactive and disrupt the amount of seratonin released into the system.  Seratonin is the chemical in the brain that is responsible for causing a sense of well-being.

Physically, chronic stress can contribute a laundry list of problems ranging from heart problems to GI problems, to diabetes.

Stress is normal and necessary, but it is important that we handle stress appropriately for our physical and mental health. What does this "look like?" I found a couple of great websites that give some tips on handling stress and keeping your mental health intact when all @$!! breaks loose.

1. Honolulu Community College has come up with 101 ways to help relieve stress.  Try some of these.

2. Exercise, exercise, exercise.  This is so important.  I know it seems like "why spend 30 minutes walking when I could be doing something constructive?" but a 15-30 minute walk can increase your productivity in other things dramatically.

3.  Take charge!  Take charge of your time, your schedule, your environment and the way you deal with problems.  There is a great website that tells you exactly how to do just that.  Look here.

All-in-all, though not everyone has a mental illness, we could all use some help with our mental health from time to time.  Stress can not always be avoided, but can be dealt with in a positive, constructive way.  And ,yes, sometimes laughter is the best medicine.