Family Clinic Hulett - Stress Awareness Month

Your health is your primary care provider’s number one priority. Family Clinic Hulett believes in preventive medicine to keep you healthy. One major way we can reduce health risks is to lower our stress, and there is no better time to remind our patients (and our team) of this than Stress Awareness Month.

Stress Awareness Month has been recognized every April since 1992, and every year we as individuals, as a community, as a nation, and as a world have different stressors. Learning to cope with our stress and finding healthy ways to deal with these situations can go a long way in living a healthy and positive life.

What does stress mean to you?

We all experience stress – yet we may experience it in very different ways. Because of this, there is no single definition for stress, but the most common explanation is a physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension.

Stress is a reaction to a situation where a person feels anxious or threatened. Learning healthy ways to cope and getting the proper care and support can help reduce stressful feelings and symptoms.

Common reactions to a stressful event can include:

• Disbelief, shock, and numbness

• Feeling sad, frustrated and helpless

• Difficulty concentrating and making decisions

• Headaches, back pain, and stomach problems

• Smoking or the use of alcohol or drugs

Long-term stress can prove to be more than just a mental strain. Headaches, stomach disorders, depression, and even serious issues like stroke and heart disease can result from stress.

When you are placed in a stressful situation, specific stress hormones rush into your bloodstream leading to an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and glucose levels. This is helpful in emergency situations, but having this “rush” for extended periods of time can be dangerous and make you susceptible to the issues mentioned previously.

Sometimes the stress in our lives is not something we have the power to change. Try to:

• Recognize when you don’t have control, and let it go.

• Avoid getting anxious about situations that you cannot change.

• Take control of your reactions and focus your mind on something that makes you feel calm and in control.

• Develop a vision for healthy living, wellness, and personal growth, and set realistic goals to help you realize your vision.

Here are some basic ideas to help you cope with stress:

• Take care of yourself – eat healthy, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, give yourself a break if you feel stressed.

• Share your problems and how you are feeling and coping with a family member, friend, doctor, pastor, or counselor.

• Avoid drugs and alcohol. These can create additional problems and increase the stress you are already feeling.

• Recognize when you need more help – know when to talk to a psychologist, social worker, or counselor if things continue.

For more resources regarding reducing your stress, visit Managing Stress | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Rios at Family Clinic Hulett, call 307-688-2235.

Source: April is Stress Awareness Month - The American Institute of Stress