What is Stress by Entrepreneur Coach Peggy Porter

What Really is STRESS?

As women and Mom Entrepreneurs, stress is probably a word that we either say or hear daily. If we don't say or hear it then I guarantee most people feel it. It has become a fact of life.

The secret to handling stress, however, is in the management of it.

How a person manages stress and copes with change affects both the quality and length of life a person can expect to live. Hans Selye-the father of stress research and education, discovered in the laboratory that mood affects health. When you are happy, your body emits chemicals and hormones that combat disease and prolong life. When you are sad or depressed, your body releases chemicals and hormones that can trigger disease and prematurely end life.

For the typical person, half the source of stress is job related and half is connected to home and family.

If the workplace is stressful, it helps to have a safe haven at home; if there is stress at home, it is ideal to have smooth sailing at work. The person however who is fighting a double war-stress on the job AND at home-is a candidate for "breakdown", otherwise known as "burnout."

Here's one definition of stress:

The physical and emotional wear and tear resulting from real or imagined problems. When a threat to wellbeing is perceived, a small area of the brain known as the hypothalamus is activated. This stimulates a number of other physiological changes; increased release of hormones and chemicals into the bloodstream, increased heart rate, energy, respiration and blood flow to active muscles. The body goes into a state of "alert" - ready to take action, ready to combat the threat or run away. This is known as the Fight or Flight response. If you do fight or flee, chemicals and hormones are used up quickly by the body.

In the early ages of civilization when men and women were threatened by large predators, forest fires and an adverse climate the fight or flight response served them well. It was an excellent aid for survival; stressor -- physiological reaction -- fight or flee -- body returns to normal because they dealt with the stressor and then the stressor was gone until another one came along.

In the modern day, however, most of our threats are psychological instead of physical...often fighting is not appropriate and fleeing is not possible. Bodies still react just as our ancestors did so hormones and chemicals are released in response to the threat. Because the threats are more psychological than physical, we sit tight (unable to fight or flee as our ancestors did when dealing with a physical threat) and react to one stressor after another-usually leaving our body with no time to return to normal before the next stressor hits us. The level of chemicals and hormones increase and our internal organs experience wear and tear. Damage may result in conditions such as heart attack, stroke, ulcerative colitis, or other harmful diseases.

So as you can see, stress in today's society is much more serious and damaging than in the earlier ages.

Another challenge is that we accept stress as just a normal part of our lives without realizing the toll it is taking on not only on the length of our lives but the quality as well.

In order to be a successful business owner and balanced Mom, effectively recognizing and managing stress is key. Is stress affecting your life or business? If so, stay tuned for my next article where I will talk about the signs of stress and the one thing you MUST do to manage it more effectively. Visit www.peggyporter.com for more.