Stress Headaches
June 22, 2010 by stress-relief
Filed under Headache Relief, Pain Relief
Have you had recurring migraines and headaches for a series number of days? And you just don’t understand what’s causing these?
Have you ever had days when a sharp pain and heavy pressure can be felt from your upper back and lower neck, part then continually spreads to frontal head area? Do you find yourself taking pain killer after pain killer only to provide temporary relief?
Some days when the weather is just unbearable and you’ve had a long day’s work, coupled with some financial snitches, you find yourself sleeping restlessly and then waking up with a throbbing head. This kind of suffering and physical torment is due from stressors that occupy our thoughts.
Constant stress equals to stress headaches.
Stress is the foremost instigating factor for these recurring pains. A condition that is manifested and affects both physical and mental faculties of a person, stress is not something that can be shrugged off and taken lightly. Categorized into three types: Eustress, Chronic Stress and Workplace Stress, Stress is often understood as something negative.
Recent studies show that man performs at his best and at his fastest when under tension and pressure. With the right amount of stress, man could maintain focus and visualize end-goals more clearly than average and relaxed individuals.
Eustress or popularly known as positive stress, pushes man to his limits and keeps him on his toes, driving him to excellence.
Chronic stress is the person’s response or reaction to constant and recurring unpleasant stressors and events in his environment. Continued pressure and incessant stress can cause long-term negative effect on man’s physical and mental health.
Additionally, Work Stress or issues and conflicts in the work area, concerning employment and financial security also add on to these chronic stressors. Oftentimes, man does not feel the effect of this until recurring headaches are felt.
Tension headaches or stress headaches are usually caused by stress and are aggravated by several factors including, but not limited to, lack of sleep, over fatigue, excessive consumption of monosodium glutamate (MSG), continuous exposure to smoke and other pollutants, hunger, and hormonal changes.
Abrupt changes in the weather, coupled with everyday stressors in the workplace and at home, can cause stress headaches in an instant. Thus, to wean oneself from these episodes, it is also important to take into consideration the environmental factors.
These types of headaches can happen at any given time, without prior warning. Instigated by the body’s physical response to pressure and undue stress, tension headaches can be felt as a constant pressure, with the feeling like our heads are being pressed on both sides by an external force. The pain radiates from the upper back towards the lower neck and is often accompanied by temporal muscle pain.
Stress headaches may be mild to excruciating, depending on several factors and may persist for a couple of hours to a number of days. And as undue stress is being experienced, the tendency is for us to have recurring headaches.
These headaches respond to over-the-counter analgesics and sedatives like Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. A shift of environment would also do well for those who suffer from frequent bouts of headaches and episodes of migraines. Thus, a gradual change in altitude, environment, and climate is advised for those who constantly suffer stress headaches and/or migraines.
To improve one’s state of health, overcoming stress is the best game plan. Identifying these stressors, and assessing each one according to gravity and relevance, allows us to create concrete action plans in de-stressing our lives. Furthermore, the practice of meditation and relaxation is encouraged, as this promotes a calm disposition.
Stress headaches may be a recurring problem, but it does not entail impossibility of treatment. These tension headaches may respond to medicines and therapy, but a long-term approach in providing a solution to this ailment is strongly suggested by experts.
Eliminating stress is possible once we take a concrete plan of de-stressing and taking the first step towards recovery. Speak with a stress counsellor now to know your options and start living a stress free, and headache-free life!
Stress Counselling
June 20, 2010 by stress-relief
Filed under Stress, Stress-Anxiety
Stressful events like death of a loved one, separation, employment layoff and workplace changes can cause our stress levels to rocket. And when these stressful situations compound, stress management and stress counseling is often advised to help us cope with an impending disaster.
Stress is categorized into three kinds: Positive stress, which is defined as acute tension and pressure that can motivate a person perform at his best; Acute Distress, which is defined as unplanned and unprecedented stressful but short term reaction caused by specific situations; and chronic stress, which is described as being the constant kind, where in stressors occupy a rooted space in a person’s life.
Stress Risk Assessment
June 14, 2010 by stress-relief
Filed under Stress
I tried an online stress risk assessment online at http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/sq/stress/stress-assess.htm and I was relieved to see that I am stress resilient. A number of mitigating factors are included in the assessment, and is categorized into Rest and Exercise, Finances and Time Management, Leisure and Lifestyle, Communicating, Diet and Health and Fitness.
From this short quiz, we get to see the important aspects of our physical, mental and emotional health that we should take care of. It is important that we stretch those muscles and go for physical fitness, eat a balanced meal at least occasionally to have good nutrition, seek out friends for small talks and a lot of fun for a bit of that laughter and of course, we need to have faith in ourselves and in a higher being.
The purpose of these stress risk assessment tools is for us to be able to do counter checks on our lives and see how burnt out we are or how laid back we are and how we are faring in our everyday battles. We need to know because we have the responsibility and the desire to be at the best of our faculties in everything we do and every endeavor we partake.
This stress risk assessment tool is particularly important in workplace settings, wherein an Act (under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999) was drafted to ensure the safety and well-being of both employees and employers are taken into consideration. The regulations set herein ensure that employers adhere to the well-being of their employees by assessing the risk of illness and the onset of stress-related ailments.
The Management Standard places six key areas of design which would aid the simplification of the process. These key areas are: Demands, Control, Support, Relationships, Role, and Change.
The DEMANDS category would consider the amount of responsibility an employee shoulders and would include the following:
· Workload assignment per employee
· Tall work targets
· Number of Working Hours
· Number of Key Staff and task delegation procedure
· Deadlines
The CONTROL area takes into consideration the capacity of an individual to take part in the company’s decision making body and consists of the following factors:
· Workload Support from Management and Executives
· Individual’s role in Business Decisions
· Information or Awareness of Staff to any organizational changes
RELATIONSHIPS sheds light into the relevance of rapport and harmony among office staff, and would take into consideration:
· Workplace conflicts and issues
· Setting benchmarks for acceptable behavior and proper decorum
· Emotional demands
ROLE category may have similar considerations as Demands, as this would include:
· Job Description and Work responsibility outlining
· Job demands and expectations
· Promotion and Career Growth issues
· Benefits and Privileges of an employee as part of an organization
CHANGES in the work organization and may be included in the CONTROL category, but this area specifies the stress level effects that may occur should changes in employment assignment, organizational design and workplace be in an employee.
These key areas are the foremost stressors and with which the employees are at risk of being affected. By identifying the basic stressors and/or factors in a working environment, both the employer and employee will enjoy a positive working place atmosphere.
With the Stress Risk Assessment tool, we are able to establish these aspects and establish concrete action plans to avert or lessen work-related stress.
Furthermore, the Stress Risk Assessment Tool jumpstarts the awareness of the gravity of the effects of stress. When the employer sets employee assistance programs, enforce workplace policies and trainings in stress awareness and management, the individual becomes aware of the role of stress in one’s health and growth.
Therefore, we create a better picture of a work-life balance.
