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Stress is often thought of as being a
disease of modern society but in reality it is much older and has its roots
in primitive man.
What we call stress today is the body's and
mind's responses to perceived fear, anxiety or concern. In primitive times,
man would face many dangers and have to decide whether to confront those
dangers or run away.
Nowadays, the body still gives this 'fight
or flight' response but the dangers we face are rarely of such magnitude as
faced by primitive hunters. Stress today appears associated with the release
of the adrenaline hormone, which prepares our body and mind to fight or run
at speed.
The first step to successful stress
management is to learn to recognise your responses to the production of this
hormone and to recognise situations or events that lead to its production.
If the situation is not life threatening then the hormone is not really
required or is being over-produced. This leads to us feeling stressed.
Competition is another factor in the
production of hormone and the resultant stress. If we are in a race then the
hormone is useful to enable us to run faster or respond quicker. Where there
is no real competition, then this becomes stress.
The real cause of stress in modern society
is our own personal response to events or situations that appear to make us
feel anxious, fearful, nervous or uncertain. Recognising such situations and
controlling our response is at the heart of stress management.
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