THE WORLD is so full of stress. Recently, I felt stressed reading about the corruption issues in the nation as well as the frequent earthquakes. Oh my! Nakaka-trigger! There were times that my heart raced, and just felt sad every time I would read something new about these issues.
What is stress? Stress is a physical and emotional reaction that people experience as they encounter challenges in life. Stress can be caused by many factors, work stress, such as non-friendly work environments with boss and colleagues, natural disasters such as earthquakes or typhoon, unable to handle finances well or loss of a loved one. For the younger individuals, school workload, lack of meaningful relationships or break-up with a partner may also trigger stress. As I read through sources, studies show that even happy changes in life such as a wedding and work promotion may also result to stress.
Stress may be physically felt by the body via heart racing fast, others report that they can feel their heart thumping or palpitating, it may also produce cold sweats, difficulty in sleeping or interrupted sleep and just the feeling of uneasiness may be signs of stress. Chronic stress is found to be connected to anxiety, depression, heart disease or hypertension (high blood pressure), alcoholism and obesity or sudden weight and appetite changes.
How do we positively cope with stress? I have summarized all of my readings from various resources, and these are the most common effective ways.
1. Limiting screen time or your triggers. In my case, reading negative daily news was my stressor, so I limit my screen time specially about corruption issues and earthquake.
2. Social support or talking to someone who can help you. In my case, my all -around husband Lex Tupas is the person, whom I trust the most. He helps me navigate life and sometimes directs me to choose what to read.
3. Meditate. In the morning, as soon as I wake up for a good 5 minutes and, I breathe in and out and say a little prayer before I check my phone for any updates.
4. Sleep is crucial for managing stress. Create a sleeping conducive environment such as turning of blue light gadgets will help you relax more, think of spa mood!
5. Daily exercise has proven to increase endorphins. As what the movie Legally Blonde says, “Endorphins make people happy”.
6. Having a balanced and healthy diet will make you healthy and avoid other effects of chronic stress such as hypertension and obesity to occur. Diets full of mineral and vitamins also boost our immune system.
7. Talk to a therapist. Having to talk to a therapist will help you decipher what you are going through. They are trained to help you adapt to changes and will give you appropriate techniques.
The Iloilo City Government led by Mayor Raisa Treñas has a mental health awareness campaign called RAISE MENTAL HEALTH ILOILO and they offer face-to-face consults, a Facebook messenger chat with the same handle, and a hotline number 09685663131. Meanwhile, the West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC) and Western Visayas Medical Center have Psychiatry departments which you may also approach. Iloilo City also has private psychiatrists, which hold clinics in the various hospitals in the city, which you may reach for help or appropriate treatment.
