It starts with a headache, you can feel your shoulders stiffen and get tense, but you shake it off and carry on. Later that day you once again feel your body is tired, you become irritable and snap at a colleague for no reason. Welcome to stress!

After much apologising you break down into a fit of tears whilst struggling to grasp what is happening, why are you losing control?

It’s simple really … you are showing the classic signs of stress, tension and fatigue. These effects of stress are not uncommon in the workplace as a result of the hectic and demanding lives we lead.

Stress and the body

Sadly we tend to keep pushing aside these feelings and physical manifestations of overload which can result in rather drastic and even life-threatening diseases such as anxiety, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. If you can align yourself with the situation as described above you are a definite candidate for a visit to the Doctor for a health check.

Stress – A recent survey showed some rather shocking statistics:

When asked on a level of 1 – 10 (10 being the worst) what the average persons stress level was, the answer came back as an average between 6 – 8.

The top four causes are as follows –

1. Work / Career related anxiety

2. Financial worries

3. Family responsibilities

4. Children and managing day to day life

(View the complete survey here)

Here are a few ways to manage and come out tops!

– Healthy eating

– Exercise

– Limit caffeine and alcohol, they affect the release of melatonin (melatonin counters some of the negative effects of cortisol), causing a relative reduction in melatonin secretion during the night when a spike is usually seen.

– Therapies such as acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Ayurvedic medicine, massage therapy, relaxation, yoga and even music therapy have shown success in stress management.

In closing

Several published studies suggest that owning a pet is associated with improved physical and psychological health.

Because a few kitty cuddles go a long way after all.