Living in traffic at breakneck pace and with a daily full of surprises is exhausting. Just do not mean that we are bound to go crazy: neuroscience shows that it is possible to deal with stress in a positive way.
"Stress is contagious," says without half-words, the psychologist Armando Ribeiro, with the experience of those who coordinates the program that evaluates and studies the subject at the hospital São Paulo Charity Portuguese. Not that the problem is caused by viruses, bacteria or other infectious agent. The spread with epidemic characteristics, takes place in another way: "We tend to become more tense living with stressed people Children of parents connected on 220 become agitated all the time, and everyone in the house communicate aggressively, flooded by. stress hormones. Neither pets escape. "As the family micro-universe reflects the macro, we can say that society contributes to spread the permanent state of compression. At work, fierce competition and the pressure for results make the Brazilian angriest professional among those living in the 13 countries surveyed by the American recruitment firm Robert Half. HR directors interviewed here, 42% heard exhaustive days of complaints and lack of recognition. The global average of complaints in this area is 11%. Even if one is safe from the relentless professional collection is heavy traffic ahead. In almost all cities, not just the cities but also the small ones, the fleet of cars has skyrocketed - only in Manaus rose 142% between 2001 and 2011. And there is the possibility of bumping into protests, vandalism, buses torched, crashes on the subway and strikes, which add to the already known urban thriller around shootings, stray bullets, murder, rape, kidnapping and trawlers. Added to all this the speed of relationships, a time when life is mediated communication in social networks, so volatile and ephemeral. The result is the feeling of walking on a knife edge, under a ubiquitous stress. The cost can be high.
The continuous production of hormones associated with it overloads the body. "Stress does not cause disease, but triggers or exacerbates pre-existing," said Armando Ribeiro. The list includes diseases and hypertension, headache, ulcer, reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, acne, psoriasis, and vitiligo. In large quantities, adrenaline and noradrenaline - that prepare the body for hard physical work - narrow the blood vessel diameter, leave the wheezing and increase sweating and heart rate. This leads to a state of anxiety and panic attacks. Immunological part is affected, since the excess cortisol - called the stress hormone - reduces the production of antibodies and can inhibit system that controls the changed cells, creating conditions for the emergence of cancer. Still promotes obesity and diabetes, since they interfere with the glucose metabolism and fat storage.
"In this compressed state, the brain anatomy changes," says psychiatrist, nutrition specialist and organizational consultant Frederick Harbour, Belo Horizonte. "The hippocampus linked to emotions under abundance decreases cortisol, as well as telomers, a kind of cover that protects the ends of chromosomes." The telomere length indicates the cell age and works as a marker of longevity and health. In a study at the University of California in the United States, the cells of women exhausted by taking care of sick children seemed ten years aged than expected for age. In fact, the symptoms of chronic stress are manifested twice more in females. This is proved in research: subject to the same pressure than men, women are up to 70% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, say scientists from Harvard Medical School in the United States. The explanation, according to Armando Ribeiro, is the hormonal fluctuations, which may predispose to greater physical and emotional stress, as well as the multiplicity of social roles they assume.
The output of the maze
Before this information increase anxiety, an inspiration: Neuroscience studies show outputs. "Our perception of events makes all the difference," says psychologist Kelly MacGonigal of Stanford University in the United States, playing new discoveries. "What we think and how we act can turn a stressful experience." In a lecture in Scotland, Kelly spoke of how to make stress a friend citing data from American research. The first of the University of Wisconsin investigated 30,000 adults undergoing acute stress. Those who feared the impact of this on the harmful health suffered, in fact, an increase of 43% in the risk of premature death. Have those who had not such a negative perception of the situation were less likely. To complete, Harvard psychologists located a good change in cheerful people: when exposed to stressors, your arteries remained more relaxed than those of depressed. Kelly also noted a finding at the University of Buffalo in a study with 846 volunteers about spending time helping friends and neighbors. After five years, there has been how many were killed. Who faced financial difficulties or family crises without getting involved with others had the increased risk of death by 30%. Altruism helped extend the life and quality among others.
The explanation lies in oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates the connection to the other. It is synthesized in breastfeeding, reinforcing the mother's bond with the baby, and when a person is in adverse situation and find support. "Women have an advantage because they have higher levels of oxytocin, which also reduces feelings of depression and anxiety," said the doctor, psychiatrist and acupuncturist Cyro Masci, São Paulo, author of the e-book BioStress: New Ways to Balance and Health (Amazon). "So women tend to peaceful solutions, while they value the strength." To complete, oxytocin protects the cardiovascular system against the bad effects of stress.
What makes the mind boil
Was to ensure its survival that humans developed the reaction of struggle and flight, and stress has everything to do with it. "In prehistoric times, the response of the body provided the human energy to face the beasts. Past the danger, to find a safe place, the man calmed down and the production of hormones returned to normal," said Porto. Since the beginning, so it is understood that stress by itself, does not hurt. "But the nature of stressors expanded," says the expert. Many of these factors are not more palpable, but of psychological harm. "So, this early response lost efficiency." Port remember that a dissatisfied professional can not attack your boss or out of the office, as you would if topasse with an ounce. You have to design before reacting. To illustrate his thesis, Puerto quotes already exhausted book Why Zebras Do not Have Ulcers ?, biologist Robert Sapolsky and neurologist (Francis), Stanford University. "Zebras live in the grasslands next to lions, but only get stressed at the right time, when they see the predator. So, use all his strength to escape. And ready, there ended the episode" he says. "We, on the contrary, we were ruminating, chewing mentally:` Will today a lion gets me I'll get rid of it What kills us is rumination:.. Be anticipating a problem and reliving the past need to be nopresente That that brings relief. "
Wake-up call
We are not always tuned to realize that tiredness, irritability, libido loss, insomnia and muscle pain may be the first evidence that the situation is getting out of hand. Another clue is the normal result of laboratory and imaging tests, followed by the baffling statement by doctor that found nothing to justify the health complaints. Hence, the old anti-stress recipes - like going out to drink, take a vacation or move to a bucolic place - might not resolve and even worsen the table by not fight the cause. "Stress is not trivial that disappears spontaneously," warns Armando Ribeiro. Cognitive behavior therapy can change beliefs and distortions of reality that amplify external stimuli. Meditation, yoga and biofeedback (device showing the physiological changes produced) are also useful. Massage, acupuncture, aromatherapy and music therapy bring comfort. According to the psychologist, the action of a professional who specializes in stress is often key to helping find the way back.
Source: Claudia Magazine
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