An invisible factor that can affect the life of a human being and in extreme cases can lead to death is stress.
Stress is a word that we commonly use in our daily lives, very often we see it written in local newspapers, we hear it on the radio or in some television programs and other media. However, it is a term that we personally do not give due importance, this is because of the speed we carry in our current life.
All of us are exposed to stress both physically, mentally and emotionally.
Who of us has not suffered on any occasion from a situation or event that causes us some discomfort and that ultimately leads to stress.
But in itself, what is stress? In 1998 the author Tim Hindle in his work "Low stress" describes it as follows: "stress is a set of disorders that appear in the body when performance is much higher than normal. It usually affects both physical and mental health, and its results are very damaging. ”
Some factors that cause stress in our daily lives can be the temporary or permanent separation of a loved one, when we face an accident at home, car or work, even driving a vehicle when traffic is very congested produces a great stress, or when we suffer a dismissal or liquidation in our work, a divorce, theft or the partial or total loss of our material assets, when we are students and we are going to take an exam, when we fail it, another situation that causes a generalized stress situation is bad relationships both with our coworkers and with one of our family members, etc…
As people who are exposed to stressful situations on a daily basis, we are also exposed to suffering from certain diseases derived from exposure to the factors that cause stress. From maintaining a bad posture when sitting in the office or in the car when driving, which causes fatigue to our spine, which produces physical stress that accumulates over time and can degenerate into skeletal deformation. and nervous that subjects us to suffer from strong pains which produce low productivity in both personal and work life.
Performing incorrect lifts is a great cause of injury to our spine and since this is done frequently throughout our lives, the disorder degenerates our bones, which in the long run causes a physical impediment that does not allow us to move quickly.
The effect on the body is subject to physical or psychological stress, increases the production of certain hormones, such as adrenaline and hydrocortisone. These hormones cause significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, and physical activity. Although this reaction stimulates more effective functioning for short periods, in the long term it can be extremely damaging.
The environmental factors of the organization also have its effect on people, sometimes causing stressful situations. For example, in the teaching work carried out in a higher level school in the City of Chihuahua, we find classrooms that during the summer are found with temperatures above 40º C and during the winter there have been occasions when the temperatures are as low as -3º C. Which is completely inadequate since ergonomics tells us that the adequate temperature at which a human being must work is 20º C. (at any time of the year). Ventilation is another aspect to take care of so that the company has a good working environment.On the other hand, the high noise levels to which some workers in companies are exposed, especially in the metalworking and maquiladora area, cause partial hearing loss in addition to the fact that the noise causes nervousness, headache and sometimes generates the total loss of hearing and causing neurosis in people. Noise is also a source of occupational risk that can cause accidents. The optimal levels of noise to which a person can be subjected is 80 decidables, according to some authors, others establish the level of 90 decibels. Regarding the visual system, we can say that the work environment should not have visual overload since it causes mental fatigue that accumulates in the long run, triggering stress for the person who suffers it.
Recently an old saying was verified that stress "ages" a person quickly, a study was done of women who had spent a lot of time caring for children with different abilities or very ill. Because their bodies were unable to fully regenerate blood cells, these women were found to be physically ten years older than their chronological age.
Being exposed to stress for long periods of time can alter the body's immune system in ways that are associated with other "aging" conditions, such as frailty, decreased functionality, coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory arthritis, type two diabetes and some types of cancer.
But how to act in case of being under stress conditions ?. Learning to work with stress effectively is a worthwhile effort. Many of the stressors that are more common in the long term such as: illness in the family, recovery from wounds, pressures at work, among others, arise without prior notice5. It would be advisable first of all to identify the cause of stress, it is also convenient to monitor moods.
Allow yourself to take even ten minutes a day of "personal time" to help refresh your mental vision and stop the body's response systems. It is recommended to turn off the phone, spend time alone, exercise. Before reacting to a stimulus that makes us angry, take mental time to meditate and count to ten before you get angry.
Then watch the situation again. Walking or other exercise will help you relax. Make a list prioritizing activities and delegate responsibility, eliminate unnecessary activities. But above all don't expect perfection.
1 Hindle, Tim. "Stress under minimums" What is stress? Essential Executive Library. Grijalbo. Barcelona 1998.
2 Oborne, David J. Ergonomics in action. Editorial Trillas. Mexico, 1998.
3 www.apa.org Emotional health and well-being, stress at work.
4 Idem 2
5 Idem 3
