Newspapers / North Carolina School of … / March 1, 1998, edition 1 / Page 6
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Just houl stressed are you? In the following table, look up representative changes in your life and see how much stress value each of these changes adds to it. NOTE ANY ITEM THAT YOU MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS. Total your score at the end. EVENT STRESS VALUES 1. DEATH OF PARENT, BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND 100 2. DIVORCE (of yourself or your parents) 65 3. PUBERTY 65 4. PREGNANCY (or causing pregnancy) 65 5. BREAKUP WITH BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND 60 6. JAIL TERM OR PROBATION 60 7. DEATH OFA FAMILY MEMBER 60 8. BROKEN ENGAGEMENT 55 9. ENGAGEMENT 50 10. SERIOUS PERSONAL INJURY OR ILLNESS 45 11. ENTERING COLLEGE 45 12. CHANGE IN INDEPENDENCE OR RESPONSIBILITY 45 13. ANY DRUG AND/OR ALCOHOLIC USE 45 14. CHANGE IN ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE 45 15. RECONCILIATION WITH MATE, FAMILY OR BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND (getting back together) 40 16. TROUBLE AT SCHOOL 40 17. SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEM OF A FAMILY MEMBER 40 18. CHANGE IN FREQUENCY OF DATING 35 19. SEXUAL ADJUSTMENT PROBLEMS (confusion of sexual identity) 35 GAIN OF NEW FAMILY MEMBER (new baby bom or parent remarries) 35 CHANGE IN HNANCIAL STATE 30 DEATH OF A CLOSE FRIEND 30 SLEEP LESS THAN 8 HOURS PER NIGHT 25 TROUBLE WITH BOYFRIEND’S OR GIRLFRIEND’S FAMILY 25 OUTSTANDING PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT (awards, grades, etc.) 25 PARENTS STOP OR START WORKING 20 BEGIN OR END SCHOOL 20 CHANGE IN PERSONAL HABITS (start or stop a habit like smoking or dieting) 20 CHRONIC ALLERGIES 20 CHANGE TO A NEW SCHOOL (other than graduation) 10 CHANGE IN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY 15 CHANGE IN FREQUENCY OF FAMILY GATHERINGS 10 VACATION 10 PRESENTLY IN WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON 10 MINOR VIOLATION OF THE LAW 5 TOTAL SCORE= 20 25 [We have asked you to look at the last twelve months of changes in your life because a major change in your life has effects that carry over for long periods of time.] If you have experienced total stress within the last twelve months of 250 or greater, even with normal stress tolerance, you may be OVER STRESSED. Persons with Low Stress Tolerance may be OVER STRESSED at levels as low as 150. OVERSTRESS will make you sick. Carrying too heavy a stress load is like running your car engine past the red line; or running a nuclear reactor past maximum permissible power. Sooner or later, something will break, bumup, or melt down. Source: www. teachhealth.com/#stressscale Beyond the mind: stress's power on the human body ALISON GOSS Few people that enter the clinic realize that their ailments may be due to stress. However, up to 75 percent of all visits to doctors’ offices are made by people with stress-related problems. Stress is inevitable because it is caused by a change in environment. Nonetheless, too much stress can cause many diseases. Stress affects the body most commonly through a weakened im mune system. When stress inhibits the immune system, individuals are nfbre prone to infection by cold or flu. “I prepare myself at the end of every quarter, and especially semes ters, for the influx of students who are affected by stress, and are as a result sick,” said Nurse Margaret Stewart. If stress is not reduced, more serious af flictions that can occur. Fifty to eighty percent of all diseases are a result of excess stress. It is the single most im portant factor in the onset of hy pertension, high blood pressure and heart disease. Besides affecting the heart, stress can also lead to asthma, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. “Not that many people think about what stress can do to your body. The effects of stress are pretty scary,” Junior Janet White said. Although the influence of stress on illnesses may be frightening, some people may not believe that stress is a threat to their physical health. Some people don’t even con sider stress as a factor when they are feeling ill. “The only time people think about stress is when they are blam ing it for something that they didn’t do. I know that I have heard at least ten people say ‘It’s not my fault...I was just stressed,”’ said Junior Chelsea Redeker. When people endure an excess amount of stress, their bodies un dergo sequential stages of response. This is called General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). The first stage is one of alarm reaction. The person’s muscles tighten and the common “knot in the stomach” is formed. Sweaty palms, dry mouths and a rac ing pulse are all symptoms of this stage as the body prepares for “fight or flight.” “My first day home for Christ mas was horrible because I was feel ing sick as a result of stress. I started shaking and my teeth were chatter ing so hard that I chipped a tooth!” said Junior Charles Stopford, relat ing an example of the first stage of response. During resistance, the second stage of GAS, all the body’s normal functions return to normal. The pulse calms and there is no physical evi dence that the person is stressed. This activity within the body requires much of the body’s energy. At this point stress be comes a mental problem instead of just a physi cal one. During the third stage, exhaustion, the body cannot keep up its nor mal functions, and consequently, signs of the first stage reappear. Both effects of physical and mental ex haustion are present. This is when an individual is in danger of a men tal breakdown. “Stress leads to anxiety, and panic attacks are a possibility,” Stewart said. GAS is a common problem for adults and teenagers alike. Every aspect of life can be af fected by stress, and in most cases nothing can be done to change the stressful conditions in which people live. However, one’s reaction to stress can be changed so that little problems are not seen as major ones and life doesn’t become a series of crises. SLI Kay Chung offered some relieving advise. “You bring on your own stress by not knowing how to deal with it. Just be good to your self,” Chung said. The Effect of Long Term Suctained Stri onPerfornMnce Intended Pefformance |aligue .exhaustion ■ heath txealcaown Actual Pi rformance Time at High Streee
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March 1, 1998, edition 1
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