{"id":52609,"date":"2015-12-17T10:07:01","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T15:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=52609"},"modified":"2017-04-27T09:14:28","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T14:14:28","slug":"stressed-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/stressed-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Stressed Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all been through it before here in Eretz Yisrael<\/em>. These days, it\u2019s daily. Stabbings, shootings, and run-over attacks are taking its toll on all of us; on our mental and physical health.<\/p>\n

A few days ago, I was walking down a main street in Givat Shaul and I was observing the people waiting at bus stops. Everyone was clearly nervous and anxious. Most everyone was looking back and forth, and front and back, all the time. Buses have less riders and there are more cars on the road; it is difficult to get a taxi. Obviously, we all must take every precaution necessary to protect ourselves, but stress will take a tremendous toll on us even when just hearing of a terrible attack and tragedy\u2014not just when we are in a vulnerable state. And if stress isn\u2019t dealt with, it can have terrible results.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/a><\/p>\n

The word \u201cstress\u201d<\/em> is used in many contexts. Emotionally speaking, we can be \u201cunder stress\u201d<\/em> and we can be \u201cstressed out.\u201d<\/em> Physically speaking, we can stress structures or devices to determine how they will hold up, and we can stress parts of our body to achieve strength or flexibility. In the world of mental health, stress is defined as a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way.<\/p>\n

Our bodies carry something called a \u201cstress response\u201d<\/em>\u2014meaning, we have an involuntarily defensive reaction to a stressful event. This response helps us to remain extra alert and focused, and it can produce a sudden burst of energy. One of the most common examples of a stress response would be slamming on the brakes of the car when someone suddenly cuts in front of you in order to avoid an accident. The stress response also can sharpen your concentration and keep you on your toes, enabling you to perform more productively in a particular task.<\/p>\n

Certain kinds of stress can indeed be healthy. But when the reaction goes beyond the types of responses discussed above, not only can it be debilitating, it can be dangerous. If your stress response is turned on too much of the time, and certainly all<\/em> the time, it will almost always lead to serious issues\u2014both psychological and physiological.<\/p>\n

Recent research as well as emerging science conclusively links stress to pain of all types: heart disease, digestive disorders, sleep disorders, depression, obesity, autoimmune diseases and skin conditions such as eczema.<\/p>\n

While the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol can have a positive effect on us in small amounts\u2014enhancing our memory, immune systems and helping to produce a greater threshold for pain\u2014the downside is that having too much<\/em> cortisol in our system impairs our cognitive functions, causes blood sugar imbalances, muscle loss and fat gain, higher blood pressure and it weakens our immune system.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, stress can be dealt with from the point of view of practical steps. For instance, someone who is stressed because of an overcrowded schedule can make changes in their schedule. But for times like now, when there is no hands-on practical solution, we must look elsewhere. Yes, we must have emunah<\/em> and bitachon<\/em> in Hashem,<\/em> and we know that davening<\/em>, reciting Tehillim<\/em> and limud Torah<\/em> are what we should be concentrating on.<\/p>\n

Don R. Powell, Ph.D. of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, offers some practical measures that might help us in addition:<\/p>\n