Stress Management

TLC Programs: FirstLine Therapy®: Chronic Illness: Stress Management

Stress Management

Helping Patients Cope with a Stressful World

In our fast-paced society, stress is a part of life. Unfortunately, many patients don’t understand how profoundly stress can affect their health—which is why it’s vitally important for you to help them find healthier ways to manage it.

An Alarming Trend

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stress may manifest as anxiety, stress, and neurotic disorders.¹ These disorders can be associated with acute and chronic post-traumatic anxiety, reaction to stress, panic disorders, and other neurotic disorders not elsewhere classified.

Stress and its associated health issues are a widespread concern. According to a 2006 telephone survey of 2152 adults conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) Practice Directorate in partnership with the National Women’s Health Resource Center and iVillage.com, more than 50% of working adults and 47% of all Americans say they are concerned with stress in their lives.²

The survey found that these stressed individuals are more likely to report:

Hypertension
Anxiety
Depression
Obesity

Many people react to both work- and family-related stress by engaging in unhealthy behaviors, such as comfort eating, making poor diet choices, smoking, and being inactive.²

A Toll on the Immune System

Stress is the body’s natural response to external events. In stressful situations, the body produces a “fight or flight” response to give people the extra energy needed to deal with that situation. The hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands release “stress” hormones—cortisol and adrenaline—which in turn 1) suppress bodily functions not urgently needed at that moment, such as digestion, and 2) enhance those functions that help people cope with the situation, such as increased heart rate. Once the stressful situation has passed, hormone production and body functions return to normal.

While a certain amount of stress is healthy, chronic, prolonged stress can weaken the immune system and hamper the body’s ability to fight disease.

The number of lost work days for workers with stress-related types of disorders was, on average, more than 4 times greater (average=25 days) than the number of workdays lost for all nonfatal injuries or illnesses together (average=6 days).³

Telling Signs of Stress Overload

Too much stress affects not only the body, but every area of your patients’ lives and the lives of those around them. Anxiety, digestive problems, sleeplessness, depression, and problems with relationships are just a few of the signs that a patient may be overstressed—and a signal for you to recommend practical steps to help them.

Nine Proven Stress Management Techniques

Obviously, stress can’t be eliminated entirely. But you can help your patients reduce stress by teaching them how to manage it. Effective stress management means taking care of both a patient’s physical and mental health. This may include:

Sleep. Sleep is essential in restoring health and vitality to a patient’s mind and body.
Diet. A nutritious, balanced diet will help prepare the body for daily stress. Supplementing a healthy diet with targeted nutrients—at doses that are difficult to obtain from food—can help restore depleted energy and stamina lost during prolonged stress.
Exercise. Incorporating 30 minutes of moderate physical exercise a day into a patient’s schedule may significantly reduce stress-related tension.
Guided imagery. Guided imagery has been shown to relieve stress, reduce anxiety, and support health lifestyle changes, and is used widely in medicine, nursing, and psychology.
Relaxation. Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, massage, and deep breathing exercises can reduce physical and emotional tension.
Effective communication. Learning and practicing effective communication is essential for healthy relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances.
Time management. Learning to manage time can help reduce the stress that comes when “there aren’t enough hours in a day.”
Leisure activities. Pursuing a satisfying hobby or indulging in a leisure activity can bring fulfillment and gratification—emotions associated with decreased stress levels.
A positive attitude. Choosing to have a positive attitude is essential in dealing with stress.

FirstLine Therapy®—Better health now and for a lifetime

FirstLine Therapy (FLT) is a TLC program developed to help people address the underlying causes of disease and lead a healthier, more vibrant life. The basic principles of FLT—healthy eating, regular exercise, nutritional supplementation, and stress management—are the foundation upon which you can build a program tailored to your patients’ specific needs. And you can build your practice at the same time.

Learn more about FirstLine Therapy and the FirstLine Therapy Certification Program click here.

REFERENCES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Worker Health Chartbook 2004. http://www2a.cdc.gov/niosh-Chartbook/keywordDetail.asp?kwid=25. Accessed December 19, 2007.
American Psychological Association Online. Stressed out nation: Many Americans resort to unhealthy habits to help manage extreme stress, a new survey suggests. http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr06/nation.html. Accessed December 19, 2007.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: NIOSH Program Portfolio. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/workorg/risks.html. Accessed December 19, 2007.