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Friday July 30,2010

Managing Stress and Recovering from Trauma

by National Center For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

A National Center for PTSD Fact Sheet

by Julian Ford, Ph.D., Executive Division, White River Junction

Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress

Have you ever felt so tense, discouraged, or angry that you were afraid you just couldn't cope?

Had an extremely stressful experience that you try not to think about, but it still continues to bother you or is repeated in nightmares?

Felt constantly on guard or watchful, or been on edge or jumpy more than you really need to be?

Had a family member who seemed troubled in these ways?

If so, this information is for you.

Everyone Experiences Stress

Stress is a normal response of the body and mind. Everyone feels stress when gearing up to deal with major life events (such as marriage, divorce, births, deaths, or starting or ending a job) or handling everyday hassles like arguments, financial headaches, deadlines, or traffic jams.

Physical signs of a stress response include:

• Rapid heartbeat
• Headaches
• Stomach aches
• Muscle tension

Emotional signs of stress can be both positive and upsetting:

• Excitement

• Exhilaration

• Joy

• Frustration

• Nervousness

• Discouragement

• Anxiety

• Anger

Stress Can Become a Problem

Repeated stress drains and wears down your body and mind. Stress is like starting a car engine or pushing the accelerator pedal to speed up. If you keep revving up the car, you'll burn out the starter and wear out both the brakes and the engine.

Burnout occurs when repeated stress is not balanced by healthy time outs for genuine relaxation. Stress need not be a problem if you manage it by smoothly and calmly entering or leaving life's fast lane.

Managing Stress

Stress Management involves responding to major life events and everyday hassles by relaxing as well as tensing up. Relaxation actually is a part of the normal stress response. When faced with life's challenges, people not only tense up to react rapidly and forcefully, but they also become calm in order to think clearly and act with control.

Techniques for managing stress include:

• Body and mental relaxation

• Positive thinking

• Problem solving

• Anger control

• Time management

• Exercise

• Responsible assertiveness

• Interpersonal communication

Physical benefits of managing stress include:

• Better sleep, energy, strength, and mobility

• Reduced tension, pain, blood pressure, heart problems, and infectious illnesses

Emotional benefits of managing stress include:

• Increased quality of life and well-being

• Reduced anxiety, depression, and irritability

Can stress become unmanageable?

Trauma can cause severe stress, which may become unmanageable despite the best efforts of good stress management. Let's look at why this happens and what you can do about it.

Traumatic events cause severe stress reactions that are particularly hard to manage. Trauma involves a unique kind of physical/emotional shock that escalates the "fight-flight" stress response (feeling angry or scared) into "super-stress" (feeling terrified, stunned, horrified, like your life is passing before your eyes, or so overwhelmed you blank out).

Trauma occurs when a person directly experiences or witnesses:

• Unexpected death

• Severe physical injury or suffering

• Close calls with death or injury

• Sexual violation

If you have ever experienced or witnessed war, disaster, a terrible accident, sexual or physical abuse or assault, kidnapping or hostage-taking, or life-threatening illnesses, you know the shock of trauma.