We feel Stress when we react to events; the stuff going on around us, some of which might affect us in both positive and negative ways.
It’s the body’s way of preparing to meet challenges with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness. Our bodies often react this way even when what we’re anticipating we expect to be a good thing.
These things going on in our lives that induce a stress reaction are called stressors, and they cover a whole range of situations — everything from outright physical danger to making a class presentation or taking a semester’s worth of your toughest subject. Even going through customs on our way to an overseas vacation can induce stress, even when we know we have done nothing wrong.
The human body responds to stressors by activating the nervous system and specific hormones. The hypothalamus signals the adrenal glands to produce more of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol and release them into the bloodstream. These hormones speed up heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. Blood vessels open wider to let more blood flow to large muscle groups, putting our muscles on alert. Pupils dilate to improve vision. The liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase the body’s energy. And sweat is produced to cool the body. All of these physical changes prepare a person to react quickly and effectively to handle the pressure of the moment.
Click here to read a very useful, easy to read, information sheet created by Austin Gastro in Texas, (USA) with tips on how to handle the stress in our lives, and how hypnosis can be a powerful tool in reducing the negative effects of too much stress.