Take stress seriously

Salam.

Are you stressed?

Let's read an article about stress and it effects on our health.

The behavioral effects of an over-stressed lifestyle are easy to explain. When under pressure, some people are more likely to drink heavily or smoke, as a way of getting immediate chemical relief from stress. Others may have so much work to do that they do not exercise or eat properly. They may cut down on sleep, or may worry so much that they sleep badly. They may get so carried away with work and meeting daily pressures that they do not take time to see the doctor when they need to. All of these are likely to harm health.

The direct physiological effects of excessive stress are more complex. In some areas they are well understood, while in other areas, they are still subject to debate and further research.

Stress and heart disease

The link between stress and heart disease is well-established. If stress is intense, and stress hormones are not ‘used up’ by physical activity, our raised heart rate and high blood pressure put tension on arteries and cause damage to them. As the body heals this damage, artery walls scar and thicken, which can reduce the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.

This is where a fight-or-flight response can become lethal: Stress hormones accelerate the heart to increase the blood supply to muscles; however, blood vessels in the heart may have become so narrow that not enough blood reaches the heart to meet these demands. This can cause a heart attack.

Other effects of stress

Stress has been also been found to damage the immune system, which explains why we catch more colds when we are stressed. It may intensify symptoms in diseases that have an autoimmune component, such as rheumatoid arthritis. It also seems to affect headaches and irritable bowel syndrome, and there are now suggestions of links between stress and cancer.

Stress is also associated with mental health problems and, in particular, anxiety and depression. Here the relationship is fairly clear: the negative thinking that is associated with stress also contributes to these.

The direct effects of stress in other areas of health are still under debate. In some areas (for example in the formation of stomach ulcers) diseases traditionally associated with stress are now attributed to other causes.

Regular exercise can reduce your physiological reaction to stress. It also strengthens your heart and increases the blood supply to it, directly affecting your vulnerability to heart disease.

Well..dah banyak artikel-artikel tentang stress dan cara-cara menanganinya yang telah aku baca. Kebanyakan perkara-perkara yang disebut hampir sama termasuklah cara-cara untuk mengawal dan mengurangkan stress tersebut. Yang paling biasa disebut ialah "EXCERCISE".

Semalam, aku telah pergi ke Langat, Selangor untuk mencuba pula teknik mengurangkan stress menggunakan kaedah mesin terapi elektrostatik.

Sebenarnya, aku banyak pilihan tentang teknik ini seperti Al-Jabbar (Dr. Jisim) dan sebagainya. Malah servis untuk menggunakan mesin tersebut juga percuma tetapi disebabkan percuma jugalah terlalu ramai pula pelanggan yang datang..itu yang membuatkan aku agak rimas. Mungkin itu strategy syarikat itu untuk menjual mesin terapi tersebut yang sememangnya agak mahal (dengarnya melebihi RM15 ribu.

Di Langat pula kedai yang menyediakan servis terapi tersebut menggunakan mesin yang dipanggil DR. HEALTH 9000. Setiap satu sesi (30 minit untuk setiap 1 sesi) dikenakan bayaran sebanyak RM5. Aku tidak kisah membayar (setakat RM5 sahaja) asalkan tempat tersebut tidak terlalu sesak. Yang lebih penting lagi aku tidak dipeningkan dengan promosi untuk menjual mesin tersebut yang berharga RM6,500 (selepas 50% discount). Aku datang ke tempat itu hanya untuk mencuba teknik terapi elektrostatik dan tidak berminat untuk membeli mesin tersebut. Owner kedai itu langsung tidak membuat promosi agar aku membeli mesin tersebut tetapi lebih banyak bercerita tentang kebaikan teknik terapi tersebut untuk kesihatan. Itulah yang aku suka!

So, apa hasilnya?

Kalau menurut owner kedai dan risalah-risalah serta testimonial yang diberikan, aku akan hanya mendapat atau merasa keberkesanan teknik terapi tersebut setelah selesai menjalani 7 sesi. Tetapi pada aku, teknik tersebut betul-betul berkesan mengurangkan stress aku hampir serta merta. Sakit tengkuk  aku akibat stress dan mungkin juga tekanan darah yang tinggi hilang selepas selesai sesi tersebut.

Jadi, hari ini aku akan pergi lagi ke sana untuk menjalani sesi terapi elektrostatik yang kedua.

Aku berharap agar teknik terapi ini dapat membantu aku mengawal stress serta mengurangkan ketagihan merokok aku yang semakin kritikal. Hanya perlu membayar RM5 untuk satu sesi, aku rasa amat berbaloi.


Sekian.