Stress is no longer a new term for everybody nowadays. Since the society and economic has developed, people seem to have more work and responsibility, not only for themselves but also for people around them. More work means less time to rest. More responsibility means more worry. Boom! Stress attacks! However, it’s not the end of the world. Stress is not totally bad, though it has many awful causes; there are many tips for reducing stress. What is the best term defining stress? Robert N. Lussier says that “stress is an emotional and/or physical reaction to environmental activities and events” (Lussier 45). Stress is not completely bad. Moreover, stress has a positive side and a negative side. Positive stress happens when chemicals in the body is released into blood; in this case, it is known as physical danger. It helps to gain more power, think faster, and get the work done with the best quality. On the other hand, negative stress happens when emotional danger visits. It doesn’t strengthen and may lead to negative thinking (“Understanding and Dealing with Stress” 1). We all know and may have been through stress once in a lifetime. What or who exactly causes stress? It could be our jobs, our boss, our co-worker, our family, and so forth. It could be anything, anyone, but don’t forget it could be us. An author Charles Swindoll said that there is 10% of what happens to us in life, 90% of how we respond to it (“Causes of Stress” 2). I totally agree with him. We could stress ourselves even more if we take whatever problem too serious, or calm enough to settle it down. Therefore, it is us; in other words, it’s our personalities. Are we patient enough to take a minute looking at the problem? An impatient person likes to get the jobs done all at once, fast, and excellent results. This is an example of type A person who is competitive, perfectionist, time conscious, and end up with stress easily. This type expects himself/herself, even the others too much that adding up lots of pressure. In contrast, type B person is very laid back. He/she is very relaxing, doesn’t rush anybody or anything. Things are taken slowly and easily. Accordingly, type A person is more likely to stress than type B person (“Your Kind of Stress? 1”). These days, there are lots of matters that can stress us out easily even just a noise, much less our work place. It could be our boss is too bossy, lack of job security, lack of co-workers’ support, conflict among staff, long hours work, and so forth. Stress not only drives people crazy; furthermore, it can make people from ill to serious sickness. It causes from high blood pressure to heart disease, diabetes, loss of concentration, and much more (“Stress management 4-5”). I have known a lady about 60 years old, Dorothy. She got strokes from stress a year ago. It’s reduced her memory, and she’s become very weak. Stress is very dangerous, so we should not disregard it. However, there are lots of methods to reduce it. One of the easiest methods is to drink water. We all know water helps our body to hydrate properly. In addition, our brain and organs mostly depend on water to function as well. Lack of water leads us to stress, physically and psychologically (“Stress management 1”). According to the causes of stress above, lack of emotional support is one. Therefore; we should let it out, share our feelings with our friends or our family. Hiding emotions is not a good way to crack it; it increases irritation and stress even more (Fremont 5). Personally, I like to work out when I stress. It helps to reduce my tension. After working out, I have more energy and feel released. Another method that I usually do is to listen to music. It helps me to get out of the reality which is too tight. Stress wasn’t as simple as I thought. We mostly bear the negative side of stress and never thought of its positive side. Sometimes in life, it is really difficult to control ourselves from the pressure, especially type A person. Therefore, we all should learn how to management our stress and try to relax ourselves as much as we could, like type B person. Caution should be taken before the serious sickness visits us. We can’t control the reality; however, we can control our tension and keep ourselves healthy. Don’t let stress manages us but the other way around.

Work Cited

Lussier, Robert. “Human Relations in Organizations.” Personality, Learning, and Perception. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005.
“Understanding And Dealing With Stress.” mtstcil.org. Mountain State Centers For Independent Living. (28 Sep. 2006).
“Causes of Stress.” lifepositive.com. 2000. WPI Group Inc. (26 Sep. 2006).
“Your Kind of Stress.” Sciencemuseum.org. Science Museum. (25 Sep. 2006).
“Stress Management.” businessballs.com. 1995-2006. (20 Sep. 2006)
Fremont, Suzanne. “Managing Stress.” Counseling & Mental Health Center. 14 April. 2004. University of Texas. (26 Sep. 2006).

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