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Find relief from stress (part one) Are you stressed?
“Everyone has stress to some degree, yet I am overwhelmed with stress. It is not from just one big problem but from many situations, from struggles, and from seemingly unending years of caring for my physically and mentally ill husband.” Jill.
“My wife left me, and I had to raise two children on my own. It was hard being a single parent. On top of that, I lost my job and I couldn’t afford to get my vehicle inspected for registration. I had no idea how to handle things. The stress was overwhelming. I knew deep down that it was wrong to kill myself, so I begged God to end my misery.” – Barry.
Like Jill and Barry, do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with stress? If so, may the following articles comfort and help you. They examine common causes of stress, how stress can affect us, and how we can get at least a measure of stress relief.
What causes stress?
“Most adults report being under increasing levels of stress,” says the well-known Mayo Clinic. “Modern life is filled with change and uncertainty.” Consider just some of the changes and uncertainties that contribute to stress:
- Divorce
- The death of a loved one
- Severe illness
- Serious accidents
- Crime
- A hectic pace of life
- Disasters – natural or man-made
- Pressures at school or work
- Worries about employment and financial security
Stress in early childhood
It is not uncommon for children to suffer from stress. Some are bullied at school or neglected at home. Others are abused physically, emotionally, or sexually. Many are anxious about exams and school grades. Still, others see their family torn apart by divorce. Stressed children may have nightmares, learning difficulties, depression, or a tendency to be withdrawn. Some seem unable to control their emotions. A child suffering from stress needs urgent help.
What is stress?
Stress is your body’s response to a demanding situation. Your brain causes hormones to flood your system. These increase your heart rate, regulate your blood pressure, expand or constrict the capacity of your lungs, and tense your muscles. Before you are fully aware of what is happening, your body is primed for action. When a stressful episode is over, your body come off “high alert” and returns to normal.
Good and bad stress
Stress is a natural response that enables you to deal with challenging or dangerous situations. The stress response begins in your brain. Beneficial stress enables you to act or react quickly. A certain amount of stress can also help you to reach your goals or to perform better, perhaps during an exam, a job interview, or a sporting event.
However, prolonged, extreme, or chronic stress can harm you. When your body is repeatedly or constantly, on “high alert”, you may begin to suffer physically, emotionally, and mentally. Your behaviour, including the way you treat others, may change. Chronic stress can also lead to substance abuse and other unhealthy means of coping. It may even spiral into depression, burnout, or thoughts of suicide.
While stress may not affect everyone in the same way, it can contribute to a wide range of diseases. And it can affect nearly every part of the body.
How stress can affect your body
Musculoskeletal system
Your muscles tense up to protect you from injury. Too much stress can lead to
- Body aches and pains, tension headaches, and muscle spasms.
Respiratory system
You breathe faster to take in more oxygen. Too much stress can lead to
- Hyperventilation and shortness of breaths, as well as panic attacks in those who are prone to them.
Nervous system
Your nervous system causes hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol to be released. These increase your heart rate, your blood pressure, and the glucose levels in your blood—all of which enable you to respond quickly to danger. Too much stress can lead to
- Irritability, anxiety, depression, headaches, and insomnia.
Cardiovascular system
Your heart beats faster and its harder to distribute blood throughout your body. Blood vessels dilate or constrict to direct blood where your body needs it the most, such as in your muscles. Too much stress can lead to
- High blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
Endocrine system
Your glands produce the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which help the body react to stress. Your liver increases your blood-level to give you more energy. Too much stress can lead to
- Diabetes, lower immunity and increased illness, mood swings, and weight gain.
Reproductive system
Stress can affect sexual desire and function. Too much stress can lead to
- Impotence, disrupted menstrual cycle.
Gastrointestinal system
The way your body processes food is disrupted. Too much stress can lead to
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and constipation.
…to be continued
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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