Some victims of this disorder turn to alcohol or other drugs which do nothing accept compound the problem. It is thought that approximately 10% of Americans have had or will have this disorder at some point in their lifetime (Carpenter and Huffman, 2008).
Since it seems evident that we can't escape stress, we need to learn how to effectively cope with it. There is not one single thing that must be done but a process that allows us to deal with various stressors. A person's level of stress depends on both their interpretation of and their reaction to stressors. Elimination of drug use and no more than moderate alcohol use are important in the successful management of stress. It is known that people, when stressed, often seek these things out, but it is also known that many of these substances sensitize the stress response. Because of this, small problems will produce big surges of stress chemicals. Unfortunately, these attempts with drugs and alcohol to mask the effects of stress often prevent the person from facing the problem directly and dealing with it. This leads to not being able to develop effective ways to cope with or eliminate the stress (Stress, 2009).
There are seven very important resources that are available regarding health living and stress management. These resources include: health and exercise, control, positive beliefs, social skills, social support, material...
For those who need more help in dealing with stress, stress-management counseling in the form of individual or group therapy is often offered by various mental-health-care providers. Stress counseling and group discussion therapy have proven to reduce stress symptoms and improve overall health and attitude (Stress, 2009).
Stress is a normal part of everyone's life and everyone has some type of stress. It is how a person copes with this stress that determines whether they will suffer from any major effects from it. Those people who have good coping skills will probably not see much effect. On the other hand those who can't cope with it may suffer from many other physical and emotional consequences. Good stress management using the many resources that are available is the best way for people to overcome the stress that they experiences. It is by using a combination of all of these resources that I as a nurse will be able to help my patients deal with and hopefully eliminate the effects of stress that they are facing on an everyday basis and thus improve their overall health.
References
Carpenter, Siri and Huffman, Karen. (2008).Visualizing Psychology. New Jersey: Wiley.
Stress. (2009). Retrieved July 31, 2009, from MedicineNet Web site:
http://www.medicinenet.com/stress/article.htm
