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Get Healthy. Stay Healthy. Stress Awareness and it’s your turn to make the plans. Your kids have soccer practice at the same Top 10 most stressfull life events(3) time, in different places. You haven’t seen your best friend in two months, and 1. Death of your spouse your mom is calling to ask if you can come over to help with some yard work…. 2. Divorce You have a deadline looming at work. Your wedding anniversary is coming up If you’re like most people, you’re stretched a little too thin. You’re very familiar with stress – in fact, it’s probably a constant state for you. Most of us have a lot of commitments that we enjoy, individually. But collectively it can all get to be a bit too much. What is stress? Stress involves a relationship between the demands of your life and the emotional resources you have to meet these demands. Demands are usually things like your job or your family situation. Your health, general outlook on life, financial situation and social network will affect how deep your emotional reserves go. Once the demands start to exceed your resources, you struggle to meet these demands and start to feel stressed.(1) The way you feel when you’re stressed – sweaty palms, racing heartbeat, upset stomach – is actually the way our bodies are geared to respond to physical dangers – like predators and physical aggression – that humans faced more often in the past. But now our stressful situations can last for weeks or longer, rather than the minutes or hours involved in a physical threat. Your stress response system is in 3. Separation from your spouse 4. Serving time in prison 5. Death of a close family member 6. Personal injury or illness 7. Getting married overdrive, and there are consequences for your health. The hormones that are released when you’re stressed can disrupt almost all your body’s processes, increasing your risk for heart disease, obesity, digestive problems, memory impairment, insomnia and depression, among other things.(2) Resources. Maybe you feel fine. Maybe life is going great. But even happy events in your life can cause unhealthy levels of stress. To help you determine your risk level, take the interactive Holmes-Rahe Scale(3) stress test at www.geocities.com/beyond_stretched. It helps predict how stress might affect your health in the near future based on questions about recent events in your life. If your score shows that you’re at high risk for stress-related health problems, talk to your doctor at your next visit about your results. 8. Getting fired 9. Marital reconciliation 10. Retirement Turning lemons into lemonade When it becomes too much(4) How stress can affect your mind How stress can make you feel • Memory problems • Moody and hypersensitive • Difficulty making decisions • Restless and anxious • Inability to concentrate • Depressed • Confusion • Angry, irritable and resentful • Seeing only the negative • Overwhelmed • Repetitive or racing thoughts • Insecure, guilty • Poor judgment • Apathetic • Loss of objectivity • Urge to laugh or cry at inappropriate times • Desire to escape or run away How stress can affect your health How stress can affect your behavior • Headaches • Eating more or less • Digestive problems • Sleeping too much or too little • Muscle tension and pain • Isolating yourself from others • Sleep disturbances • Neglecting your responsibilities • Fatigue • Increasing alcohol and drug use • Chest pain, irregular heartbeat • Nervous habits (nail biting, pacing, smoking) • High blood pressure • Teeth grinding or jaw clenching • Weight gain or loss • Overdoing activities like exercising or shopping • Asthma or shortness of breath • Losing your temper • Acne and increased sweating • Overreacting to unexpected problems • Decreased sex drive • Relationship conflicts We’ll always have some level of stress in our lives. It’s important to have some solid strategies for coping with stress so it doesn’t become completely overwhelming. Take Care of yourself. Eat healthy snacks and meals, exercise, and make sure you get enough sleep. Spend time doing things you enjoy. Lean on your support system. Talk things through with friends and family members who can be constructive and positive. Set limits. Decline requests for your time or energy in a kind but firm way. Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to seek advice from a health care professional if your stress levels continue to be greater than what you’re comfortable with. Sometimes other health conditions have symptoms similar to stress, so it’s important to make sure lingering symptoms aren’t a sign of something else. (2) Visit Anthem.com for more ways to get healthy — and stay healthy. (1) http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/0-9/4health/stress/tsg_step1.html (2) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress/SR99999 (3) Holmes & Rahe (1967). Holmes-Rahe life changes scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 11, pp. 213-218. (4) http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of: In Colorado: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc. In Connecticut: Anthem Health Plans, Inc. In Indiana: Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. In Kentucky: Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, Inc. In Maine: Anthem Health Plans of Maine, Inc. In most of Missouri: RightCHOICE® Managed Care, Inc. (RIT), Healthy Alliance® Life Insurance Company (HALIC), and HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates administer non-HMO benefits underwritten by HALIC and HMO benefits underwritten by HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates only provide administrative services for self-funded plans and do not underwrite benefits. In Nevada: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc. In New Hampshire: Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc. In Ohio: Community Insurance Company. In Virginia: Anthem Health Plans of Virginia, Inc. (serving Virginia excluding the city of Fairfax, the town of Vienna and the area east of State Route 123.). In Wisconsin: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin (“BCBSWi”) underwrites or administers the PPO and indemnity policies; Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation (“Compcare”) underwrites or administers the HMO policies; and Compcare and BCBSWi collectively underwrite or administer the POS policies. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. ® ANTHEM is a registered trademark. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. MANSH0322A 9/07