Stress is a part of life that everyone deals with at one time or another. Everyone has different levels of stress and different coping mechanisms. According to Trevor Powell in the book Free Yourself from Harmful Stress. Stress is a positive force that enables you to survive. A certain level of stress is beneficial and stimulates you to perform well. Too much stress can impair performance. Stress has three basic components; these are sources, life skills, and signs or symptoms. Sources are everyday demands or major changes in your life. Life skills are the resources you have for coping with the events. And signs or symptoms are the physical and emotional symptoms that indicate that the demands outweigh your ability to cope. (Free Yourself from Harmful Stress-10, 11,15, and 16) .
Trevor Powell also goes on to talk about the causes of stress. Sources of stress can be caused by a number of things such as, losing a job, divorce, financial problems, family problems, etc. It is wildly recognized that if you suffer several life event changes you will find it difficult to cope and you will suffer more symptoms of stress. (Free Yourself from Harmful Stress-10, 11,15, and 16) .
Some of the symptoms of stress include panic attacks, obsessive behaviors, depression, low self-esteem, phobias, sleep problems, migraines, and chronic fatigue. There are several questions to ask yourself to find out if you have stress. Some of these questions are. Do you get sudden feelings of fear and panic? Do you feel tense, nervous, or wound up? Do you have difficulty sleeping? Do you feel irritable, edgy, and bad tempered? Do you feel physically run down? These are just a few of several questions. If you find that you do have a stress problem there are several things you can do to manage your stress. (Free Yourself from Harmful Stress-10, 11,15, and16) .
Lets look back at the symptoms of stress and how to cope with them. Anxiety is one of the major symptoms of stress.