Stress: An Overview
If you'd like to talk to someone about this subject, please contact MIT Medical's Mental Health Service at 617-253-2916.
The information below is provided by MIT Medical's Center for Health Promotion and Wellness, which offers members of the MIT community specialized health expertise, information, and educational programs.
The responsibilities and deadlines of academic life can be overwhelming. Trying to fit everything into a 24-hour day can lead to pulling too many all-nighters and staying in your lab or office long after colleagues have called it a day. You might find it harder to justify breaking for lunch, socializing with friends, or making time for hobbies and activities you used to enjoy. All this can cause your stress levels to spiral out of control. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to revitalize your mind and body in order to focus better and reduce stress.
Common Stress Symptoms
Over time, a state of stress can shift into “overstress,” causing chronic physical and mental problems. Because the body’s natural stress response (the “fight-or-flight response”) affects so many different systems in the body, people experience stress in a variety of ways, including:
- Insomnia, anxiety, and irritability
- Headaches and body aches
- Digestive difficulties, esophageal reflux, irritable bowel, and blood sugar problems
- High blood pressure
- Hot flashes and fertility problems
- Respiratory problems
Managing Stress
Just as our bodies have a natural stress response that reacts (and sometimes overreacts) to perceived stresses, we also have a natural relaxation response that can be evoked to promote calm. Researchers who study creativity and problem solving find that downtime is crucial to the creative thought process and that relaxation breaks needn’t be lengthy to be useful. “Microbreaks” or “mini-relaxation sessions” flexibly inserted throughout your day can help you reduce stress and become more productive.
Classes in mindfulness meditation, relaxation techniques, or yoga can have immediate and long-lasting beneficial effects on concentration, mood, and even immune response.
Keep Your Cool: 10 ways to decrease stress in (almost) no time
- Call 617-253-CALM (2256). (2 minutes)
- Request a copy of MIT Medical’s relaxation CDs, MITOasis or MITOasis2, by visiting the Center for Health Promotion & Wellness (E23-205), or download the Center’s relaxation tracks. (4–15 minutes)
- Drink water: The body’s stress response (increased perspiration and faster respiration) can produce a subtle form of dehydration. Drinking water can keep you hydrated during stressful times.
- Eat the right kind of breakfast: Eating a breakfast that is balanced with protein, fat, and carbohydrates will help your body absorb the fuel more slowly so you feel satisfied longer; it may also keep you from grazing when you feel stressed out. (Prep time: 5 minutes)
- Practice 1-to-2 breathing: Inhale for a count of three, exhale for a count of six. (1 minute)
- Practice walking meditation. Count the number of steps you take as you inhale and the number of steps you take as you exhale. Try to lengthen the exhale. (1 minute)
- Practice mental meditation. As you inhale, think, “I am.” As you exhale, think, “At peace.” Or choose a relaxing phrase of your own. (1 minute)
- Think of an image of calm strength—a tree, mountain, face, flower. Say to yourself: “I am that; no separation.” (1 minute)
- Remember a place or person that always puts a smile on your face. Or imagine a serene place you’d like to visit, a funny scene from a movie, or five good things that have happened to you so far this week. (1 minute)
- Whatever you are doing right now, do it mindfully. Take a moment to notice the temperature of the air on your skin, the feeling of your chair beneath you, the ambient sounds in the room.
MIT Medical Can Help You Reduce Stress
MIT Medical provides many opportunities to unwind and decrease stress, including online information and MP3s, yoga and meditation instruction, and group and individual counseling. Check out the following list of resources:
Anxiety reduction instruction
Downloadable relaxation
audio files
Downloadable posters
Mental
Health Service
Mindfulness meditation instruction
spouses&partners@mit
Group counseling
Wellness classes
Yoga instruction
Other Stress Management Resources
Medlineplus.gov
Managing Stress Tutorial
Mental
Health America: Coping with Stress Checklist
Mayo Clinic Tools
for Healthier Lives
![[MIT logo]](/images/logo_mit.gif){kind=logo}