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Stress and how to deal with it
Without a doubt, we are experiencing epidemic levels of stress in our nation, and its effects are showing up in many places. According to the American Institute of Stress, 75 to 90 percent of all visits to a primary care doctor's office are the result of stress related problems. Unfortunately, instead of treating the root cause of these illnesses, many doctors are merely treating the symptoms. In order to get rid of the "fruit," we have to deal with the root-we have to identify and then eliminate or significantly reduce what is causing the sickness to occur.
What is stress and where does it come from?
Stress is officially defined as "a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension . . . . " In a nutshell, stress is mental or emotional strain. Internalizing stress generates something like a steady "drip" of stress hormones into a person's tissues, including the brain. Life's little stressors do add up over time and can actually do far more damage than an occasional negative event that might produce a more massive stress reaction.
The potential sources of stress are endless and seemingly everywhere. Anything that has the potential of stealing our peace and joy and eventually compromising our health may be considered as a source of stress. I have listed a number of daily and major life stressors on the next page.
Stress can also be categorized into four groups.
Thermal stress is one kind, and it deals with being exposed to extremes in temperature (either hot or cold), for prolonged periods of time. Although it is rare in our country, people can suffer from thermal stress in the form of heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or hypothermia.
A second type of stress is chemical stress. This results from
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excessive use of various substances, like sugar, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and food additives. Exposure to mold, dust, and pesticides can also produce chemical stress. And certain surroundings, such as crowded cities, high-traffic areas, and regions with numerous factories can also cause an internal burden to the body.
Physical stress is a third type that affects many if not most of us. It often results from a lack of sleep, overworking, or excessive physical exercise. A person can also become physically stressed from physical injury or trauma, such as a car accident, surgery, infection, disease, or chronic pain. The more severe the infection or disease and the longer it lasts, the more stress the body experiences.
The fourth category, and probably the most far reaching, is emotional and mental stress. This type of stress is generated from the worries and general anxiety that arise from too much work and too little play, too much debt,
ones generating stress by the way we view a situation or circumstance. Therefore, we have a tremendous ability to control the factors related to stress.
We can control our thoughts. This is the first and most important place to start. As Joyce says, "Where the mind goes, the man follows." By changing the way we think, we can "rewire" our thought patterns and adopt new ways of seeing old situations. As we change our perceptions, we can change our reactions and learn how to remain in control and flow with what would normally be a very stressful situation for us.
We can control our words. Once our thinking has begun to change, we can begin verbalizing to ourselves a more positive perspective of our situations. Remember, according to Proverbs 18:21, the power of life and death is in our tongue. Speaking forth a more positive perspective will release life into us and help devour the deadly fruit of stress.
marital difficulties, as well as other mental stresses related to one's work, finances, and relationships. It often arises from a feeling of being overwhelmed, losing control, or feeling trapped with no way out.
The interesting thing about emotional and mental stress is that a person's brain interprets whether a situation is stressful or not. In other words, any condition or circumstance can become stressful if you think it is. Anyone capable of reducing or eliminating elements of emotional and mental stress can actually lower their risk of developing deadly diseases.
How can you avoid drowning in a "sea" of stress? It is true that we have no control over some of our sources of stress. However, there are many causes of stress in our lives that we do have control over. In fact, in many instances, we are the We can control, to a certain extent, our social and chemical environments. The majority of us can choose where and how we will live. We can choose the schedules we will maintain, the commitments we will make and take on, the house and neighborhood we will live in, and the people we will associate with. We can decide the closeness of a relationship, and we can decide how we will respond to what others say and do.
Facing the truth-that we do have control over significant portions of our lives-is often the first step toward reducing stress. Stress reduction may not happen overnight. It will more than likely be something that is learned over time as you renew your mind and begin making better choices. It may seem difficult to do, but it can be done. Remember, with God all things are possible! For more information on stress, please refer to my book Stress Less. |
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Comments: 47
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Great and very needed article
Samira
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Comments: 1
Registered: 07 Oct : 16:29
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Its a great & very needed article as sister samira said
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Comments: 1
Registered: 13 Oct : 17:40
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hi ,
i'm from israel , and we have in israel alot of sheikhs here .
my question is : if there r sheikhs in the u.s.a ?
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Comments: 2
Registered: 07 Nov : 23:38
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hey hamudh...i'm alisar...and i actually live in the usa...and there are a very very SMALL number of them. but because we have a Druze community here, some of them get together thursday and friday nights and they read Ktab al Hekmi...so there are some...but i've only seen three so far. There aren't as many here because they have no place to openly practice their religion like the Christians and the Muslims do.
**Add me on MSN or something**
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Comments: 2
Registered: 07 Nov : 23:38
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yeah...they taught us that in school. That people used to beleive that the earth was the center...but i didn't know it had anything to do w/ our religion...that just shows you how young i am :)
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Comments: 47
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16 Nov : 13:52 Hassan
Member #315 I would like to ask this question:
We all know (as we were told in schools by teachers and books) that the sun is the cnter of the universe and the other plantes circles around it. But our religion says that the earth is the center of the universe and the other plantes circle around it.
Which one should we belive?
Hassan Fayyad: Al-Shouf Lebanon
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Comments: 1
Registered: 28 Sep : 21:32
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with all do the respect sorry ya3ni bas wat's the pt of reading an article which no way could affect the way we deal with stress words are easy to be said bas half wat is written iza mish kilu is hard to act at least that's my opinion
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Comments: 11
Registered: 02 Jan : 15:57
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To brother Hassan Fayyad,
Science proved that the sun is the center of the universe, because of that the Americans could reach the moon and walk on it, I saw them in the TV when they landed on the moon, and when the astronaut walked on the earth of the moon, and also drove a carriage with motor,
Your sister,
Salma Arislan,
I also want to tell Shafiq that we are not Muslims, we are the tribe of the prophet Shuayb, and we are long before Islam existed. Our prophet believed in God Almighty who created the whole universe, and us and we should believe as our prophet did in God Almighty alone and not in persons and statutes in India or Greece or anywhere else. God Almighty blessed be His Name created every thing and every body, and so we believe only in Him, because He alone is God.
Salma Arislan
I know that our respected Sheikh El-Aaqel, Sheikh Gheith believe in the Almighty God that created us. And we should all of us the Druze believe in the Almighty God and give Him daily our praise and thanksgiving for His daily blessings to each one of us.
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Comments: 11
Registered: 02 Jan : 15:57
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To brother Hassan Fayyad,
Science proved that the sun is the center of the universe, because of that the Americans could reach the moon and walk on it, I saw them in the TV when they landed on the moon, and when the astronaut walked on the earth of the moon, and also drove a carriage with motor,
Your sister,
Salma Arislan,
I also want to tell Shafiq that we are not Muslims, we are the tribe of the prophet Shuayb, and we are long before Islam existed. Our prophet believed in God Almighty who created the whole universe, and us and we should believe as our prophet did in God Almighty alone and not in persons and statutes in India or Greece or anywhere else. God Almighty blessed be His Name created every thing and every body, and so we believe only in Him, because He alone is God.
Salma Arislan
I know that our respected Sheikh El-Aaqel, Sheikh Gheith believe in the Almighty God that created us. And we should all of us the Druze believe in the Almighty God and give Him daily our praise and thanksgiving for His daily blessings to each one of us.
Salma
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Comments: 11
Registered: 02 Jan : 15:57
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What is the Druze's evaluation of Christianity ?
By
Sheikh Anwar F. Abi-Khzam
Ph.D.Prof. at The Lebanese University
The Druze believe inJesus and his four disciples, who wrote the Gospels. According to theirclassification Christ is the Greatest Imam and the incarnation of UltimateReason (Akl) on earth and the first cosmic principle (Hadd). He is directlysecond to God. His four disciples are considered as the four cosmic principles(Houdoud). The Gospels are Holy Books. With Christianity, the developmentof Monotheism was decisive. God promised the Christians the salvation ofthe tortured souls, and made it clear that Jesus had come to lead his followersto the safety shore.
With my respect
Salma Arislan
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Comments: 21
Registered: 10 Aug : 18:36
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As a Native American, Pomo Indian, of a small band of Indians who have lands in California, I agree with that post from Salma Arislan.
The Bible is a book of origins. Chrisitianity is later on. Our Creator, the Ultimate Reason, [Akl] sent Jesus Christ to be Savior of the World and the establisher of the WORDS OF GOD BY PROMISE.
It is interesting to me that there is very little discussion about the PROMISES GOD made to Hagar, Sara, Rebekah and other women in the Bible records, or ancient writings.
God cannot lie. Jesus Christ came to bring the PROMISES of God into view or perspective that all mankind might SEE GOD AND HIS NATURE, WHICH IS LOVE.
Love, we learn, bears all things and helps everyone.
We could learn a lot from Jesus Christ today; and if we can ACCEPT THE PROMISES He makes known to us, we will come to PEACE.
The Bible teaches about an 'EVIL BEING' and other "fallen" beings, spiritual beings who influence "human" beings in a wrong and bad way.
We have the capacity to receive the Holy Spirit and the Teachings of the Christ. We also sadly have the capacity to receive influences from the evil beings.
Peace will only come to us human beings when we receive the Holy Ghost and the Teachings of Christ.
The evil beings try to confuse us so that we are devisive, separated and unwilling to forgive others.
The Bible again teaches that God is Love and that Love {God} covers a multitude of sins, the transgressions of man.
Shouldn't we then also be willing to LOVE AND COVER AND FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRANSGRESS AGAINST US like God is willing to do through Jesus Christ? He showed us His willingness to forgive us by the teachings about the Christ and His death on the cross, His burial and His resurrection from the tomb!
Oh, permit me to exclaim, THANK YOU LORD!
We can do this without giving up any responsibility for our Families and our communities and our Faith, that Faith we receive by the Promises of God, the Holy Ghost and the Teachings of Christ and the things recorded that He taught during His short life on earth.
michael
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