What is stress? 什麼是壓力﹖

Stress is a common problem that affects almost all of us at some point in our lives. Learning to identify when you are under stress, what is stressing you, and different ways of coping with stress can greatly improve both your mental and physical well being.

精神壓力存在於我們生活中，無論我們的年紀是多少，我們都會面對精神壓力。

Many different things can cause stress -- from physical (such as fear of something dangerous) to emotional (such as worry over your family or job.) Identifying what may be causing you stress is often the first step in learning how to better deal with your stress.

當我們遇到令我們驚惶的情況時，我們的心跳會加快，身體會預備我們去應付這些情況，我們或許會站立和準備大打出手，或會奔跑離開。

You may have heard the phrase "fight or flight" before. This is a common response to danger in all people and animals. When you are afraid that someone or something may physically hurt you, your body naturally responds with a burst of energy so that you will be better able to survive the dangerous situation (fight) or escape it all together (flight).

肯農(Walter Connon)形容這情況是挑戰或逃避反應 (fight or flight response)。 麥拿理(Mc Nerney)說「壓力是身體在精神上、體能和化學上的反應」。韓斯沙利耶 (Han Selye) 特別提出在生活中，我們在遇到壓力時，身體生理上有一連串的反應。

Some of the most common sources of stress are:
(1) Physically - hot, cold, hungry, tired.
(2) psychological - disappointment, feel danger, frustration, deny self.
(3) development - school, job, marriage, to adapt to the elderly parents, relatives and friends died.
(4) Situations - noise, air pollution, lack of resources, lack of space.
(5) relationships - with students, teachers, bad relationship, social life patterns change.
(6) social and cultural - cultural differences, role expectations, values or socioeconomic status changes.
(7) philosophical - the use of time, the goal of life.

任何對身體有威脅性的刺激，謂之壓力源 (Stressor) , 壓力源可來自多方面。
(一) 生理上 – 熱、冷、飢餓、疲倦。
(二) 心理上 – 失望、感受到危險、挫折、否定自我。
(三) 發展上 – 上學、謀職、結婚、適應年老的父母、親友死亡。
(四) 情境上 – 噪音、空氣污染、缺乏資源、缺乏空間。
(五) 人際關係– 與同學、老師關係不好、社交生活型態改變。
(六) 社會文化 – 文化環境差異、角色期待、價值觀念或社會經濟地位改變。
(七) 哲學上 – 時間的利用、生活的目標。

How Does Stress Affect You?壓力對身體有什麼影響？

Stress can affect both your body and your mind. People under large amounts of stress can become tired, sick, and unable to concentrate or think clearly. Sometimes, they even suffer mental breakdowns. When you feel threatened, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which rouse the body for emergency action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus—preparing you to either fight or flee from the danger at hand.

當我們要應付壓力時，我們的身體會產生不同的生理反應，例如：自主神經系統和腎上腺素的分泌增加，心跳及心臟收縮力增加，血壓提高，瞳孔放大，四肢肌肉收縮流汗，呼吸加速，新陳代謝加速，血醣增加，抑制腸胃蠕動，和肌肉緊張的敏感度提高。壓力可以引致以下的病症：高血壓、心臟病、胃潰瘍及關節炎等。壓力會令血壓增加及膽固醇增高，減低身體免疫系統的能力，以及令肌肉收緊，從而引致頭痛、背痛、頸及膊頭痛。

Stress Management Plan! 處理壓力的方法！

Everyone's stressors, reactions to stress, and ways of dealing with stress are different. It may take a little experimentation, a little time, and a little practice, but you'll find something that works for you. Keep trying -- and try not to stress about it.
Reduce the noise of the environment, to avoid the stress.
A balanced diet is helpful to reduce the stress. We need to control our body weight and take some vitamin B and C.

要減少不必要的壓力來源，我們首先要了解自己的壓力來源是屬於經常性或間歇性的，然後作出調整。
減少環境的噪音，亦可減少壓力的產生。
此外，平衡的飲食對應付壓力也很重要。我們更應注意及控制自己的身體重量，攝取維生素B和C。

Now that you're treating your body well and taking deep breaths, walks, or whatever else you need to do to stay calm.
You can learn to better manage the stress you can't avoid, and should learn to avoid the stress you can.
In addition to treating your body well and learning how to manage the physical symptoms of stress, changing your mental attitude and your lifestyle can help minimize stress.

我們要採取正面的態度去處理問題 – 積極、直接面對問題、衝破問題的障礙、尋求新方法或他人的協助、多做運動、多作休息、補充能量、從失敗中學習、繼續向上；相反地，我們要戒除負面的態度 – 消極、避開問題、走進問題的死胡同、執著、獨自面對、吸煙、酗酒、濫用藥物、因一次的失敗而時常沮喪。

Relax your muscles - stretch your neck, stand or sit up straight, get some of the tension out of your body. Telling someone to relax is often easier said than done, but sometimes we hold a lot of our tension in our body and muscles. Shaking out a few of those kinks and curves in your body may make dealing with the kinks and curves life throws you a little easier. Remember that these exercises are meant to help you relax and are just suggestions. Do not feel pressure to do all of them. Do not do any exercise that feels painful or uncomfortable.

進行漸進放鬆法時，最好是找一個寧靜、沒有騷擾的環境，關掉電話及傳呼機，光線要柔和，溫度要和暖。然後躺下來，首先收緊手和臂的肌肉，然後放鬆，轉移到頭、頸和肩的肌肉，接著是胸、腹和背，最後是腿和腳。其目的是要教導學生去認識肌肉緊張的感覺和熟習漸進放鬆法，讓他們在發覺肌肉緊張時能自動進行漸進放鬆法去放鬆肌肉。

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The followings are some mental health chapters: (1),(2),(3),(4),(5),(6),(7),(8)
心理健康系列：(一),(二),(三),(四),(五),(六),(七),(八)

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