over time and through adaptation, your body performs better. But
that same stressor — your workout — can become negative if you go
too far beyond the body’s ability to recover from it.
Usually people are stressed in more than one area, and frequent-
ly by all three types. And, stress is cumulative. The response to a
physical stress from the weekend’s yard work may be amplified by
Monday’s chemical stress of too much coffee or the wrong foods, fur-
ther compounded with a family-related mental stress on Tuesday and
another with the boss on Wednesday. All of this will affect your per-
formance at an important meeting on Friday.
The weather is also a potential stressor, with certain people more
vulnerable. Weather stress may affect us physically, chemically or
mentally. Extremes in temperature or humidity, very low barometric
pressure, and the sun are stressors. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
is a good example of how the weather at certain times of year (typical-
ly in the fall and winter) can have a dramatic effect on many people.
Some people accumulate so much stress they lose track of it,
which becomes more of a stress. The first thing to do with stress is to
make sure you’re aware of it. The remedy? Write it all down.
Making Your Stress List
Being more aware of your physical, chemical and mental stress is a
big step for improving health. Reducing or eliminating individual
stresses is easier if you write them down on paper. On a page, make
three columns, one each for physical, chemical and mental stresses. In
each category, write down your stresses. This may take several days
to complete since you probably won’t think of all your different
stresses right away. When you’re done, prioritize by placing the
biggest stress of each category on top. Then, work on reducing or
eliminating one stress at a time. Or, if you can handle it, work on one
stress at a time from each category. Reducing or eliminating unneces-
sary stress from your life will give your body a better chance to cope
with other stresses you may not be able to change right now.
As you make your list put a star by the stresses over which you
have some control. This may include unhealthy eating habits like
rushing or skipping your meals, drinking too much coffee or not tak-
ing time to exercise.
290 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH