Being placed in situations that demand the impossible almost inevitably lead to stress. Unrealistic deadlines to meet useless goals, enforced by unreasonable managers – are an all too common scenario. But individuals who find themselves in such circumstances still have options.

There are a dozen small, stress-relieving exercises that can help ease the symptoms while working toward the long-term cure. Stress produces a number of well-documented physiological effects like muscle tension, shallow breathing and compromised immune system. To combat these, you can take direct action.

Take a few deep breaths, slowly. No need to go into some kind of Zen state, just allow yourself to expand the chest and relieve tension around the center of the body. Stretch the arms and shoulders. Gently work the head from side to side. Flex the calves.

Take a few minutes to work on your mental processes as well. Stress often inhibits the ability to focus or concentrate effectively. It decreases memory retention on needed items because the irritation causes focus to shift to the fact of being angry.

While you’re breathing deeply, close your eyes and meditate for a couple of minutes. Again, that doesn’t require any form of deep relaxation, just a moment to let the external world go. At the same time, you don’t want to focus solely on the anger or stress you’re feeling. Focus on an internal image of something pleasant – a child’s face, the family dog, a great golf swing, anything that works for you.

Now that you’ve tackled the symptoms, go after the roots of the problem.

Many choose to start their own businesses. That choice brings with it a whole new set of challenges, but the overarching benefit is the freedom to meet them. You’ll find yourself working long hours with little recognition. But, even in the absence of large external rewards, the internal rewards – the satisfaction, the feeling of being the ‘commander of your own ship’ – is frequently cited as a major incentive for those who keep trying.

Many others will try to work for positive change within their current organization. Even when those efforts are only partially successful, individuals report that they gain satisfaction from the knowledge that they are not simply accepting their unpleasant fate passively.

You can make efforts to transfer to another job within the organization, or look forward to the day when that unreasonable boss will have moved on. Remember, very few things in any company stay the same for more than six months to a year.

While you’re waiting for better circumstances, focus on the process less than the results. Keep a realistic attitude about what is and what is not within your control. Try not to let the latter matter very much. Seek out the cooperative individuals in the company and don’t burden yourself with trying to change the others.

By all means, let off some steam to trusted friends and family members outside work. At work, stay focused on the task.

To most people ‘stress’ brings to mind something unpleasant. But many psychologists write about stress as something that can have positive effects. Why the confusion? The reasons lie in how an individual evaluates his or her own mental and physical state.

Some examples may help to make the point clear. Imagine two people, one a champion skier in the Olympics, the other a college senior about to take a final math test. The skier has been training most of his life for the contest, the senior has hardly studied at all.

From a purely physiological perspective both are going to be experiencing similar effects – rapid heartbeat and breathing, higher metabolism, active sweat glands and so forth. Psychologically, there are also similarities – higher concentration on the present and thoughts about the next few minutes, vivid images and heightened sensitivity to feelings.

But there are key differences, at least psychologically. The skier is exhilarated, ready for the challenge, and eager to show his prowess and win the contest. The senior feels doubt and fear.

In both cases it’s reasonable to say that the two young men are under stress. You could also say they are feeling stressful. But the differences are important. The skier evaluates his situation as presenting a challenge he wants to take on and believes himself ready to tackle. The senior knows he is inadequately prepared and projects the consequences of his likely failure, a lowered grade and maybe the need to retake the class.

In both cases the young men are uncertain about the outcome, but each evaluates the odds of success differently. Each might also judge the outcome of failure differently.

The skier may wind up with only a Silver medal. That might be disappointing but in the Olympics, the number two spot can still lead to lucrative endorsements and a good future. The senior may see his chances for getting into a good graduate school diminishing. He may have to retake the class before he can even graduate.

Of course, the examples are very oversimplified. But the pattern is roughly right. Whether you feel stress or elation can often turn on how you evaluate external circumstances and your own inner state.

So there are actually two meanings of the word ‘stress’ that sometimes get mixed together. One refers simply to the heightened awareness and the physiological symptoms described above. The other is essentially equivalent to the combination of worry and those symptoms. The latter can have negative health consequences, since those symptoms can be physically harmful. But since humans are both mind and body and the two aspects affect one another, the psychological part is just as important.

Exercise helps relieve stress. That’s a fairly common sense belief these days, but it is also one backed up by a lot of careful scientific research.

Exercise causes the brain to produce a cocktail of helpful biochemicals that help reduce stress. Runners, for example, are familiar with that ‘endorphin high’ that comes from marathon workouts. That’s the result of the brain releasing an opiate-like substance that the body produces naturally to reduce pain. In extreme cases it leads to a sense of euphoria.

Along with endorphins there are other neuro-transmitters produced – serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine – that also have beneficial effects as mood elevators. The effects of those is shown most clearly when they exist at too low levels – depression, anxiety and sometimes increased aggression.

Exercise helps reduce stress not only by the biochemicals it produces, but by reducing others produced by stress. When a person experiences stress the sympathetic nervous system produces cortisol and hormones that – if left unaltered in the blood stream – produce harmful effects on blood vessels. They can produce scaring, which can lead to narrowing of the arteries.

Exercise helps solve that problem in two ways. A good workout will actually use up those compounds, breaking them down into products that are harmless and get passed out in urine. It helps in a second way by making blood vessels stronger and more elastic, which helps them resist the effects of any stress-produced chemicals that don’t get used up.

Stress often produces excessively tense muscles, particularly in the neck, shoulders and calves. Exercise can help loosen those up, both as part of a general warm-up period and during the main workout. At the same time, those muscles are getting strengthened and infused with fresh, highly oxygenated blood. Lowering ‘bad’ cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood helps improve the circulatory system, too. A beneficial effect all the way around.

There are psychological benefits from a regular exercise routine that help eliminate stress, as well. Focusing on the routine at hand takes away the conscious focus from the stress initiators. It’s difficult to concentrate on that unreasonable boss and his unfair actions that morning when you’re working your way around the weight stations.

Those effects also help give the mind a chance to bring about homeostasis. That’s a feedback mechanism within the body that brings it back to a state of equilibrium from any extreme. A strenuous workout takes the mind off problems, giving that system time to function without continuing to overload it.

Other psychological benefits follow from a regular workout. Improving overall health and fitness helps produce self-confidence. When you look good, you often feel good. Beyond that, it helps you realize that you are exerting effort to improve your mind and body. That serves to overcome the feelings of helplessness and resultant passivity that so often accompany stress.

Sometimes, just getting out of the house or away from work for a vigorous walk can do wonders. But a good workout of at least half an hour’s duration three to five times per week is ideal. You’ll find stress levels will be lowered and your overall mood will elevate very quickly.

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Interview of Boris Prilutsky by the Director of Education for the National Council for Certified Personal Trainers Back in the days when Boris worked in the Eastern Europe the specialty closest to a personal trainer was called an instructor in therapeutic and physical culture. The job responsibilities of such specialist included not only fitness goal but also, and equally importantly, therapeutic and preventive efforts goals. In general, instructors in therapeutic physical culture, used to utilize most or all techniques that American personal trainers are using, but at the same time used to focus on rehabilitation from exercise stress side effects, correction of bio-mechanics, etc. A part of their educational training was the knowledge of medical and sports massage, which included also post isometric relaxation-stretching techniques, stress management, etc. Certainly here in America and back in the Soviet Union, doctors and other health care practitioners advise people to participate in physical activities and in many cases advise them to have private instructors. Because of this, personal trainers here, as well as back in Russia, are in position to be leaders in fitness fields. But in Russia their role is also to lead in preventive and therapeutic efforts. Their foremost goal is to educate athletes and gym enthusiasts and thus to enforce safety and reduce amount of injuries in the fitness world. In a way, they are like field doctors, especially if we will remember that …

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A.When an immune disorder becomes very severe, it becomes an autoimmune disease.
B.An immune disorder occurs when the immune system does not function properly. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own cells.
C.An immune disorder is the overreaction of the immune system to substances that are not dangerous. An autoimmune disease occurs when germs affect the immune system.
D.An immune disorder is a disease caused by germs, such as pollen or dust. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own cells.
2.An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system to

A.dust.
B.a substance in the environment.
C.carbohydrates in food.
D.an autoimmune disease.
3.During an asthma attack, the

A.bronchial airways narrow and become clogged with mucus.
B.bronchial airways constrict in response to environmental stimuli.
C.lining of the air passages swell and become inflamed.
D.All of the above
4.All of the following are good steps to take to avoid an allergic reaction except

A.avoiding substances you are allergic to.
B.washing sheets and blankets weekly.
C.cleaning bathrooms and kitchens to avoid molds.
D.taking long-term control drugs every day.
5.Which of the following is not an example of an autoimmune disease?

A.rheumatoid arthritis
B.type 1 diabetes
C.multiple sclerosis
D.AIDS
6.Most allergies and autoimmune diseases can be

A.prevented.
B.treated with medication.
C.eliminated with stress management techniques.
D.reduced by avoiding allergens.
7.Which of the following suggestions is not an important step to take if you are diagnosed with an immune or autoimmune disease?

A.Follow your treatment plan without asking any questions.
B.Let your doctor know if new symptoms occur.
C.Be honest with your doctor.
D.Learn about medications and medical tests necessary for your condition
8.Match the following terms to their definitions.
1.itchy swellings on the skin caused by allergies to foods or certain drugs
2.an autoimmune disease in which the immune system begins to destroy the linings of the joints
3.a disease in which the immune system attacks the cells of the body that it would normally protect
4.a disorder that causes the airways to become narrow and clogged with mucus
5.a disease in which the joints of the skeleton wear out as a person ages

A.rheumatoid arthritis
B.autoimmune disease
C.asthma
D.hives
E.osteoarthritis

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