Community Resource Center for Aging
Take a Pause to Consider Your Stress Level
What is stress? It’s hard to define exactly, but we all know it when we feel it – it can be described as tension, pressure or worry about circumstances in our lives. At the most basic level, stress is the body’s response to a threat (real or perceived). It is a universal feeling but unique to each person. April has been identified by The National Institute of Health (NIH) as National Stress Awareness Month.
As we age, common stressors include changes in our health, financial constraints living on fixed incomes and the loss of loved ones around us. Family caregiving is also a growing source of stress in America today. According to a recent report issued by AARP, family caregivers provide an average of 18 “care hours” per week. This is like taking on a part-time job for many who are already working full or part-time jobs in addition to raising children and/or other familial responsibilities.
Stress not only affects our mental health but can also affect our physical health. According to the NIH, chronic stress is associated with heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as depression and anxiety. As we age, these conditions can contribute to other health concerns including a loss of mobility and an overall decrease in the quality of our lives.
Mental Health America is a nonprofit organization that has developed a stress screening tool that assesses eating and sleep habits, social supports and emotional and physical reactions to stress. The online screening tool can be found at: https://mhanational.org/get-involved/stress-screener.
While the bad news is that we cannot avoid stress, the good news is we can learn to manage it. The antidote for stress is resilience. Resilience is the ability to withstand or even overcome the difficulties in our lives that create stress. According to the director of the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, Dr. Janice Clayton, resilience can be learned.
The NIH has developed the following 7 Steps to Manage Stress and Build Resilience: 1. Recognize Signs of Stress; 2. Take Time for Yourself; 3. Try New Routines; 4. Stay Connected; 5. Reframe (see problems through different lenses); 6. Seek Help; 7. Talk to a Health Professional. For more information on these seven steps, go to: https://tinyurl.com/by7a8had.
For information and support to aid in managing your stress, please contact the Community Resource Center for Aging, a program of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. Our webpage is uscvhh.org/aging-resources or feel free to call or email directly (818) 949-4033 and aging-resources@med.usc.edu.