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eBook Category: Health/Fitness/Business
eBook Description: It begins like any other day. After hours of tossing and turning, you have finally fallen into a fitful sleep when you are jarred awake by the blaring of your alarm clock. Already feeling depleted before the day begins, you drag yourself out of bed, stagger to the shower and try to shake off the nagging anticipation of another daily grind. You fly through the kitchen with a hasty good morning, grab your cup of coffee and bark at your 3 year old who is reaching for your arms with oatmeal covered fingers. She cries, your wife snaps and out the door you run to join the safari just as the sun is rising. Off you go to take your place in the line with other hunters on the daily trek to capture the prize and bag the "big one." You negotiate the hunting party by switching lanes and exercising your cunning to creep a few car lengths ahead, all the while ignoring the blaring horns and interesting gestures of the other hunters. Finally, you drag yourself into your office amid the ringing telephones, beeping fax machines and raucous voices all clamoring for your attention, and jockeying for position to have their request granted first. Exhausted, you fall into the chair behind your desk when suddenly, panic strikes. You can't breath. Your chest feels as if someone has placed a leaden weight atop it, even though you are sitting up. As you gasp for air, your head feels as if it is going to explode and your heart is pounding. Before you know it everything surrounding you becomes dimmer and dimmer until........" If you can relate to all or any portion of the story above, you are a ticking time bomb just waiting to ignite. Yes STRESS is the Silent Killer. Is it the sole source for heart attack? No, in fact the jury is still out as to the statistics on just how much of a risk factor for heart disease stress can be. This comes from the American Heart Association. It IS one of the risk factors, however. Interestingly, the medical community does know that stress contributes to buildup up plaque in the arteries. Combine that one bit of knowledge with any of the other risk factors for heart disease and you can count yourself among one of those "ticking time bombs." The good news is that this is one risk factor that you have control over. You CAN reduce the risk, and "Stress The Silent Killer" is just what you need to discover how that is possible. "Stress The Silent Killer" discusses how to prevent and cope with stress in your life. Learn exactly what stress is and the different stages it can go through before the realization strikes that you'd best get a handle on it. Investigate the source of YOUR stress and uncover the contributing factors in your daily life. Explore the warning signs and primary symptoms of stress and how these symptoms are triggered. Here's a sample of what is revealed to you to combat this silent killer:--How to Prevent Stress from Getting the Best of You--Stress and Vitamins--Simple Changes to Reduce the Stress in Your Life--How to Stop Family Stress--Overcoming Stress in Your Marriage--How to Manage Your Money without Stress--How to do Hobbies to Relieve Stress--Humor--Learning the Lighter Side of Life--Life is too short to Fret--Overcoming Your Anger--Getting Away to Relieve Stress--Finding More Time--Goal Setting and Time Management--Getting Rid of Stress with Meditation--Stress Management Techniques--How to Manage Your Stress with Alternative Therapy--Natural Remedies for Stress--Breathing Techniques--How to Exercise Away Your Stress- Stress Relief Exercises--Stress Balls--How They Work "Stress The Silent Killer" even gives you a "Stress Awareness Diary" for you to determine the contributing triggers of stress in your life. Use this diary to plot your roadmap to learning how to handle this deadly disease. Take charge today. If you or a loved one displays any of the symptoms of stress they need this valuable lifestyle tool. Don't become a statistic! Pull the plug on your ticking time bomb today! Your family will thank you.

eBook Publisher: MH Publishing
Fictionwise Release Date: April 2005

1. Stress--An Overview

Stress is the effect of physical and emotional changes that surround you.

Stress causes different reactions in different people.

How is your stress level?

We'll find out!

Are you aware how much the world has changed in the last 100 years?

It went from years of using animals to get from place to place. In fact, generation after generation people relied much on animals or their own feet to

get to where they wanted to go.

Suddenly the amount of change has become astounding. One person could have gone from telephones, cars, radios, airplanes, black and white television,

to stereo systems, to landing on the moon to watching war on color television within their own lifetime.

In this fast paced environment there is no shame whatsoever to admit to being stressed. Different people handle stress in different ways. What will work for

one person may not work for another. However, understanding stress is your road to freedom from stress.

Why is it that some people can shrug off complete chaos while others can have one thing change their routine and it is enough to raise their blood pressure, or

throw them into deep depression?

Can it be like the difference between swimming in salt water and fresh water?

In salt water, it's way easier to float. Some people tend to float more easily than others through life and can shrug off the things that knock the wind out of

someone else.

You've heard the expression "the straw that broke the camel's back."

Many people don't really understand it because they've really never owned a camel, or know much about camels. Well, a camel can carry a certain amount

of weight and all it takes is just a tiny weight barely more than a feather to suddenly break the camel's back. Literally.

Stress is the same thing. It's added and added and added until suddenly you blow up over a silly thing like a glass left on the table after dinner. You will

certainly look very irrational as you 'scream' about the glass.

It's not the glass. It's an accumulation of many things.

When you face any acute worry or are not comfortable with something, a constant nagging feeling of anger, frustration, or fear produces negative

feelings and reactions in your body, resulting in aches and pains or a short temper.

Stress is not all bad. The positive effects of stress gears up your body systems and you become more alert and energetic. Your mental ability

increases and your nervous system works faster. You can feel motivated, thrilled, and invigorated.

Stress can be an energizer and produce positive reactions such as when you race against time to meet your deadline, you pump in all your energy and boost

your output levels. You could be hurrying to your office, to your school class, or a college exam, or even running for a bus. You are late. Your body is

reacting in different ways to your stress signals.

The same is true when you face any imminent danger. You gather all your resources to stand and fight or run away from the danger.

A healthy body is geared to handle normal stress.

Stress can add up! Stress is the total effect of environmental and physical changes around you.

The negative effects of stress have many far-reaching influences.

It promotes pessimistic feelings of anger, distrust, depression, and rejection.

All or any of these can lead to mild headaches to monster migraines, as in my own case. It can also lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, stomach

upsets, sleeplessness, and strokes.

You need to be able to identify your body signals. When you are under extreme stress, your body emits certain warning signals. These could be aching

muscles, a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, body aches, sleeplessness and stomach upsets. These require immediate attention as they could lead to serious illness

or have fatal consequences.