Your Mind Your Body

Guest post by Dr. Ron Palomares, psychologist

Me stressed? No way! Actually, we know that everyone – men and women, children and teens – often feel stressed. In today’s world, there’s no such thing as a stress-free life. It’s natural and necessary for our survival. But if our bodies are always feeling stressed, then physical and emotional problems happen.

We hear a lot of talk about women and mothers being stressed. But even though it’s not talked about as frequently, guys feel stress too. We typically have different ways of handling it than women – meaning, many men try to not show it or talk about it. That’s one of the reasons we often associate stress with women and not with men.

Balancing work, social life and family can take its toll, especially when men feel they have to “always be strong,” “have the right answer,” and “never show weakness.” Men in particular respond to stress by feeling irritable and angry. This stress is often dealt with in harmful ways, such as eating unhealthy foods or having a few extra drinks. Ignoring stress or coping with it in unhealthy ways can eventually cause serious damage to our bodies. Stress has been linked to heart disease, obesity, depression and high blood pressure.

So as we recognize Men’s Health Week and approach Father’s Day, take the time to pay attention to your stress – what’s causing it AND what are you doing to deal with it? Don’t shy away from facing the facts. Unhealthy reactions to stress may seem like the easy way out, but the long-term effects only cause more stress and more problems. Instead, consider exercise or playing a sport. Find time to rest, relax and get a good night’s sleep. Take a break from work and make time to play with your children. What is most important is to let go of the stress by focusing on the quality of time spent, not the quantity.

Photo by GrilledBabyPandas via flickr

Dr. Ron Palomares is a psychologist and assistant executive director of governance operations for the American Psychological Association.

Filed under: Lifestyle & Behaviors, Parenting, Stress