Stress Archive

 If you are taking care of a loved one, you need to take special care of yourself, too. There are resources to help you.

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More than 65 million Americans—two-thirds of whom are women—are taking care of a disabled or ailing family member. If you're among them, you're well aware that caring for a loved one can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life, but it can also be one of the most challenging, especially to your own health.

"We know family caregivers are under a particular amount of stress. And stress over time can cause them to become ill," says Dr. Diane Mahoney, Jacque Mohr Professor of Geriatric Nursing Research at MGH Institute of Health Professions, an academic affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital. In fact, more than 20% of caregivers report that their health has suffered as a result of their responsibilities.

The new book Organize Your Emotions, Optimize Your Life proposes that the human psyche has nine life forces speaking as our “inner voices,” each with its own agenda and emotions. Learning to listen and respond to those voices can help you shift your stress to a sense of balance.

Exercise, breathing techniques, and medication can help you manage stress as you get older.

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We all experience a little stress from time to time. It's not so hard to handle when we're young. But as we age, coping with stress isn't as easy anymore. "We tend to have less resilience to stress, and older adults often find that stress affects them differently now," says Dr. Michelle Dossett, an internal and integrative medicine specialist at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine.

Changes in response

What you should do

Want to make a change but wondering how to stay motivated? Dr. Srini Pillay talks about the things that can impact personal motivation and the power of a sense of meaning to help you stick with your goals.

Men are often reluctant to seek therapy. After all, it involves asking for help and talking candidly about one’s emotions, two things that many men are eager to avoid. But men should know that there’s no need to “tough out” whatever they’re going through. There are plenty of professionals out there who are ready and willing to lend an ear.

Cardiac rehabilitation—a supervised program to help people recover after a heart attack or heart surgery—may be more helpful if it includes stress reduction training, according to a study published online March 21 in the journal Circulation.

Researchers compared three groups of heart patients: people who did cardiac rehab for 12 weeks, those who did cardiac rehab plus stress reduction, and those who chose not to participate in cardiac rehab. The stress reduction group engaged in weekly, 1.5 hour-long sessions that included small group discussions and training in stress reduction, coping skills, and relaxation techniques.