Stress: The Five Dimensions Of Health

In today’s busy world, most people have lives that are filled with frustrations, deadlines, and demands. For many, stress becomes so common that it occurs every day and becomes a way of life. Stress is not always bad. Stress, when it does not exceed a certain level, can help people perform better since they are under pressure. It can also be used as a motivator to complete a task quicker and better. However, when stress exceeds a certain point, life can become overwhelming and can result in damaging a person’s health, mood, relationships, and quality of life. Luckily, there are ways to recognize the signs of stress and reduce the damaging effects stress has on the physical dimension of health.
Stress is the body’s way of responding to any kind …show more content…
According to Pensions and Health Benefits, each dimension effects one’s ability to prosper (General Board Pension and Health Benefits, 2014). Understanding the dimensions can help a person cope with and learn how to manage stress. The physical dimension of health is a key factor to one’s overall wellbeing and management of stress. According to Wellness: The Holistic Approach, understanding the physical dimension of health is an active state in health where a person moves to a higher level of functioning. One must reach a level of balance with their external and internal self (Fain & Lewis, 2002). The physical dimension deals with organs and tissue, the things that keep the body functioning and working. This dimension involves taking care of the body such as exercise, eating healthy, and getting enough sleep (Olpin & Hesson, 2014). Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential in dealing with …show more content…
This technique is also extremely beneficial for the physical dimension of health. Reflexology is a point of treatment that has been around for decades. The treatment that Reflexology offers uses points on a person’s hands and feet to help eliminate stress and tension. It has been shown that when people are under a large amount of stress, the autonomic nervous system becomes induced (Hughes et al, 2011). Reflexology helps to maintain the autonomic nervous system by reducing stress and anxiety. Reduced levels of stress and anxiety are found to help women who have depression, people who have or have had cancer, and any working professional (Hughes et al, 2011). In Hughes’ study, he found that foot massaging has the same effect as Reflexology because it stimulates the same areas as the Reflexology. This effect, caused both massaging and Reflexology, has a therapeutic effect on people’s stress levels. The physical dimension of health is impacted by Reflexology because the use of this therapeutic method helps to stabilize the Autonomic Nervous System. It also controls an individual’s blood pressure (Hughes et al, 2011). By stimulating certain reflex points, hormones are released from glands which aids in the regulation of blood pressure (Hughes et al,