By now, almost every single human being on planet Earth should know that there is a link between stress and health. If it isn’t obvious, it has been spoken about at length, and there are plenty of books, films and videos on the subject. But what exactly does stress do to the body, and what exactly is stress?
Stress is how the body responds to demands. These could be demands or pressures of any kind and can be found in both positive and negative areas of life. When we are stressed, or feel pressured by something, our bodies release chemicals which trickle into our bloodstream. On some occasions, these chemicals help create adrenaline, and people find themselves performing better due to having more energy as a result of adrenaline. This is why some people at work ‘might perform better under pressure’. It can also be a huge negative, though – when adrenaline is created due to emotional stress, there can be no outlet for the adrenaline which then can lead to feelings of extreme anxiety.
What causes this stress, then? Identifying the causes of stress is a great way to find out how you can deal with the stress. Well, it comes from a lot of different areas. Physical stress is a fear of threat in a physical manner – like violence or crime. Emotional stress comes in the form of worries and pressure. Humans in most circumstances don’t have to worry about survival stress – where the threat of violence or death causes extreme stress. We might find internal stress a lot more common. This is when we worry for no reason and create all kinds of stress and panic ourselves that may or may not actually exist, or when we fear things out of our control. Our environment can cause stress due to pressure, work or other things and of course, we can suffer from being overworked. When we are pushed too hard or fail to manage our time and rest, we can build up a lot of stress.
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In the modern day, a lot of this can come from the workplace. We can suffer emotional stress because of the internal stress we make while worrying, the environmental stress that we may suffer from because of pressures at work and the stress created by a lack of rest. All these three can combine for a nasty cocktail! It’s so easy to stack causes of stress and suffer more than ever. Stress can lead to heart disease and other ailments, it’s a big deal.
So how do we defeat stress? Well we identify the causes first and then work to change or cope. To change, we need to change our situation through our own methods or legal means. To cope, we need to adjust how we feel about the situation. It is easier said than done, though.
Stress can be a killer through it’s boosting of mental illnesses and the catalyst it provides to ailments such as stroke and high blood pressure. Take it seriously and learn to relax a little to avoid it.
The financial markets are certainly a place of great stress, regardless of what job you do. From hedge fund managers to accountants, everyone has different levels of stress and different stress triggers. However, there are some general rules that can be applied to handling stress no matter what your job in the finance industry.
In this post, we’ll focus on traders. This is because this is an incredibly stressful profession thanks to the fact that traders operate in a 24 hour market where losing streaks and rough patches are common. However, many of the hints and tips we discuss can be applied elsewhere, no matter what your job. So let’s take a look.
Learn to Deal with Emotional Swings
When you’re trading, you’ll always face ups and downs. As such, it can be difficult to keep a level head and a steady mood. To do this, the best course of action is to make sure that you have a self-care routine. This includes basic things such as regular exercise, ensuring you’re getting enough sleep and eating well.
When you’re under stress, it’s easy to forget your nightly run, to grab a takeaway or a ready meal on the way home or to go to bed later. But this will make your mood swings even worse as your body won’t have the vitamins or the energy levels it needs. So make sure you look after yourself.
Mentally Prepare Yourself for Losses
You may be aware that there’s a good chance you’ll lose money while trading, but are you really mentally prepared for these losses to happen to you?
Not all trades can be winners, so it’s important that you’re not too hard on yourself when you lose. After all, everyone has some losses, even Warren Buffet.
When you’re trading, you have to accept that things will go wrong at some stage. This will provide you with greater mental stability. When things go wrong, you need to remember the things that have gone right, too. By mentally preparing yourself for losses, you’ll be able to keep an even head when things go wrong, which will lead to better decision making that’s not clouded by judgement.
Never Make Impulse Decisions
If you’re already feeling stressed, then impulsive decision making is only likely to heighten this problem. Impulsive decisions are often made shortly after losses, with traders looking to ‘regain losses’ immediately. As these trades are conducted on a whim, they’re never studied properly, so many lead to further losses. So never make them.
Also try to avoid trading when you’re feeling down about work or family life. Trading is a very serious business, and it shouldn’t be used as a form of escapism from other issues. Instead of trading during these times, when it’s likely that your mind isn’t fully on the job, look to take a short walk or some exercise instead, and only return to trading when you have a clear mind.
Bring in A Daily Routine to Combat Stress
The best techniques are often simple fixes. Short, sharp routines can help you eliminate stress without consuming too much of your time. Breathing exercises are one way that you can do this, and it only takes two to five minutes depending on your routine. The idea is that it should reduce tension in your body, lessening the stress you feel.
If breathing exercises don’t work for you, then consider keeping a training journal. You can write all of your trades in here, documenting what works (or doesn’t) and why. This will provide you with greater rationale for your trades, lowering your anxiety levels when your trades mirror previous successes. As much as anything else, the journal should help stop you from making the same mistakes time and time again, giving you less to worry about.
Look at Other Forms of Trading and Financial Jobs to Manage Stress Levels
If you’re struggling with forex trading or managing your stocks and shares, then it is also advisable to look at other forms of trading, such as spread betting or binary options.
Many traders who struggle with stress struggle with sleep as they have active positions overnight. However, with options like spread betting, you don’t have to worry about this. If you’re interested in learning more, then ETX Capital have a great number of resources to educate yourself on the topic of spread betting, and Investopedia can teach you more about binary options trading. Make sure you’re clued up on all the options available.
To conclude, you’re always going to have stress in the finance industry. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t take steps to manage and limit the stress you’re feeling and the impact it has on your mind and body. The above advice is applicable to a number of different jobs within the industry, so try tweaking it to help you and remember, above all else, to talk to an expert if you need help.
Chris Brown collapsed at Record Plant recording studios in Hollywood on Friday and the seizure has been blamed on his intense fatigue and anxiety related to his recent hit and run legal troubles.
A spokesperson for Chris Brown, 24, told UsWeekly: “While in the studio working early this morning, Chris suffered a nonepileptic seizure (NES). He was not hospitalized.”
“His doctor tended to him this afternoon and attributes the NES to intense fatigue and extreme emotional stress, both due to the continued onslaught of unfounded legal matters and the nonstop negativity.”
Chris Brown was previously reported to have refused medical treatment at the scene following the seizure and was fully responsive.
Chris Brown collapsed at Record Plant recording studios in Hollywood
The incident came shortly after Chris Brown, who spent 45 minutes in jail on Monday after his probation, stemming from his assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna in 2009, was revoked due to an alleged hit and run accident in Los Angeles in May, claimed he was “tired of being famous”.
The LA Fire Department had been called to the scene early in the morning on Friday after receiving a 911 call, according to TMZ.
But when paramedics arrived at Record Plant recording studios, Chris Brown is said to have refused treatment and declined to be taken to the hospital.
The call was allegedly made at 1:09 a.m. from the Hollywood studio.
It is not yet confirmed whether Chris Brown did indeed have a seizure, but according to TMZ the singer did suffer seizures as a child.
Earlier in the day, Chris Brown was seen spraypainting a wall outside a tattoo parlor.
