Stress can make you feel like you’re stuck inside a box.

Identifying the Causes of Stress

Before you can establish an effective stress reduction plan, you need to be able to identify what causes you stress. The sources of the stress are called stressors. And these sources are different for everyone. However, your reaction to these stressors releases a hormone in your brain that causes your body to react. The greater your reaction to the stressor, the greater the amount of hormones are released. These hormones can cause your body to increase your heart rate, make your breathing more shallow (feeling like you can’t get enough air), make you feel dizzy or faint, and cause your muscles to tighten up and making your body ache. There are a number of physical stressors that we don’t have control over, but there are many more psychological stressors that we can control. When you perceive something is a problem, whether it actually is or not, your brain thinks you are under stress and will release these hormones at a level for which you perceive the problem. Releasing too many of these hormones, thus being under stress constantly or repeatedly, is not good for your health. There have been many studies completed that can link heart disease and other health problems to high stress levels. It is important, if you want to live a healthy life, to be able to identify these stressors and minimize the affects they have on you. For more information about the causes of stress, check out HelpGuide.org.

We can utilize the Six Sigma approach to addressing our everyday problems. If your not familiar with or fully understand Six Sigma, the basic concept is to make improvements by reducing the amount of a problem. This is usually done through a series of screening tests and statistical analysis. Don’t let that scare you off. We are not going to suggest that you have to be a statistical guru or need to be able to do math to follow our suggested process. We will walk you through the process and show you how easy it is to reduce your stress.

The Six Sigma process follows what is called the DMAIC process. This is an acronym for:

· Define

· Measure

· Analyze

· Improve and

· Control

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Six Sigma provides a clear roadmap.

Six Sigma was originally developed as a means of identifying and solving problems within a process. Typically this approach has been limited to manufacturing and transactional types of processes, however it works equally as well with solving personal problems that exist consistently or everyday .

The roadmap for all Six Sigma improvements are to Define the problem, Measure how much variation is within the problem, Analyze the measurements, suggest ways to Improve the problem by reducing the variation or the occurrence , and finally implementing a system to Control the problem moving forward.

Stress is a problem that affects all of us on a daily basis. Some days are better than others, while some days you feel like your at the end of your rope. If only there was a way to identify what causes your stress and show you how to reduce your stressful feelings.

The good news is, there is. It will require some effort on your part. There are no “quick and easy fixes” without seeing a doctor and filling your body up with prescriptions that only work on resolving your symptoms. If this is the approach that you want to take, then there is no point in continuing on into this website. Dampening the symptoms so you can pretend that everything is good, has done nothing to help you other than making you rely on an unneeded prescription for the rest of your life.

We’re not against someone going to the doctor for a prescription to help relieve the pain caused by stress when the pain and/or anxiety is too much to bear. However, if you ever want your doctor to reduce or discontinue your prescription, you will need to be able to establish a permanent method of controlling your reactions to stress.

The best way to accomplish a long-term Stress Reduction Program is to follow the Six Sigma approach and identify as many sources of stress as possible. Continuous monitoring and improvement efforts will help you benefit by feeling better and reducing the possibility of health problems due to stress.

Stress Reduction and Management Techniques using a Six Sigma Approach

Why use Six Sigma ?

Six Sigma utilizes a logical, data driven analysis that can be used to make long-term improvements. Looking what causes stress, as you would an outside problem, with Six Sigma can help you develop a structured problem solving methodology.

Why are we suggesting you use this method?

Simple, stress is something that everyone is aware of and you can easily identify the large stressors in your life. Plus, by following the Six Sigma methods can put you on the path to logically resolving other problems you will be faced with throughout your life. Most people go from perception to resolution without understanding what is going on.

A good example of this type of behavior is when something in your house stops working. For this example, let’s say your computer won’t turn on. The quick resolution might be to replace the computer. However if you study the problem before quickly jumping to a solution, you might find out the power cord was unplugged or the surge protector needed to be reset. By not getting upset and feeling the need to quickly provide an answer to the problem, you would have just saved yourself hundreds of dollars and hours of stress.

Six Sigma works on this basic principle. Before jumping to the resolution, you need to step back and evaluate the problem first. This way you know all the factors that influence the problem and which factors are the most prevalent.

Six Sigma may have originally been designed to resolve problems within a business setting, it can also lend itself to resolving problems in our personal lives as well.

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