Thursday, March 03, 2005
Stress Shapes and Squeeze Balls
Stress, a double edged sword, too much and it will kill, too little and we die of boredom!
Sometimes I think that a little peace and quiet with a nice cup of tea and a biscuit would not go amiss but I shall have to wait until I am in my dotage for that – some would say that I am already there but they are very rude people!
The hormone adrenaline is released from the adrenal medulla in times of excitement, fear or stress. Under normal circumstances the fear or excitement results in increased physical activity ie fighting or running away (hence adrenaline is the hormone of fright and flight). Adrenaline prepares the body for this activity by constricting peripheral blood vessels – this raises blood pressure – so that more blood enters the muscles- and increasing the rate of heart beat and respiration. (I told you I was a teacher in a previous life!!) Very good things if you are about to get physical but very bad if all you can do is seethe with frustration on the end of the telephone or sit in a huge traffic jam when you are supposed to have been with a client 45 minutes ago.
One of the most popular of business gifts in recent years have been the stress shapes, sometimes known as squeeze balls. We can produce these little foam stress shapes in any form you care to think of – perhaps the mother in law would not be a good idea – and then all you have to do is squeeze it very hard to release all of your pent up frustrations! Of all business gifts one of the best I would say for this time of year when the weather is rotten, the next holiday is at least 3 weeks ( Easter) away, and every one is going manic in the office.
