Understanding Stress

You are probably pretty familiar with stress because you experience it on a regular basis. You know you don’t enjoy stress and its negative effects on your life but you can’t seem to escape it. You have probably come to an understanding that you just have to live with it and hope you get through it. This is a common response but it is not made in the best interest of yourself and your health. Check out this long list of physical, mental and behavioral issues that can result from stress and see if you can relate to any of them:

Physical: Headaches, chest pain, pounding heart, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, muscle aches, back pain, clenched jaw, grinding teeth, upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation, increased sweating, tiredness, sleep problems, weight gain or loss, sex problems, skin breakouts.

Mental/feelings: Anxiety, restlessness, worrying, irritability, depression, sadness, anger, mood swings, job dissatisfaction, insecurity, confusion, burnout, forgetfulness, resentment, guilt, lack of concentration, negativity.

Behavior: Overeating, under eating, outbursts of anger, drug use, excessive drinking, increased smoking, social withdrawal, crying spells, relationship conflicts, decreased productivity, blaming others.

Your body has its methods of reacting to stress in order to protect you from perceived threats. Constantly being in a stressed state will mess you up bodily and mentally because your “fight or flight” reaction system is always on. This long-term activation of the stress response system results in over exposure to stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol disrupting your body’s processes and increasing your risk of serious health problems.

All this is to say that simply trying to live with excessive stress is not the way to go. Ideally you want to be able to manage the stress in your life. By understanding what stresses you out you can take action to reduce the duration and severity of stress, as well as incorporate healthy relief activities into your daily life.

In my next post I will discuss common stressors and in what ways you can manage your stress so that your health risks are reduced. In the mean time, try to get a grasp on what stresses you out on a regular basis so that you can begin to formulate a plan to manage those stressors.