Don’t carry your burdens and stress

Stress is the body’s response to a challenge or demand. Everyone experiences stress, which can be triggered by a range of events, from small daily hassles to major changes like a divorce or job loss. The stress response includes physical components such an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, thoughts and personal beliefs about the stressful event, and emotions, including fear and anger. Although we often think of it as being negative, stress can also come from positive changes in your life, like getting a promotion at work or having a new baby.

Types of Stress

Physical stress: Injury, Infection, surgery, environmental pollution, radiation, noise, illness, viral, bacterial, fatigue, inadequate oxygen supply, low blood sugar, nutritional deficiencies, food allergies and sensitivities, unhealthy eating habits, dehydration…

Psychological stress: Emotional stress like fears, frustration, sadness, anger, grief. cognitive stress like worry, guilt, shame, jealousy, resistance, attachments, self-criticism, self-loathing, panic attacks, not feeling like yourself, not feeling like things are real, and not being in control. perceptual stress like beliefs, roles, stories, attitudes, world view.

Psycho-social stress: Relationship/marriage difficulties partner, siblings, children, family, employer, co-workers, employer, lack of social support, lack of resources for adequate survival, loss of employment/investments/savings, loss of loved ones and isolation.

Psycho-spiritual stress: A crisis of values, meaning, and purpose; joyless striving instead of productive, satisfying, meaningful and fulfilling work; and spiritual beliefs.

Glass of water

A speaker was once explaining stress to an audience of around 300 people. He raised a big glass of water and asked the listening audience, “Does anyone know how heavy this glass is?” Answers varied from 100 to 500 grams.

The speaker replied, “The absolute weight of this water really doesn’t matter all that much. What really matters is how long you try to hold it!”

He continued, “If I am only holding it for a few minutes, the weight won’t be a problem. If I have to hold it for an hour I might begin to feel an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm is going begin to feel numb and even paralyzed.”

After a couple of moments of silence, he continued…

This is like stress and worries in our lives. If you think about your stress and the things you are worried about for a short time, there is little impact. If you think about them longer they can begin to hurt. And if you think about them all the time they can eventually become so heavy you can’t carry on. It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. Put your burdens down when you can. Don’t carry them for hours and days and months.

Remember to put down the glass!

Moral:

It’s important to let go off your stresses. Don’t carry your burdens and stress into evening and then night.

Ways to Ease Stress

Stress is an unavoidable part of life, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Too much untreated stress can cause potentially serious physical and mental health problems. The good news is that in many cases, stress is manageable. With some patience and a few useful strategies, you can reduce your stress, whether it’s family stress or stress at the workplace.

Take a Deep Breath

Breathing can change how we feel because emotions and breathing are closely connected. Deep breathing gets more oxygen to your brain and may lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Pay attention to your breathing pattern, and make an effort to start taking slow, deep breaths. This is the foundational step of breathing exercises for stress relief.

Get a Hug From a Loved One

Physical touch can do a lot to relieve your stress. Hugging a loved one can be especially beneficial. So don’t be afraid to ask a loved one for a hug if you need it. It’s good for both of you and it can be one of the simplest forms of stress relief available. When you hug someone, oxytocin (also known as the “cuddle hormone”) is released. Oxytocin is associated with higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress. Oxytocin also causes a reduction in blood pressure. It reduces the stress hormone and can produce a sense of relaxation.

Practice Yoga

Yoga can help reduce stress because it promotes relaxation, which is the natural opposite of stress. Yoga can benefit three aspects of ourselves that are often affected by stress: our body, mind, and breathing. Developing a personal yoga practice can help prevent and reduce stress, which is a common goal among people who want to create positive growth and focus on self-improvement. Yoga encourages mental and physical relaxation, which helps reduce stress and anxiety. The physical postures promote flexibility, relieve tension, and alleviate pain. Yoga poses may help you release physical blockages like muscle knots, helping release emotions and tension. They also promote the release of mood-boosting endorphins, which are the feel-good hormones that can positively affect how you handle stress.

Listen to Soothing Music

Listening to music you like, can be a good way to relieve stress. Slow-paced instrumental music can induce the relaxation response by helping lower blood pressure and heart rate as well as stress hormones. Some types of classical, Celtic, Native American and Indian music can be particularly soothing, but simply listening to the music you enjoy is effective too. Nature sounds can also be very calming. This is why they’re often incorporated into relaxation and meditation music. Listening to music can have a very relaxing effect on the body. Music can also express your emotions without having you show them way to do it. Music can also make you happy.

Spend Time with your Family

Take the time to build relationships with all members of the family. This takes time and a concerted effort by each. Focus on communicating, working together, supporting each other, celebrating accomplishments, and most importantly, spending time together. Then each family member recognises that there is always a group of family members to support them. This may include your immediate family, extended family members or close friends that you and your children can depend upon and are willing to help ease life’s difficulties. Taking time to do something fun as a family will help everyone de-stress and get their minds on something else. Take time to play a board game, go for a walk, have a picnic, just do something that gets the family laughing and enjoying each other.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Some people try to reduce stress by drinking alcohol or eating too much. These actions may seem to help in the moment, but actually may add to stress in the long run. Caffeine also can compound the effects of stress. Consuming a healthy, balanced diet can help to combat stress. Refined carbs, like cookies and potato chips, can cause a spike in blood sugar. When your blood sugar crashes, you might experience more stress. Consuming a healthy diet can help you combat stress over the long haul. Eating a diet high in vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, and lean protein, eggs, avocado, and walnuts support mood regulation and energy balance. Although stress may arise in your workplace and personal life, there are many simple ways to reduce the pressure you feel. These tips often involve getting your mind away from the source of stress.

Sleep Better

Everyone knows stress can cause you to lose sleep. Unfortunately, lack of sleep is also a key cause of stress. This vicious cycle causes the brain and body to get out of whack and only gets worse with time. Make sure to get the doctor-recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. Turn the TV off earlier, dim the lights, and give yourself time to relax before going to bed. It may be the most effective stress buster on our list.

Play with a Pet

Hanging out with a dog after a stressful event greatly reduces your cortisol levels and possibly buffers the impact of the event. Just petting an animal can boost your serotonin and dopamine levels. Mental health improvements from owning a pet, alongside providing a form of therapy, owning a pet can add a level of structure, routine, as well as additional exercise to your lifestyle, helping to reduce stress and anxiety.

How Stress Affects the Body

When you hear people say, “I’m so stressed out”, it’s because they’re feeling the effects stress is having on their bodies. Stress can impact just about every part of the body. Stress hormones in the body trigger the “fight or flight” response in the body. Adrenaline and cortisol get your heart beating fast, your breath getting faster, and your muscles tensing up.

Stress can lead to:

• Headaches
• Depression
• Heartburn
• Insomnia
• Rapid breathing
• Weakened immune system
• High blood sugar
• High blood pressure
• Stomach problems
• Infertility

Too much stress can also lead to overeating, which can cause health problems like diabetes and obesity. With all of the negative ways that stress can affect the body, it’s important to find ways to relieve stress to avoid these conditions.

There are things you can learn to help you manage stress before it gets to be too much. These tips may help you keep stress at bay

• Keep a positive attitude.
• Accept that there are events that you cannot control.
• Be assertive instead of aggressive. Assert your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming angry, defensive, or passive.
• Learn to manage your time more effectively.
• Set limits appropriately and say no to requests that would create excessive stress in your life.
• Make time for hobbies and interests.
• Don’t rely on alcohol, drugs, or compulsive behaviors to reduce stress. Drugs and alcohol can stress your body even more.
• Seek out social support. Spend enough time with those you love.
• Seek treatment with a psychologist or other mental health professional trained in stress management or biofeedback techniques to learn more healthy ways of dealing with the stress in your life.

The truth is that stress doesn’t come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about your circumstances. Stress is part of being human, and it can help motivate you to get things done. Talk to your doctor if you feel down or anxious for more than several weeks or if it starts to interfere with your home or work life.

“Calmness is the cradle of power”

https://www.dailylifestyleblog.com/2021/07/easy-ways-to-relieve-stress.html