Stress, a Natural Response That Affects Everyone’s Health: How Are Coping With it?
Stress can halt our relationships and level of productivity
Stress affects everyone’s immune system mostly during hard times or unavoidable circumstances. It can be the outcome of excessive work, depression, anxiety, etc.
One thing about stress is that it triggers the stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to make our body perceive threats.
Although stressing out for the short term can be beneficial as it can help you gain energy and focus. Whilst long term stress might be chronic and requires professional attention as it can affect your mental and physical health.
That’s why it’s essential to know how to manage stress. With proper stress management techniques, you can safeguard your health from serious health complications such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, etcetera.
On this fast and evolving planet, Earth, there are a few other factors that are causing more stress in people. These might include regular work demands, social obligations, family, economic uncertainties, job insecurities, financial pressures, etcetera.
And no doubt, in our demanding environments today, stress management has become vital in maintaining the entire well-being of individuals.
The Physical and Emotional Symptoms of Stress
To understand the physical symptoms of stress, pay attention to these reactions: headaches, muscle tension and pain, fatigue, digestive problems, chest pains, rapid heartbeat, and weakness in your immune system.
When you feel any of these, just do the necessary thing to re-energize. For instance, a headache is one of the symptoms I feel whenever I am stressed out.
And what I usually do to relieve myself from that stress is to take a nap for at least an hour or more. However, when I wake up and still feel the same pain, then it’s critical. At this point, I have no other option than to reach out to a doctor for treatment.
On the other hand, emotional symptoms may consist of anxiety, irritability, anger, depression, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, feeling overwhelmed, etcetera.
So when you can understand all of these symptoms, then you’ll be able to effectively manage your stress levels.
The Impact of Stress
For instance, the stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline when released can cause increased heart rates and blood pressure. If necessary precautions aren’t taken, the blood vessels and heart can be affected.
Plus certain factors such as smoking, excessive eating, high blood pressure, and levels of cholesterol can increase the risk of strokes and heart attacks if associated with stress.
Stress can also cause irregular heart rhythms and decrease the response of the immune system. On top of that prolonged stress can cause inflammation, making one more accessible to ailments such as colds and other illnesses.
When you’re experiencing such, it’s because your immune system is less capable of defending itself against pathogens.
You can also experience other effects such as stomach aches, bloating, nausea, migraines, musculoskeletal pain, difficulty breathing, and hormone imbalance. For women, stress can cause irregularities in their menstrual cycle.
Stress does a lot to our bodies.
Furthermore, when stress causes you to suffer from an anxiety disorder, if it’s not controlled, you’ll eventually get into depression which may be characterized by constant sadness and lack of interest in activities.
The thing is that it can affect your cognitive functions and cause you to develop memory and concentration deficits. More or less, stress can halt our relationships and level of productivity.
Stress Management Techniques
You can use these strategies to manage your stress levels and help yourself stay productive:
- Employ healthy eating habits.
- Proactive mindfulness and relaxation.
- Consider breathing exercises to help calm the mind.
- You may also consider doing yoga to help you reduce pains and stress.
- Learn how to manage your time by prioritizing and managing tasks effectively.
- Always take a break to relax your brain and body.
- Always set achievable goals; it will save you from burnout.
- Learn how to share your feelings with family members or friends. This can relieve you from stress.
Plus when facing a severe stress condition, see professional assistance or treatment. With an expert’s help you’ll be able to know when to consider going for therapy or counseling.
Lastly, joining a support group with similar situations is a great option for alleviating stress.
Takeaway
Before dealing with stress, the first thing to do is identify your stress triggers (stressors). You can have a stress diary book; this can help you keep track of those things that trigger your stress and reactions. If possible, develop a stress management plan.
A stress management plan usually includes the following steps.
Step #1: Figuring out your stress triggers.
Step #2: Assessing your coping skills.
Step #3: Setting achievable goals and priorities.
Step #4: Select the strategies that help you cope better.
Step #5: Plan implementation.
Step #6: Observe your plan and make adjustments when necessary.
