Stress can be a trigger word for many people, and there is a lot of talk about stress, but what does stress actually do to your body? And what can we do to manage the stressors we experience?
Most people would readily admit to experiencing feelings of stress at some time or another. It is a natural physical and mental reaction to our everyday lives. In short-term situations, stress can even be beneficial to our health as it can aid us in coping with certain situations. When we experience stress, our bodies release hormones that increase our heart rate and breathing and prepare our muscles to respond.
However, when these stress responses don’t subside and instead keep firing, resulting in a high constant stress level, your health can be affected in a negative manner. When we become stressed, our muscles tense up and when we experience prolonged episodes of stress, chronic stress, then our muscles find themselves in a constant state of guardedness. This can lead to tension-type headaches and migraine headaches if your shoulders, neck and head are constantly tense. Chronic stress can also lead to feelings of irritability, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Stress also affects your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. If you already suffer from asthma or emphysema, then stress may make it even harder for you to breathe. As mentioned, your heart also pumps faster when you feel stressed. When you suffer from chronic stress, your heart is working overtime for too long. This means an increase in blood pressure, which could result in a stroke or heart attack.
From the above it is pretty evident that prolonged periods of stress have a negative impact on both your mental and physical health. So, what can we do to help ourselves? According to the American Psychological Association relaxation techniques and other stress-relieving activities and therapies can help you manage your stress levels. In doing these activities you can reduce your muscle tension, and thus decrease the onset of certain stress-related issues such as headaches.
Of course, self-care can be very individual, but the main point is that you find what helps you let go of the stress you are experiencing. Some self-care measures may include ensuring you get enough sleep, prioritizing healthy meals and ensuring you have a balance between your free time and work. When you find the thing that calms you down you are taking care of yourself. This will help your body trigger its relaxation responses and slow things down.
Incorporating self-care measures into your daily life will help you maintain your physical, emotional and mental reserves to prevent and manage stress. One way to take care of yourself is to evaluate your priorities. Find what is truly important to you and focus on that. Be wary of spreading yourself too thin over too many activities or musts. Practice setting limits. Most of us know that it’s difficult to say no, but perhaps consider taking pause and rather than automatically saying yes, note that you will consider the question to give yourself some time.
Of course, you can be in the situation where you feel too stressed to de-stress. If this is the case, then try setting a goal and be specific about what you would like to try. Start small so you feel the goal is manageable. For example, spending 5 minutes per day focusing on your breath.
Find the ways in which you de-stress. We are all individual, but make sure that you prioritise yourself and find your stress release valves.