The myth about stress is that it is a 'bad' thing. Stress is actually just your body's of coping with increased demands. However, too much stress and we can start to break down and not enough stress we can become stagnant and complacent. Stress can affect both the mind and body and long term stress can impact overall health and well-being
By identifying the sources of your stress, you can learn ways to positively cope, manage your stress levels, and improve your health.
We are each unique individuals - what one person perceives as stressful may not be stressful to another person. Nonetheless, whatever causes an individual to feel stressed we can learn ways to first recognize that our body-mind is experiencing stress and then adopt ways to let go of that stress when it has done its job.
By identifying the sources of your stress, you can learn ways to positively cope, manage your stress levels, and improve your health.
We are each unique individuals - what one person perceives as stressful may not be stressful to another person. Nonetheless, whatever causes an individual to feel stressed we can learn ways to first recognize that our body-mind is experiencing stress and then adopt ways to let go of that stress when it has done its job.
Learn to recognize the various mental, emotional, behavioral, and physical signs of stress:
Unmanaged stress can lead to an increased risk of both mental & physical problems, such as:
- Mental symptoms - problems concentrating or feeling motivated, intrusive thoughts, forgetfulness, negative ideas
- Emotional symptoms - feelings of insecurity, worry, sadness, pessimism
- Behavioral symptoms - sexual problems, sleeping difficulties, irritability, hostility, fearfulness, impatience, confrontational or rude impulses, becoming withdrawn, rigid, or hyperactive
- Physical symptoms - muscle fatigue & tension, headaches, rapid breathing or heart rate, indigestion or diarrhea, sweating, twitching or trembling, nausea, dizziness or light headedness, aches & pains
Unmanaged stress can lead to an increased risk of both mental & physical problems, such as:
- Infection & Illness - Stress impairs immune system functioning which increases susceptiblity to infection and various illnesses, such as the common cold or flu.
- Obesity - Often, people eat sweet and fatty foods to reduce stress, which deteriorates health. Stress also raises cortisol levels which in the long term directs the body to consume and store more fat.
- Heart disease - Stress constricts blood vessels, and raises blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels, and the amount of fats in the blood.
- Autoimmune diseases - Stress can cause diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and asthma to flare up.
- Depression - Prolonged stress can decrease serotonin levels, which keeps you from feeling pleasure or enjoyment.
- Anxiety disorders - Severe or prolonged stress responses can develop into phobias or irrational feelings of lasting threat