All stress is not created equal. The kind that inspires action and gets your adrenaline pumping can be good, but the long-term effects of chronic stress can do far more damage to your health than you may realize. If you want to enjoy life to the fullest, you need to banish long-lasting forms of stress from your life – starting with the everyday sources that threaten to ruin everything from your sleep cycle to your relationships with those closest to you. Here are some simple tips for getting rid of stress once and for all!
Defining Stress
In the United States and other developed countries, stress is often considered a normal part of life. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be dangerous. Stress can lead to many physical and mental health problems ranging from elevated heart rate to depression. According to medical experts, excessive stress exposure could even cause death. But, before it affects you to this extent, it’s important to understand what unhealthy stress is and where it can come from.
Identifying causes of stress
We all have stress in our lives. It can come from any number of places, including work, family responsibilities, or the state of the world. There are many ways to combat stress, and it’s important to be able to identify what is causing you stress so that you can take steps to alleviate it. Americans name the following as some of the more frequent stress triggers:
- Hectic workplace and managers
- Health conditions
- Money problems
- Relationship issues
- Day-to-day fast pace of life
The link between stress and your health
Stress means that your body constantly feels under attack. While it can be beneficial for a short period and enhance your reactions and strength, in the long term, it can weaken your health.
For a start, the immune system is affected by the increase in cortisol level, the stress hormone. It makes you more prone to infections.
But there’s more to it. Stress can also slow down your metabolism, leading to weight gain.
It puts a lot of pressure on your body, which can affect your organs and essential bodily functions. Some people can experience digestive problems; others can find themselves struggling with unexplainable hearing loss. Indeed, one of the most thrilling tinnitus facts is its connection to stress.
Coping for better relationships
Chronic stress makes you more irritable, less patient, and less sociable. People who are chronically stressed are more likely to lash out in anger or frustration when they don’t get what they want. This can lead to increased conflict and decreased intimacy in relationships. Stress also takes a toll on your relationships, making you more susceptible to isolation and depression, which may lead to worsening your social connections even more.
Stress can transform your home
It’s not just your body that suffers from stress, it can affect your home as well. When you’re stressed, you let clutter accumulate, you don’t feel motivated to clean, and you may even neglect your decor. Gradually, your home becomes less inviting and, therefore, more stressful! Creating an easy home maintenance routine is important to prevent stress from invading your nest!
Nobody can banish stress. However, we can learn how to relax in the face of challenging situations. Indeed, stress is a self-contained emotion that can affect everything and everyone around you! Don’t let it control you.