Why Is It So Important to Deal with Stress?

There are two kinds of stress in the world – the good and the bad.  When you let the bad kind of stress take over, you put yourself at risk of developing a range of illnesses which include anything from the common cold to severe heart disease.

When you are stressed the brain undergoes chemical and physical changes that will affect its over functioning.  When your stress is high, certain chemicals are released more.  These chemicals contribute to certain physiological effects – rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and weakened immune system.  If the stress is not managed correctly these systems can lead to the development of serious problems – ulcers, stroke, asthma and heart disease. Chronic stress if not dealt with properly can lead to heart attacks and even cancer.

What stress can do to your body
Our body doesn’t always notice stress when it accumulates slowly because our bodies adapt to ongoing stress.  Even if we don’t realise it our nervous systems are still dealing with an overload which will affect our health in the long run.  Some of the most common triggers to look out for is tensing of muscles, tension headaches and migraines.  It can also affect your digestive system, how quickly food moves through your body and it can provoke you to eat more/less than you usually do – this can cause nausea, vomiting, heartburn, constipation and pain.

What stress can do to your brain
Even with the affects that happen to your body – stress can contribute to a number of mental and emotional problems.  This includes depression, anxiety, phobias and even panic attacks.  This makes it difficult to focus, make decisions and can affect your memory.  Stress can also cause irritability, frustration with others which leads to feelings or insecurity, anger and relationship conflicts.  Even though the physical effects of stress are overwhelming, we must remember not to ignore the effects stress can play on the psychological side of things as this also plays a part in overall health and vitality.
What can you do about stress
There are many things you can do to reduce stress in your life.  Many techniques can work with some and some people prefer using other techniques.  One of the most effective ways to reduce stress is meditation – which encourages you to relax your mind and body.  Meditation practice helps to let go of old patterns of stress, tension and distraction which makes space for us to heal at a good pace. 

Exercise is also a good way to relieve stress.  Activities such as walking, yoga or swimming has proven to be a great stress-reducing activities.  Exercise releases positive stress-relieving endorphins and can increase your self-confidence and other symptoms that come with anxiety and depression.  It improves your sleep which is greatly affected by stress.

Getting adequate sleep is one of the most important steps in living a stress free life.  Because stress physically wears out your body, sleep allows for time to heal and regenerate so that you are ready to face whatever may come your way the next day.

Another technique which has proven effective, is changing the way you think.  When you master the art of letting somethings go and thinking positively about your life, this will prevent you from getting overwhelmed and upset over little things.  Managing your thought process can be difficult and it is only part of the battle, but if you work at easing stress with a healthy lifestyle, diet changes and other techniques – you can avoid escalating anxiety issues and other serious conditions that are attached to stress.

What are some of the stress busting techniques that have worked for you in the past?  Tell us below.