Today’s world is one of constant connectivity and we all live very busy lives. With the advancement of technology, there’s so many wonderful things that we can do, but there are also some negative things that go along with it, such as never giving your mind and body a rest from connectivity. When’s the last time you checked your social media, received a text, have an e-mail or phone call to follow-up with? When was the last time you had complete down time, completely uninterrupted?
The world has changed to constant connectivity, which is creating continuous stress on our bodies, we never get a break. Stress is something that can creep up on us and cause great health problems without us knowing it, until something happens to us. Unfortunately, I found this out all too well myself. I’ll share a bit about my personal experience with the hope that at least one woman will hear my story and make some lifestyle changes so this doesn’t happen to them.
I’ve always felt like I could take on anything that came my way and handle it all, and when becoming a mom on top of all my life responsibilities, that became a lot!! I handled a lot, including an ongoing family illness, family death, renovation with two infants, and then a separation with multiple moves all on my own with small children. It was a lot, but I thought I was handling everything very well as I’ve always done, take charge and get it done! I’ve always taken on more than I should, but that’s just kinda how I am. But then one day out of nowhere I had this terrible feeling take over my body and I didn’t know what was happening. I knew whatever was going on in my body was serious, and I was terrified. I thought I was having a heart attach or something serious like that, I felt like I was going to die. A single mom with two young kids, I was truly terrified. This happened to me 5 times over a two week period, ending me up in the emergency. I was tested for everything under the sun, and they never found anything significant. My doctor said that if everything else was ruled out that it was probably an anxiety attach? I thought what? An anxiety attack? I don’t have anxiety? After learning of this i’ve found out many people I know have had similar things happen to them. Even some of my mentors have gone through a similar situation where they thought they were doing….stress!!! About a week after the last episode happened, I had a dentist appointment, which I thought was for a small problem with a tooth. This turned into me having a gum disease that has now cost me thousands of dollars in dental work. My doctor told me both of these things were almost for sure brought on by stress….that’s why they call stress a silent killer, because it silently builds up on you.
Stress is something that can affect all of us and we don’t even realize the dreadful impact it can have on our minds and bodies. In today’s world with all that we’re facing, it’s very important to understand the effects it can have on our bodies and to try to implement certain things that is within our control to minimize the stress and to deal with it.
Each person is unique and stress can have all different kinds of an impact on each person. Some may feel the effects physically in the form of a headache or heartburn, but for some, it can also impact psychologically, but none of it is good for us!
For some people, stress seems to just roll off their backs, but for most people there are many outward signs and complications.
It’s important to understand what stress symptoms look like so you have reliable measures to help reduce their effect on our bodies.
12 Things Stress Does To Our Health
- Sense of Doom
- Depression
- Pounding Heart
- Loss of Libido
- Extreme Fatigue
- Increase in Blood Pressure
- Panic Attacks
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Breathing Problems
- Upset Stomach
- Muscle Aches and Other pains
Here’s an interesting read to help you understand stress and its impact in detail:
- Stress can affect the immune, digestive and nervous system
Stress can have a major impact on our overall well-being. It can affect our central nervous system and symptoms can be in the form of- - Headache– It can result in tension headache, migraine in some people.
- Depression– Many doctors believe that stress can cause depression in some individuals. It can be due to personal and professional reasons both.
- Insomnia– One of the key brain structures is Hypothalamus that is involved in the sleep-wake cycle. When we are in stressful situations, our body activates the hypothalamic axis and it releases hormones that stimulate our attention causing issues with sleeping patterns.
Immune system
Stress can result in reduced or decreased functioning of the immune system. In many
cases, if it continues to be persistent then the release of immune factors like
pro-inflammatory cytokines can result in chronic inflammation. It is a risk factor that
contributes to diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Digestive system
When you are under immense stress, it can affect the interactions between your brain and gut. Some of the prominent effects you will notice are-
- Heartburn
- Ulcers
- Irritable bowel moments
- Inflammatory bowel disease.
- Effects of stress on Reproductive system
Yes, stress can very well affect the reproductive functioning within our bodies. It can affect both male and female reproductive systems. Research has indicated that it can also affect sperm production and in women, it can have issues with pregnancy or postpartum depression followed by a negative impact on health. Couples trying to conceive may also face difficulties while planning for a child. In women, it can affect the monthly period cycle and premenstrual symptoms can become even more stressful.
- Effects of stress on the cardiovascular system
The cardiovascular system prepares our body to deal with the healthy functioning of our heart. When we experience long-term stress, we can experience high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack.
Stress can be bad and can impact adversely on individuals irrespective of the age group. It is extremely personal and therefore it is important to be aware of ways of managing stress.
Here are a few tips to understand, recognize stress and learn ways to manage it.
Understand the signs
You may experience certain symptoms associated with stress. Be aware of your body and the symptoms you may experience. Some of the symptoms can be sleeplessness, upset stomachs, headaches, indigestion, etc. It is important to understand and learn the signs you may be experiencing so that you can take action.
When you are under stress, you may find it hard to motivate yourself. But making a few changes to your lifestyle and implementing basic measures can help you ease down the stressful situations in your life. If you indulge yourself into good habits when stress is at a low stage, then most likely you’ll notice that you will never have to face it again.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP MY STRESS
EAT WELL
- Take time for relaxation
Indulge yourself in some fun activities and give yourself time to relax. Keeping yourself occupied in activities of interest can help reduce stress and keep you healthy. There are several relaxation techniques you can implement that can help you deal with stress, I personally enjoy yoga and meditation. Try a few and see which one suits you the best.
- Eat healthy diet
Eating a healthy and well-balanced nutritious diet can help you deal with stress and stressful conditions. Avoid intake of certain food and beverages like – caffeine, tobacco, manufactured foods, refined sugar, etc.
- Get enough sleep
Lack of sleep can be one cause of stress and we have just discussed above that it is affected by stress. This can create a vicious circle. Try to get back to the sleep routine. Avoid intake of caffeine or alcohol during the late night as it can disturb sleep patterns. Take a warm bath or listen to soothing music to relax your body.
- Exercise regularly
During stressful situations, your body may experience an increase in stress hormones. These are the fight hormones that are released by our brain to protect us. Doing regular physical exercise can help take control of stress hormones and can help restore our body to a mind and calmer state.
- Manage your time
There are times when we are overburdened and become stressed with a lot of pending tasks. To start managing your time effectively by prioritizing the tasks. Make a list of to-do things each morning and set a time for each one of them. It will help you in better time management.
- Be open about your feelings
Talking to someone close to you can do magic especially under stressful conditions. Talking can work by distracting you from stressful thoughts and can release the built-up tension.
When we’re under stress more commonly than not we slip on the important things that we need to do to take care of our health and stress levels. If we implement daily routines of relaxation, eating well, exercise, yoga and mediation and general health and well being activities, then you’ll be better prepared to help you cope with life’s unexpected situations. Manageable Lifestyle Changes to a healthier life balance!
