Often we find ourselves saying ‘I am stressed’ as an explanation to perhaps someone asking after your health or sudden mood swings or any noticeable change out of character for you. And often people pass it off as something completely normal and move on. Why pay attention to it? Surely everyone is stressed out once in a while, what harm can it possibly do?
While a bit of stress is considered healthy as it helps you be more focused and motivated, too much stress is not.
Stress usually happens when you have more to handle than usual. Usually, people are stressed about their work but it’s not restricted to that. It can also happen when you are experiencing something new, emotional struggles, traumatic events, financial problems and so on. However, what can seem to stress you out a lot may cause little stress for someone else.
Too much stress can leave symptoms which can be physical or emotional or both.
Let’s look at some of some stress symptoms and reasons why this could be harmful.
Here are some symptoms:
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Sleeping problems
- Irritability
- Lack of concentration
- Depression
- High blood pressure
- Nervousness
- Upset stomach
- Weight loss or weight gain
Stressing too much can cause problems such as concentrating at work or more conflict in relationships or turning to drugs or alcohol.
Fortunately, stress can be managed or you can get help for it.
Here are some ways you can reduce stress:
- Figure out what is stressing you out. Write it down and how you reacted to and dealt with it. Next time when you are stressed for similar reason you can work on handling it better.
- This is a great way to relieve stress. Exercising helps release endorphins responsible for mood lifting. Also, after work out you will feel much calmer.
- Realize not everything will work out in your favor in life and sometimes you have to just stop worrying about little things. Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) refers to staying in the moment and feeling, hearing or seeing everything in it.
- Reading is said to reduce stress by 68 percent and calming the mind down. Especially fiction book and of a genre you enjoy.
- A healthy, nutritious diet is important as it will make the body more able to handle stress.
- Talk to a close friend or family about your problems. Sharing some of your thoughts and getting reassurances help lighten the stress a lot.