About Stress and Health

Life is full of frustrations, deadlines, and demands. Unfortunately stress can be an outcome of all of those things. Stress can be defined as a change that causes emotional, physical, psychological strain. It is a reaction to a sense of danger whether it is real or imagined. The stress response is the body’s way of trying to protect you. Stress tends to affect all aspects of wellness. Things like money, work, family, relationships all play a role in having stress problems.Not only does stress affect your health but it also affects your body, thoughts, feelings and behavior. FACT: Stress hormones slow down the release of stomach acid which affects how well your stomach can empty itself. Higher levels of stress can cause high blood pressure and raise cholesterol levels as well. I did not know this but stress can also influence your immune system; which is something important because it slows everything down making it easier to catch colds and infections.Stress releases cortisol into the body. Cortisol makes people crave fats and carbohydrates causing weight gain in the abdominal area. FACT: Having an argument with a loved one when stressed is equivalent to a life-or-death situation. Who would have known that something so small could end up so serious? So many symptoms come into play when dealing with stress. For example cognitive symptoms which are mental symptoms include memory problems, inability to concentrate, constant worrying, racing and anxious thoughts.Emotional symptoms include moodiness, irritability, and feeling overwhelmed. Physical symptoms include aches and pains, chest pain or rapid heartbeat and nausea. Finally, behavioral symptoms include eating more/less, sleeping too little/much, using alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs to relax. None of the things listed above are something that people want to face in their everyday lives but sometimes it happens to the best of us. Influencing your stress tolerance is very important in overcoming any stress related problems.First you need a supportive network. Friends and family that are supportive of your decisions and who you are as a being are extremely important. Next is a sense of control. You need to be able to be confident in yourself with every decision you make and obstacle you face. You also need to have an optimistic attitude, embrace challenges, have a strong sense of humor, accept change as a part of life, and believe in a higher power and purpose. Being negative about life and the things around you will just bring you down.When dealing you’re your emotions you need to be able to bring them back to balance. Also making things easy to cope with and keeping that positive attitude are important. Although there are many negatives when it comes to stress there are also some positive things as well. When working properly it can help you stay focused and energetic. Also it can prevent you from accidents; like when slamming on the brakes to avoid an accident. Stress is wha t tends to keep people on their toes and help people rise to meet their challenges.Stress is a huge thing that can take over a person’s behavior and emotions. No one ever really thinks that being stressed can cause such big problems and it can. Although it does have its good things stress tends to be mainly a negative thing on the wellness of people. Staying positive and finding a way for us to relax is a way that can get rid of all the stress. Relaxation is key! Stress is in everyday life situation for individuals and will be around as long as we still have our everyday struggles.