Stress is funny. Not ha-ha funny, but odd funny. It can motivate you to improve your life. But, it can also ruin your health and your life.
How stress affects you Depends on your quantity of stress and what kinds of stress you have. It can also depend on what kinds of stress you’ve had in your past and how you learned to deal with it.
The physical signs of stress are supposed to help you survive – fight or flight. In the modern world, this is very rarely any help. Most stress today is psychological.
Mental stress will come from issues such as concern about money, relationships, and your health. Your body’s physical reaction to stress does not help these situations. Since these situations are common and long-lasting, your body can potentially be in a constant state of stress.
High stress can cause health problems as varied as muscle tension, sleep problems, mental confusion, depression and digestion problems. Health problems from stress eventually just increase the stress you already have.
It is obvious that managing and reducing your stress is a priority. There are thousands of people offering you advice on how to do this. You will need to find what works for you. What advice is most helpful for your situation and your way of doing things?
I believe it will help you find your appropriate stress management tools by becoming more aware of what creates your stress and how you experience it.
It can be helpful to decide of your stress is situational or behavioral – Is your stress reaction appropriate for the current situation or does it feel blown out of proportion? Figuring this out can require some brutal honesty on your part.
If your stress is situational, what are the situations and can they dealt with in a practical way? Do you have the time and energy to get some form of exercise and a proper diet? (I know from personal experience, if I have high stress, it is when my life is too busy to work-out or get to the grocery store for planned meals. That’s when I need to slow down.)
If your stress if from behaviors, spend some time reviewing the situation. Separate what is about now and what is about the past, such as memories of past emotional events. (the stronger the emotion, the more vivid the memory. The more vivid the memory, the stronger the stress you will continue to feel from it.)
After getting a better understanding of your stress, you will have a better idea of how to manage it.
Stress from current situations is easier to manage, once you find what works for you. Stress from behaviors or past experience may need outside help to get through and may take a little longer to deal with. But, it IS possible, and IS worth doing.
If you have a behavioral stress controlling your life, seek professional help. Medication is sometimes an answer, though many people that have used medication for stress, experience side effects that are a trade-off. They sometimes say they would rather feel stressed than live in a daily fog of medication.
Research your options and educate yourself about them. Then, find what works for you and do it. When it comes to improving your life, the only poor choice is to not try.