Stress affects people in different ways

Stress affects everyone in different ways so it is impossible to give a definitive list of health complaints due to stress. However, for sudden stressful events typical symptoms are:

• tension headaches
• shallow breathing
• tightening of muscles, for example the clenching of a jaw or fists is a telltale sign.
• a rise in blood pressure

For chronic, persistent and unrelieved stress the affects on health are far more serious. Typical symptoms include:

· Heart disease is common in people under high and continued stress. This stress is just as likely to be mental and emotional as it is to be physical stress. Strokes and artery clogging are also thought to be caused by stress.

· Lowering of the immune system which leads to increased chances of catching flu, colds and other infections. It is thought that the white blood cells that defend the body against these infections are reduced in people that undergo prolonged stress.

· Gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea, constipation, stomach cramps and irritable bowel syndrome are all thought to be caused and aggravated by high levels of stress.

· Brain functions can be reduced or diminished by high levels of stress. Hence a persons ability to concentrate on things can be affected. They can suffer from memory loss nd find learning difficult.
Sleeping patterns can be severely disrupted or insomnia.

· Other symptoms include increased insulin resistance, blood clots due to changed consistency of blood, joint pain and tension headaches.

As you can see the symptoms can be varied and can be a combination or all of the above so it is extremely hard to combat prolonged and chronic stress. The secret to dealing with this stress before it gets to the stage of no return is to be aware of the changes in the body. The body responds to stress in ways listed above. By reacting to this change and altering your behaviour to limit the stressful events you can reduce the chances of serious health complications occurring.

What Are Your Stress Symptoms?

Stress Symptoms Can Vary From Person To Person.

We all experience stress in our daily lives from different sources: jobs, relationships, finances. And whether you’re dealing with a daily stressor, chronic stress, or a major life challenge like illness or divorce, stress can take a significant toll on you both physically and emotionally. How do you know when you’re dealing with a level of stress that’s unhealthy for you?

The answer to this question can be tricky for a few reasons:

· Stress affects the body in many different ways. Some of these are obvious, but others may not be as noticeable or easy to detect until they become more severe.

· Different people are affected more or less intensely, and in different ways.

· The effects of stress often look like symptoms of other illnesses (partially due to the fact that stress lowers immunity and makes us vulnerable to many things), sometimes people mistake symptoms of illness for stress and vice versa.

· People who thrive on stress tend to feel it as their natural state, making it more difficult to discern stress symptoms until after much of their stress is alleviated.

· When under high levels of stress, people often find it difficult to stop and notice their body’s responses.

While stress affects everyone in a unique way, there are certain factors that are common. If you are experiencing any of the following, it could be a sign that you’re being affected by stress:

· Headaches: Certain types of headaches can be related to stress. If you’re experiencing more headaches, especially tension headaches, stress could be the culprit.

· More Frequent Colds or Flu: There’s an inverse relationship between stress and immunity, so if you’re under too much stress, you may be getting sick more often.

· Sleep Problems:There are many ways that stress affects sleep. Too much stress can rob you of sleep and make the sleep you get less restorative.

· General Anxiety:Anxiety does serve an important function for survival, but if you’re feeling anxious much of the time, it could be because you have too many stressors in your life, or it may indicate a medical condition like generalized anxiety disorder. If you experience an increase in anxiety, you may want to talk to your doctor.

· ‘Fuzzy Thinking’:Your body’s stress response pumps your body with hormones that make it possible for you to fight or flee quickly. When triggered in excess, this stress response can actually cause you to think less quickly.

· Feelings of Frustration:If you’re faced with many demands at once, the natural result for many people is increased frustration and irritability. The trick is to find ways to prevent frustration and calm down quickly.

How we can manage stress (stress relievers)

Question: What are some ways I can calm down quickly when I'm feeling overwhelmed?

"Sometimes I don't realize how much stress is building up until I suddenly feel overwhelmed. Other times, several stressful or attention-demanding events will happen at once, and I suddenly go from calm to completely overwhelmed really quickly. However it happens, how can I quickly calm down when I'm feeling overwhelmed by stress?"

Answer: There are many ways to calm down quickly when you suddenly get blindsided by stress and feel overwhelmed. The following are five quick and easy ways to regain your calm so you can deal with whatever situations are at hand:

Take a Walk

Exercise can be a great stress reliever in itself, as it helps you blow off steam and releases endorphins. Taking a walk when stressed provides the bonus of getting you out of the stressful situation and providing some perspective so you can return in a new frame of mind.

Take a Breath

If you're not in a position to leave, you can feel better right away by practicing breathing exercises. Getting more oxygen into your body and releasing physical tension are two ways that breathing exercises can benefit you, and you can do them anytime or anywhere, even if your demanding situation isn't letting up.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 915