16th
Effect of Stress – Are You Getting Too Much Stress?
The negative effect of stress comes when you have too little or too much of it. When you get too little of it, you tend to become unmotivated, lazy, leave things to the last minute, or unproductive in general. But when you get too much of it, health problems can take place.
Indeed, stress is not always negative. It is actually a response of the body to situations or events that challenge or threaten you; it helps your body to prepare for these challenges and threats. And, it can even draw the line between life and death. It is also needed to make us motivated and productive.
So, how do you know if you are getting too much of it? You can look at the effects when a person gets exposed to it long-term. These can be categorized into physical, emotional and mental, and behavioral effects.
Physical – headache, pounding heart, chest pain, hypertension, shortness of breath, back pain, muscle aches, clenched jaws, tooth grinding, stomach upset, diarrhea, constipation, increased sweating, tiredness, sleeping problems, weight gain or loss, reproductive problems, skin breakouts
Emotional and mental – anxiety, irritability, depression, sadness, anger, feeling insecure, confusion, memory problems, inability to concentrate, guilt
Behavioral – overeating, undereating, increased smoking, excessive drinking, drug abuse, social withdrawal, crying spells, relationship conflicts, decreased productivity
As you might have noticed, too much stressors in your life and your inability to cope with it can affect your overall health. To prevent this from happening, efforts should be made to properly manage and control stress.
Here are some tips:
- Find time to relax. Be sure, though, that you do not engage in counterproductive activities such as smoking and excessive drinking.
- Find help from treatments like counseling, hypnotherapy, and yoga.
- Make an effort to improve your health by eating a balanced diet, getting a proper and regular exercise and enough sleep at night.
- Set your priorities and manage your time well.
- Build and strengthen relationships.
- Maintain a positive outlook in life.
Furthermore, evaluating your physical health, the quality of your interpersonal relationships, the number of your commitments and responsibilities, and how much support you receive from others will help you minimize the negative effect of stress on your life.
