Life in our modern society is stressful - no doubt about it.
We have so many expectations to live up to: Have a successful career and being financially stable, a happy family life, a great relationship, many friends and a great-looking, fit body.
Nobody lives a perfect life, and although we know that deep down, we still can't stop comparing ourselves to others and trying to reach that unrealistic style of living that the media proposes to us.
And what happens to people when they can't achieve what they want or can't live up to their goals? They stress themselves.
Yes, I say it like that purposely: Stress is something we burden ourselves with.
It's a construct of our own mind.
Of course, life always has some difficult situations or problems we need to face.
But HOW we act in those situations and HOW we counter those problems is entirely up to us.
Being stressed constantly doesn't only take a toll on your mind - it also has a lot of negative effects on your body and physical health.
What happens in our body when we feel stressed?
Stress triggers our fight-or-flight-response.
Our ancestors used to be stressed when they were facing a wild animal and had to fight for their survival.
That's why stress increases our heart rate and blood pressure, and tenses our muscles: We get ready to run away or fight, if we have to!
But nowadays, stressful situations are a lot different for us.
When we feel stressed, our adrenal glands are releasing Cortisol - the "Stress Hormone".
Apart from the effects on our heart rate and blood pressure, this is also increasing our risk for a stroke: cortisol causes the inner linings of your blood vessels to perform poorly, which leads to atherosclerosis, a build up amount of cholesterol that clogs our arteries.
Chronic stress makes you more likely to gain weight.
The stress hormone Cortisol increases your appetite - especially for comfort foods and anything rich in carbs.
Binge eating is also a distraction for many people, they eat delicious (unhealthy) foods because it makes them temporarily feel better and cope with the stress.
Also, when you're stressed you rarely eat a nutritious diet. Many people just eat whatever they can get quickly, and that's often processed food or junk food.
These factors together make a stressed person very prone to weight gain.
Stress also affects our bowel system.
As you might have noticed already, we often have a strange feeling in our gut when we're scared or very stressed.
It's almost a feeling as if you were going to through up.
That's because our brain is directly connected to our gut - I have actually mentioned this in a previous post already.
When we're feeling stressed, our autonomic nervous system is being activated.
Our brain communicates the stress to our intestinal nervous system, which causes bowel problems, and also makes heartburn more likely to appear.
The worst effect of chronic stress is probably that it can seriously affect your aging process.
To understand this, we have to look at our Telomeres - these are the ends of chromosomes, similar to the plastic tops on your shoe laces.
They prevent chromosomal fraying, and get shorter as we age.
Once they have reached a certain level of length (or shortness, shall I say) they can't shorten any more and the cells die.
Several studies have shown that stress shortens the telomeres, and therefore ultimately makes us age quicker.
Other negative effects of stress on our body include hair loss, insomnia, acne, headaches (due to increased muscle tension in the neck area) and a weakened immune system which makes you more prone to diseases as well as slows down the healing process.
As you can see, stress has countless negative effects on our physical and mental health. But like I have mentioned above - stress is a product of your own mind.
Most people stress way too much about something they could approach differently - and then handle the problem more successfully.
I always like to remind myself: There is no stress. There are only Solutions.
© Sirwinchester
Everything is true you wrote as far as my knowlege go. But there is also a good kind of stress. The thing which is so unhealthy is the chronic stress since people have no ventil to let it go.
I also feel there is kind of a dick measuring contest in our society going on
"Look how stressed I am and how much I have on my plate and going on" which is not healthy, productiv or benefical for anybody except a short ego boost.
People taking pills to be more productive and asking themselves why they crash down after a while.
Do yourselv and others a favor and relief some stress through meditation, sport or mastrubating ( I dont judge)
Have you ever screamed at a friend or your child for no appearent reason, because you were so stressed and lost sight of your values and the person you want to be? Shitty feeling, right? As stated in this arcticel stress is often just made up and its your choice to hold on to it or just let it go.
Yes that's true, being competitive over whoever is stressed the most - ridiculous when you think about it!
Like you said, stress needs to be released, but the positive kind of stress can also push and motivate you!
Thanks for your comment!
Dude, now I'm stressed knowing that it's going to kill me!
Hahaha, now u must learn how to relax and get some anti stress things if don't want to rest early! hahaha
Yep, working on that, maybe posting some more can help me relax :)
Hahaha good to know, hope other post and UV won't stress you hahaha. Nice..... Just got connected. :)
Hahaha, take a few deep breaths and let the stress go!
@sirwinchester inhale and not to forget the exhale or our life will go hahaha instead the stress.
That's such a great piece of advice you have shared @sirwinchester. Yes, the stress is going to be there for everyone in one form or other but it is up to a person how he handles it. Being positive can fix may things. And having less expectations can also help to keep the stress level low.
As always, a very useful and informative article. I think many of us already know this, but we do it anyway.
And yes, stress is our own creation. I think a lot, and I've done some terrible mistakes because of that and now that's causing me more and more stress and ruining my health. It's gotten to the point where I'm falling sick very often and its also affecting my heart.
I am trying different ways to cut the stress, but ultimately, like you said, there's no stress, just solutions. So yeah, trying to solve it is the best way, and also not thinking about things too much.
Thank you for sharing this :)
Thanks for your comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
Yes that's right, always remember: there is no stress, only SOLUTIONS!
This is something that everyone needs to be aware of. We are so used to having stress in our lives that we discount the impact that it has on our minds and our bodies. Something that I done to manage my stress is to go for a long run or get in the gym. It allows me to to clear my head and makes me feel good about myself knowing I am doing something that is going to benefit my health. Thanks for posting.
Physical exercise can help a lot when releasing stress - you feel much better afterwards.
Thanks for your comment and feedback!
Awesome post and some great advice to not get stressed but rather find solutions. I often get stressed and end up not sleeping trying to think my way out of a problem though.
Sometimes things are not worth stressing over tho for sure. :D
Great article @sirwinchester. I have found also that if you try and help certain people that then go on to create more issues that they could have avoided IF they had listened first time around, and then you double down and help again, that this can induce stress as well.
There is no stress. There are only solutions.
I will try remember this, I am such a stress head. I get stressed about being stressed.
Thanks for your guiding words!
Thank you!
Yes it can be quite easy to stress over little things, but that stress is only created in your mind!
To many people are stressed out these days!
When I am stressed I have to move! Dance, Acrobatics , workout.
Then remind myself that I have a great life ;)
Good article - you nailed it. Voted you up bro ;)
When I'm stressed I meditate and work out :)
Realy interresting post, thanks for sharing.
It certainly is a huge problem these days. Honestly whenever I have had money or could see a positive upside in something I haven't been nearly as stressed. When things aren't going to so good financially or you feel like things are on the down slope it can be very mentally taxing.
Great info, i think stress affects us all in different ways,oh and it started to give me grey hair,either that or crypto lol :)
I used to have tonnes of stress but I gave it all away now I just want tonnes of Steemit
So true, thanks for reminding me how important it is to take some time to unwind, upvoted!
I am a very stressed person and I trying not to be
But some situations are so rubbish that I just can't stop thinking about them
Like 2 months ago I worked 16 days straight up to 12 hour a day on a flooring project to finish it
But 2 months passed and I have still to receive cash from it
I have to chase them
Now of course I lost weight i slept less and now I am chasing my cash
Just 😔 honestly
But I try to motivate myself sometimes
Life it's life
The best way I've found to reduce stress is to focus on improving your own body and health. Lift weights, ride a bike, climb stairs.. Break a sweat and get those endorphines flowing!
The human body is an incredible machine.
Interesting post. When there's too much stress around me music, pets and nature seems to help.
Good reminders. Stress means we want out of a situation. Dealing proactively can help a lot.
Great post! Stress baaaaaad lol.
"I'm not going to upvote you 🐋 Do it yourself! #8 Contest
I have been granted the power to support some of my favourite content creators and some new ones that I have yet to find. Check out @htooms 's blog for deets on how you can contribute to this positive chain
jaybird
hope someone can come up with a 1 minute complete "destresser" to keep me going...
Great article. Thanks for bringing us to the awareness on what stress can do to us. Trust me there are more people out there caught in self-destructive behaviours because they don't know that they are being stressed. I have chronic anxiety disorder and I work in a very challenge job. The simple way to deal with it is to accept it, fight it and do more excercise. It's just another chocie in life we have to face.
This is such a well-written article! I only just started my account and this will be my first Resteem, congratulations and keep up the good work.
This is very interesting......... probably fighting with your girlfriend isn't a good idea then lol!!!!
Me and Anxiety are best buds hahaha
That is true - therefore it is important to sometimes step back a bit, take a breath and a need to ignore negative emotions and environment.
This post has been ranked within the top 10 most undervalued posts in the first half of Jun 22. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $225.73 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: Jun 22 - Part I. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
Stress is the word borrowed from the physical science. But nowadays Stress is so associated with our daily lives. We physicians are encountered with stressed people, we are also the most affected group as well. A good article. Thank you.
very insightful..it seems like it is all about our need for perfection... and what if our life was already perfect as it is? what if we would let go of judging everything we do? and we accept our life, with its light and its darkness, with its sun and its clouds... how much stress would we dissolve if we would just accept life as it is...not as we would like it to be... thank you again.. much needed information! following you now! keep on the good work! peace
I know stress is very dangerous and has many bad effects but in today's world one has to live with stress the only thing we can do is to lower it's intensity we can do this performing yoga and meditation. Good article, thanks for sharing.
«Mens sana in corpore sano». in my language this popular expression translated as: in healthy body- healthy mind.
As a child I didn't pay attention to it, but with age began to notice that it works both ways. Indeed, when I'm mentally overloaded with work and tasks I get sick.
It seems in one of the stories about Sherlock Holmes, one of the characters said the phrase:
Well written and what good info :) I definitely want to read more of your stuff. You put it so that really anyone would grasp and be able to incorporate a non stressful environment to their own lives. With less or no stress, we can have and do it all, be happy, healthy, and wealthy!!! Life is work and can be hard sometimes, and that's as long as we live. Learn how to deal with stress and life is the best :) !!! IMO
Stress stress stress. I do not like that word. It is worse when stressing causes you to stress more. How annoying.
Breathe in...
Breathe out...
The Effort you have done to create that content is really appreciated as your working hard to support community and yourself by telling the things which make trouble into everyone life. It is really good to see the effort from people like you who care about the other people .
The Article Stress Makes You Sick: How Stress Affects Our Health You shared is really informative and I appreciate the work done by you for the community
I am working out some ways to release and overcome stress. One of this is trying to hold my temper and to keep calm, especially when stressor are just around the corner. Stress is a fact of life, so you just need to find ways not to avoid them by to control them so that they will not become a burdensome to you. Eating super foods will help melt down mind and body stress.
really loved ur post , checkout mine you might like it https://steemit.com/science/@whitedolphin/forefront-consciousness-and-healing-science-research-reports-in-the-field-8-9-july-2017-conference-encinitas-california