Stress Begins Internally, With a Single Thought!
Forget what’s happening “out there”. That’s not what causes you to be stressed.
Your interpretation of what’s happening out there is what causes you to stress out. Experts call this interpretation a “perception of threat”. When you interpret a situation as something that will lead to pain either physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual then you will naturally prepare yourself for it.
This potential pain that you are preparing for is the “threat.”
Stress prevention is, therefore, best done by focusing on our thoughts, and changing how we think about things that seem threatening to us. However, we can both agree that our response to mental, physical, physical, and emotional strain is what causes stress.
Because everyone has or will experience stress at a certain point in their lives, stress has become one of the most common words used in today’s society. We all have a natural inborn interpretation and understanding of what stress is and what it feels like to be stressed. For this reason, the definition of stress becomes a little tricky.
Again, stress is subjective. A situation that might be considered stressful by one person may not be stressful to another person. For this reason, saying that stress is not caused by an even itself but by an individual’s interpretation of stress is spot on.
Stress is more dangerous than you think
The temporary state of high alert is something that we have all experienced. When we are faced with a threat, the heart rate increases, the muscles become tense and we become very alert. Once the perceived threat passes, we slowly begin to return to the pre-incident state.
The Health and Safety Executive (UK) reports that 57% of all “sick days” were caused by anxiety, depression, and stress in 2017/2018. Today, the nature of the work environment continues to evolve. The global workplace demands more from the minds and less from the body. The mind has therefore become the major victim of occupational hazards.
If not mitigated adequately, stress will slowly suck the life out of your body and push you to anxiety and depression. Stress will wreak havoc on your emotional and mental health, in addition to your physical health.
The following list highlights the most common physical symptoms of stress:
Your heart.
When you are stressed out, your heart rate speeds up to the extent where it feels like it can burst out of your chest. This results in increased blood pressure. The increased demand on your heart can also result in irregular heartbeats, a condition known as arrhythmia.
Your lungs
Stress makes your breath heavily and rapidly. This way the lungs get strained; which may even lead to a panic attack. The primary symptoms of a panic attack include gasping for air which results in hyperventilation. As this happens, the body is forced to take in more air to provide more oxygen than what the body actually needs.
This process pushes your heart to work harder which then strains your respiratory system.
Your stomach
Your gastrointestinal system really suffers from stress. As you stay agitated for long, you increase your chances of developing irritable bowel syndrome and ulcers. Sometimes stress even causes the digestive system to go out of balance which then results in; diarrhea, acid reflux, indigestion, and even constipation.
Your muscles
For so many people, stress manifests itself in certain parts of the body; the neck, the back, or face. The tension and pain in these parts of the body result from their constant contraction. As more and more tension is put on the muscles, it becomes harder for people to experience true relaxation.
Some people even experience stress when they sleep. They may clench their jaws and face or even grind their teeth.
Your skin
When you are stressed out, your skin returns to its adolescent stage. You get breakouts, acne, rashes, and psoriasis.
Your immune system
Every time you stress out, your immune system is alerted of potential threats. By doing this, you are slowly wearing it down to the extent where it will not respond appropriately when the danger is real.
Your reproductive system
Fertility issues and painful periods are well-documented effects of chronic stress. It’s like your body reduces chances of reproduction by acting like “now is not a good time”.
Your weight
The human body has hormones that it responds to. One of them is the cortisol hormone. This hormone increases the blood sugar levels which also suppresses the immune system. Cortisol works by pumping you up with energy when you are stressed out.
Cortisol is helpful in certain situations, but it is harmful in everyday life. It results in weight addition which may lead to hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
