Stress affects everyone. It’s the body’s way of reacting to change and a reflection of your perception of the demands being placed on your body.
- “Good” changes typically lead to positive stress
- “Bad” changes can lead to negative stress
- and some pretty negative results.
Despite the negative connotation, stress isn’t inherently bad. It’s all about our perception of and response to stress.
When stress is chronic and persistent, it can have a wide range of body-wide effects.
- The brain and nervous system. While short-term stress can boost concentration and alertness, chronic stress literally shrinks the brain and can lead to impaired cognition, anxiety, depression, poor sleep and reduced enthusiasm for activities you typically enjoy.
- The immune system. While acute stress can enhance the immune system, chronic stress suppresses the immune system, making you more susceptible to infection and injury, and slows down recovery.
- The cardiovascular system. Chronic stress is responsible for the vast majority of heart disease thanks to its effects on the heart and vascular system
- (e.g., increased heart rate, increased blood pressure).
- The digestive system. Stress activates the branch of the nervous system that does the exact opposite of the body’s rest-and-digest response.
- Chronic stress leads to inhibition of secretions, motility and contractions of sphincters, which can add up to reflux, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating and nausea.
- Body weight. While individual response to stress varies, many people tend to overeat, make poor food choices and skip out on exercise when under stress.
- There’s evidence that chronic stress can shift the body into a fat-storing mode.
- The skin and hair. Chronic stress can be a significant trigger for skin-related conditions, such as acne, rosacea, eczema and psoriasis, and it can also cause hair to fall out.
Remember, stress isn’t inherently bad, you need just the right amount to thrive. Here are several ways to help you combat the negative effects of stress and to get it to work for you.
- Connect with community
- Exercise regularly
- Take a walk
- Spend time in nature
- Be grateful
- Establish a breathing, meditation and/or yoga practice
- Practice good sleep hygiene
- Eat a healthy, whole-food-based diet
- Get a massage
- Laugh
- Take care of your gut health
- Seek help, when necessary
Resource: Reframe
Reframing is powerful tool that can be incredibly useful when dealing with stress.
- Many stressful events can actually be fortuitous when we change our perception of the situation and our capabilities.
Here’s a simple, short meditation exercise to help you to re-frame stress
- Find a place to comfortable sit (or lie down), and close your eyes.
- Begin to notice your body.
- Feel where your body makes contact with the seat and where your feet on the floor.
- Take a few long conscious breaths
- Notice how stress reveals itself to you
- heart racing, tingling in your stomach and/or fingers, tension in your neck or shoulders, and short breaths.
- If you sense tightness anywhere, breathe into it.
- Start to feel these places relax.
- Say to yourself, “There’s a positive side to stress. Stress can be energizing and uplifting.”
- In the short term, stress can boost the immune system, improve performance, and help us learn faster.”
- Allow yourself to smile a bit as you take a few more long conscious breaths
This combination of mental reframing with a smile on your face will help shift the feeling of stress into a more positive, exciting experience
craving and resource from “Change That Up” – changethatup.com
