Manage Stress - Live Healthier and Happier
Stress is no joke. It can literally kill you. Wonder why you're always feeling anxious, depressed, or fatigue? It may be related to stress - which stress does release cortisol which affects the whole body - your brain, organs, muscles, and the way we perform.
Anything can cause a cortisol release - from stressing, from working out, from thinking about things within your mind can just stress out your body. Stress is the #1 silent killer.
"Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand. In short bursts, stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline."
Stress causes:
- weight gain, mostly around the midsection and upper back
- weight gain and rounding of the face
- acne
- thinning skin
- easy bruising
- flushed face
- slowed healing
- muscle weakness
- severe fatigue
- irritability
- difficulty concentrating
- high blood pressure
- headache
- anxiety
- depression
- body aches
- sleep disturbances
- dry skin
- weight fluctuations
- circulatory issues
Signs of Stress
Emotional symptoms of stress include:
- Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and moody
- Feeling overwhelmed, like you are losing control or need to take control
- Having difficulty relaxing and quieting your mind
- Feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem), lonely, worthless, and depressed
- Avoiding others
Physical symptoms of stress include:
- Low energy
- Headaches
- Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea
- Aches, pains, and tense muscles
- Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
- Insomnia
- Frequent colds and infections
- Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
- Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear, cold or sweaty hands and feet
- Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing
- Clenched jaw and grinding teeth
Cognitive symptoms of stress include:
- Constant worrying
- Racing thoughts
- Forgetfulness and disorganization
- Inability to focus
- Poor judgment
- Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side
Behavioral symptoms of stress include:
- Changes in appetite -- either not eating or eating too much
- Procrastinating and avoiding responsibilities
- Increased use of alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes
- Exhibiting more nervous behaviors, such as nail biting, fidgeting, and pacing
Long-term exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can wreak havoc on almost all of your body’s processes, increasing your risk of many health issues, from heart disease and obesity to anxiety and depression
Stress Management Tips:
1) Have a Proper Sleeping Schedule
Sleep is important, and many of us neglect sleep. We tend to party, play video games or simply staying up late. Which is not good for us. When you deprive yourself from sleep, it causes the body and mind to stress out, therefore, causing issues for yourself. High-stress levels will rise and you will feel fatigued, loss of motivation, and much more. Sleeping is important, as it resets our bodies. Do not neglect sleep; have a proper sleeping schedule so you don't
2) Manage your Stress Levels
- Breathing Techniques
-> Good, Deep Breathes
- Don't stress over the things you cannot control
- Don't Overwhelm yourself with stress. Learn how to cope and endure the stress - but don't let it get to you.
- Avoid stress, replace it with something more interesting
- Go on for Walks - to get your mind off the subject of stress
- Confuse your mind. When you're stress - go do something else so the stress does not consume you.
- Receive massages to help relieve tension
- Baths, naps, etc can help relieve stress
3) Reduce Electronic Use
I see many many people using technology 24/7. It's okay to stay on your tech for a couple of hours - but all day? It's no good for us. We need to be active and outgoing. When we stay on our electronics for a long time, it causes stress for us. Staring at the screen for a prolonged time causes issues. Receiving Stimulation causes an increase in hormone release which may cause stress to rise. By reducing electronic use, it gives your body and minds a break from the constant stimulation. So, as a result, you will end up feeling better after a couple of hours of not using any electronics.
4) Meditate
Meditation brings short-term stress relief as well as lasting stress management benefits. There are many different forms of meditation to try–each one is unique and brings its own appeal.2
You might develop a mantra that you repeat in your mind as you take slow deep breaths. Or, you might take a few minutes to practice mindfulness, which involves being in the moment. Simply pay attention to what you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.
5) Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation involves relaxing all the muscles in your body, group by group. To practice, you can start with a few deep breaths.
Then, practice tightening and relaxing each muscle group, starting with your forehead and moving down to your toes.
With practice, you'll learn to recognize tension and tightness in your muscles and you'll be able to relax more easily. Each time you practice, however, you should experience a feeling of relaxation sweeping through your body.
6) Focus on Breathing
Just focusing on your breath or changing the way you breathe can make a big difference to your overall stress level. Breathing techniques can calm your body and your brain in just a few minutes.4
The best news is, no one around you will even know you're doing them. So whether you're in a stressful meeting or you're sitting in a crowded theater, breathing exercises could be key to reducing your stress.5
While there are many different breathing exercises, like karate breathing, a few simple ones include:
Breathe in through your nose and watch your belly fill with air. Count slowly to three as you inhale. Hold for one second and then slowly breathe out through your nose as you count to three again.
Breathe in through your nose and imagine that you're inhaling peaceful, calm air. Imagine that air spreading throughout your body. As you exhale, imagine that you're breathing out stress and tension.
7) Hug a Friend/Stranger/Family
Oxytocin also causes a reduction in blood pressure.7 It reduces the stress hormone norepinephrine and can produce a sense of relaxation.
So don't be afraid to ask a loved one for a hug if you need it. It's good for both of you and it can be one of the simplest forms of stress relief available.
8) Eat A Balanced Diet
Eating poorly affects your body in many many ways. It's important to focus on healthy eating to promote a healthy functioning body. When you're "healthier" you become more uplifted, vibrant, outgoing and much more positive. Plus, your body doesn't stress [as much] when you're eating healthy.
Refined carbs, like cookies and potato chips, can cause a spike in blood sugar. When your blood sugar crashes, you might experience more stress and anxiety.
Consuming a healthy diet can help you combat stress over the long haul. Foods like eggs, avocado, and walnuts support mood regulation and energy balance.
so, conclusion: Eat healthily and avoid junk foods.
9) Have Healthy and Fun Hobbies
Leisure activities can be one of those things that can help de-stress you. Like for example, a lot of people will claim that cleaning, doing dishes or doing laundry helps them calm down and relax. They find it enjoyable. Well, if you don't have something you enjoy doing, find something you enjoy doing. It's important to have a hobby or something to do in your spare time - to have fun essentially. When you're always thinking about work or whatever you're stressing out - so by going about your hobbies, you can enjoy a little bit of me-time for the time being.
10) Develop a Positive Self-Talk Habit
The way you talk to yourself matters. Harsh self-criticism, self-doubt, and catastrophic predictions aren't helpful. If you're constantly thinking things like, "I don't have time for this," and "I can't stand this," you'll stress yourself out.
Positive self-talk can help you develop a healthier outlook. And an optimistic and compassionate conversation can help you manage your emotions and take positive action.
11) Practice Yoga
Yoga combines physical movement, meditation, light exercise, and controlled breathing—all of which provide excellent stress relief.13
And while you're likely to reap immediate benefits from a single yoga session, you're likely to receive long-term benefits if you incorporate it into your life in a consistent way.
Yoga offers a variety of physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits. To get started, you might take a class, enroll in an online program, or use an app to help you begin practicing.
12) Express Gratitude
Gratitude helps you recognize all the things you have to be thankful for. Whether you're grateful for a sunny day or thankful you arrived at work safely, think about all the good things you have in life.
Gratitude also reminds you of all of the resources you have to cope with stress, which can be quite empowering.
So whether you decide to make it a habit to identify what you're grateful for as you sit around the dinner table or you decide to write down three things you're grateful for in a gratitude journal every day, make gratitude a regular habit.
13) Prioritize Exercise
Physical activity is key to managing stress and improving mental health. And the best news is, there are many different kinds of activities that can reduce your stress.
Join a gym, take a class, or exercise outside. Keep in mind that there are many different ways to get more physical activity in your day too.
Walking, strength training, kayaking, hiking, and spin class are just a few different examples of ways you can get stress relief.
When we exercise, the body releases chemicals that boost your sense of well-being and suppress hormones that cause stress and anxiety. Among the chemicals released are endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine neurotransmitters which are related to pain and depression emotions.
14) Listen to music
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by a stressful situation, try taking a break and listening to relaxing music. Playing calm music has a positive effect on the brain and body, can lower blood pressure, and reduce cortisol, a hormone linked to stress.
15) Cold shower therapy
Cold shower therapy in my opinion does a lot. It's an effective method to make you and your mind somewhat bullet-proof. Since you're enduring the coldness for ~10+minutes, you're focusing on not dying or collapsing so you must power through it. It requires a ton of willpower and commitment. So, as a result, you're building and making your mind strong and durable. This will help with other things in life such as dealing and experiencing stress and tasks.
Things that Help me:
- - Drinking coffee or tea
- - Taking cold showers
- - Taking hot showers (depends)
- Talking to friends/family
- Working out (really helps)
- Breathing really works
- Not letting the stress consume you is a big one
- Prioritize your life
- Address the issues that cause issues/stress
- Make sure to practice good and healthy habits
- Use stress relievers when available
- Focus on Breathing techniques - it really helps
- Don't focus on stress - accept it but don't consume it.
- KSM-66 Ashwagandha 600mg, Milk Thistle 250mg, Cordyceps 200mg, Lion's Mane 100mg, Turkey Tails 50mg, Panax Ginseng 50mg, Lutemax 24mg.
- Improve focus, alertness and cognitive function while protecting your eyes from blue light and maximizing restful sleep.
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CONCLUSION
It is important to not focus on stress and to avoid it as much as possible. Stress can be good in certain situations such as work because I find it motivating. Anyways, stress is a huge damaging element that we don't really pay attention to. We're not aware that stress can cause self-damage [overtime]. If you're experiencing any symptoms of high stress, it is time to relax and reevaluate your life. Pinpoint the issues that is causing stress and remove it. Life shouldn't always be about stressing out - you should enjoy life. People are excessively stressing due to many aspects of life; work, school, kids, but it's important to let the stress not affect you as much. And as a consequence of stress, people go to drugs, alcohol, and what not to NUMB the pain. The pain won't go away unless you address it.
