Sometimes stress is like a small dose of sunburn. Other times, it feels like a tidal wave just crashed on your head and won’t let you up for air.
Some amount of both of those experiences and anything in between are par for the course. Welcome to life, my friend.
But what happens when things become stress-filled on a regular basis?
Early death can result. Some studies estimate up to ten years can be lost.
Why is this?
The Body Breaks Down Under Chronic Stress
That’s the simple answer that helps explain why early death occurs although technical medical accounts show more of the science behind why and how this happens.
All sorts of things go wrong when the body experiences high levels of stress over long periods of time. And these things are stressful only compounding the problem.
Brain Drain—Severe and prolonged stress damages the brain. Brain cells die off. The brain’s memory weakens as well as its ability to handle complex life scenarios.
Depression—The regularly stressed struggle badly to find hope. And when you can’t picture your life getting any better, watch out. Depression is right around the corner.
Fatigue and Weight Gain—Depression leads to fatigue and fatigue leads to depression so that it’s sometimes hard to tell which one came first.
Heart Attack and Stroke—Prolonged stress puts you at greater risk of both.
Fatigue and depression make it difficult to impossible to make healthy diet and exercise choices. Also, cortisol is released into the body during stress. Consistent release of this chemical leads to weight gain.
In summary, these causes and more can lead to an unsatisfying and short life.
So, What Can Be Done?
There’s plenty that you can do to destress your life.
Here are a few quick ideas:
- Practice positive-thinking strategies to handle stress better.
- Maintain a healthy diet and exercise regimen.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Leave stressful situations such as a job (when possible).
- Stop trying to control things you can’t.
- Smile often even if you sometimes need to force it.
- Find a hobby you look forward to doing.
- Read the funniest book in your local library. (Ask your librarian)
- Develop a good support system of family and friends.
- Practice meditation.
- Consider counseling for support and help with implementing better coping strategies.
Ongoing and high levels of stress are something that require your immediate attention. You may need to take some drastic steps to decrease your stress.
Any inconvenience caused by your healthy change will quickly be repaid. You’ll experience a longer, happier and more fulfilling life as a result. Schedule your appointment online using our online scheduling tool, call us at (949) 393-8662, or text us.
