Stress Effects on Your Body: 10 Best Ways to Get Relief
Introduction
Stress significantly impacts your mood as well as cause physiological changes in your body. But first you have to identify stress Then, use ways to get relief. Also, new technologies help you discover your stress.
Identify Stress
First step is to identify stress. Furthermore, there are two types of stress: acute and chronic. Also, of the two, chronic stress affects your body, thoughts, feelings, and behavior. So, it is important to recognize and identify stress symptoms. Because, if you don’t identify stress symptoms, bad things happen to your body. Therefore, the sections, below, help you identify stress symptoms.
Cognitive Symptoms
Cognitive symptoms of stress include:
First, memory lapses
Second, inability to concentrate
Third, inability to focus
Fourth, inability to make simple decisions
Next, becoming rather vague
Also, easily distracted
In addition, lack of motivation
Or, poor judgment
Also, seeing only the negative
In addition, anxiety
Furthermore, depression
And, restlessness
Next, constant worrying
And, sadness
Finally, sense of being overwhelmed.
Emotional Symptoms
Emotional symptoms of stress include:
First, being tearful
Second, being extra sensitive to criticism
Third, being defensive
Fourth, general unhappiness
Fifth, being agitated
Or, being moody
Also, being irritable
In addition, being angry
Or, being frustrated
Next, feeling out of control
Or, having a feeling of being overwhelmed
In addition, a lack of confidence
Next, have a lack of self-esteem
Also, having a lack of motivation
Or, a feeling of loneliness and isolation
Finally, having other mental or emotional health problems
Physical Symptoms
Physical symptoms of stress include:
First, having a headache
Second, having aches and pains
Third, having chronic pain
Fourth, having a achy mouth
Fifth, getting acne out of nowhere
Next, having tense muscles
Or, grinding teeth
Also, bleeding gums
In addition, diarrhea or constipation
Or, a feeling of nausea
Furthermore, getting chest pain
Or, having a rapid heart rate
In addition, getting cramps from periods
Next, getting frequent colds, flu or infections
Also, a loss of sex drive
In addition, a loss of libido/sexual problems
Moreover, getting allergies/rashes/skin irritations
Next, getting a weakened immune system
Also, weight loss or gain
In addition, indigestion/heart burn/ulcers
Or, stomach aches
Furthermore, hyperventilating
Next, having lump in the throat
Or, being on pins and needles
Also, dizziness
Or, palpitation
Next, having panic attacks
Or, feeling physically tired
Furthermore, having heart problems
Or, high blood pressure
Finally, being fatigued.
Behavioral Symptoms
Behavioral symptoms of stress include:
First, having no time for relaxation or pleasurable activities
Second, absenteeism
Third, uncharacteristically lying
Fourth, prone to accidents
Fifth, self-neglect
Next, procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
Also, forgetfulness
In addition, change in appearance
Furthermore, abusing use of alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
Also, eating more or less
Next, relationship problems
Or, nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)
Also, a sweet tooth
In addition, social withdrawal
Furthermore, overeating
Or, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, which can lead to insomnia
Next, being reckless
Also, under eating
In addition, sleeping too much or too little
Or, being aggressive/having anger outburst
Also, not exercising as often
Furthermore, having odd dreams
Or, feeling nervous
And, becoming a workaholic
Finally, poor time management
Finally
Also, people don’t always recognize the physiological signs of stress, and their memories of past stressful events can be colored by their current mood. But, taking the steps, to recognize and identify stress, helps people cultivate a more mindful attitude towards their bodies. And, once you recognize that you have stress symptoms, you act to manage the stress.
Recognize and Identify Stress in Others
Emotional signals of stress include:
First, losing temper more quickly than usual
Second, constantly worrying about things
Third, suddenly loosing a sense of humor
Finally, suffering uncharacteristically low self-esteem
Find Your Stress Level
Also, there are several web sites that provide a quick indicator of your stress level. (Note: We cannot judge and are not responsible for the accuracy of the results.)
Devices to Measure Stress
Moreover, in addition to the listed methods to identify stress, wouldn’t it be nice to have a device that confirms or warn you that you are stressed. In fact, knowing you are stressed, you take action like going for a quick run or brisk walk (may be on a treadmill). Or, if your knees or hips won't allow you to get a jarring workout, get a less jarring workout on an elliptical stepper, recumbent cross trainer, compact elliptical, or long stride elliptical.
Fitness Tracker
Most noteworthy, heart rate variability is one of the most robust, noninvasive measures of stress response. Now, heart rate variability is due to a host of diseases, from heart disease to diabetes. In fact, the interval between heart beats naturally varies. Moreover, when someone is in a distressing or scary situation, the autonomic nervous system activates the fight or flight response. Consequently, this reduces the variability in the interval between heart beats. Furthermore, a stressed out heart may only vary by two beats per breath cycle. However, the trouble with using heart rate variability to identify stress is that both distressing and exciting events can trigger this nervous system response.
Now, a fitness tracker uses your state for interpreting its results. You know the state you are in (are you excited or are you stressed). If you are not excited then the fitness tracker is indicating you are in stress.
If you want the device to do that interpretation, computing algorithms exist that can identify stress, however they require too much computing power to fit on your wrist. Bottom line is that the current crop of devices have a ways to go before they can tell you with reasonable confidence whether you are under stress or not.
Other Wearable Devices
With that caveat, there are many kinds of wearable devices that can indicate stress. Some are headbands, wristbands, thumb sensors, clip on devices. Some of their features are listed below.
Headband - A headband devise monitors brain signals (activity) and interprets the results to let you know such things as your level of attention, focus, engagement, interest, excitement, affinity, relaxation, and stress.
Wristband - A wristband device monitors any changes in your skin that indicate stress, emotions and excitement. It also monitors you heart rate and can track emotions.
Thumb device - Holding your thumb against this device will measure your stress level. It works by measuring your skin’s electro-thermal activity.
Clip-on device - A clip-on device tracks your respiration patterns and body movements to detect whether you are tense or stressed.
Stress Relief
Managing your stress improves your health. Some of the ways, you can get stress relief, include the following:
Another is by practicing relaxation techniques, such as breathing deeply, meditation, yoga, and tai chi.
Or, even getting a massage. For example, a massage chair massages your whole body to totally relax you.
Yet another, is to keep a sense of humor.
Also, socializing with family and friends helps.
And, developing or setting aside time for things that interest you. These could be reading a book, listening to music, and other countless ways.
Next, get plenty of sleep.
Also, eat a healthy, balanced meal.
In addition, avoid excessive drinking of caffeine or alcohol.
Furthermore, talk yourself through the stress.
Finally, even cleaning your home can redirect your mind to relieve stress.
However, activities, such as watching television, surfing the internet or playing video games, while they may seem like stress relief techniques and relaxing, they really increase your stress over time.
Conclusion
Chronic stress results in detrimental physiological changes. So its important to recognize and identify stress. Once you know you are in stress, get stress relief using the described methods. Finally, the infographic below helps you to identify stress.
