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:

1
First, memory lapses
2
Second, inability to concentrate
3
Third, inability to focus
4
Fourth, inability to make simple decisions
5
Next, becoming rather vague
6
Also, easily distracted
7
In addition, lack of motivation
8
Or, poor judgment
9
Also, seeing only the negative
10
In addition, anxiety
11
Furthermore, depression
12
And, restlessnes
13
Next, constant worrying
14
And, sadness
15
Finally, sense of being overwhelmed.

Emotional Symptoms

Emotional symptoms of stress include:

1
First, being tearful
2
Second, being extra sensitivity to criticism
3
Third, being defensive
4
Fourth, general unhappiness
5
Fifth, being agitated
6
Or, being moody
7
Also, being irritable
8
In addition, being angry
9
Or, being frustrated
10
Next, feeling out of control
11
Or, having a feeling of being overwhelmed
12
In addition, a lack of confidence
13
Next, have a lack of self-esteem
14
Also, having a lack of motivation
15
Or, a feeling of loneliness and isolation
16
Finally, having other mental or emotional health problems

Physical Symptoms

Physical symptoms of stress include:

1
First, have a headache
2
Second, having aches and pains
3
Third, having chronic pain
4
Fourth, having a achy mouth
5
Fifth, getting acne out of nowhere
6
Next, having tense muscles
7
Or, grinding teeth
8
Also, bleeding gums
9
In addition, diarrhea or constipation
10
Or, a feeling of nausea
11
Furthermore, getting chest pain
12
Or, having a rapid heart rate
13
In addition, getting cramps from periods
14
Next, getting frequent colds, flu or infections
15
Also, a loss of sex drive
16
In addition, a loss of libido/sexual problems
17
Moreover, getting allergies/rashes/skin irritations
18
Next, getting a weakened immune system
19
Also, weight loss or gain
20
In addition, indigestion/heart burn/ulcers
21
Or, stomach aches
22
Furthermore, hyperventilating
23
Next, having lump in the throat
24
Or, being on pins and needles
25
Also, dizziness
26
Or, palpitation
27
Next, having panic attacks
28
Or, feeling physically tired
29
Furthermore, having heart problems
30
Or, high blood pressure
31
Finally, being fatigued.

Behavioral Symptoms

Behavioral symptoms of stress include:

1
First, having no time for relaxation or pleasurable activities
2
Second, absenteeism
3
Third, uncharacteristically lying
4
Fourth, prone to accidents
5
Fifth, self-neglect
6
Next, procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
7
Also, forgetfulness
8
In addition, change in appearance
9
Furthermore, abusing use of alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
10
Also, eating more or less
11
Next, relationship problems
12
Or, nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)
13
Also, a sweet tooth
14
In addition, social withdrawal
15
Furthermore, overeating
16
Or, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, which can lead to insomnia
17
Next, being reckless
18
Also, under eating
19
In addition, sleeping too much or too little
20
Or, being aggressive/anger outburst
21
Also, not exercising as often
22
Furthermore, having odd dreams
23
Or, feeling nervous
24
And, becoming a workaholic
25
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.

Furthermore, this video refers to ten of the most popular symptoms that show your body is being affected by stress.

Recognize and Identify Stress in Others

Emotional signals of stress include:

1
First, losing temper more quickly than usual
2
Second, constantly worrying about things
3
Third, suddenly loosing a sense of humor
4
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 and go for a quick run or a brisk walk.

Fitness Tracker

Most noteworthy, heart rate variability is one of the most robust, noninvasive measures of stress response. Furthermore, heart rate variability is due to a host of diseases, from heart disease to diabetes. Especially relevant, the interval between heart beats naturally varies. 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.

In addition, 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. Headband devise monitor 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. 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. Clip-on devices 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:

1
First, regular physical activity - exercise doesn’t have to be intense to be beneficial. Meanwhile, there are many kinds of exercises to choose from.
2
Another is by practicing relaxation techniques, such as breathing deeply, meditation, yoga, and tai chi.
3
Or, even getting a massage. For example, a massage chair massages your whole body to totally relax you.
4
Yet another, is to keep a sense of humor.
5
Also, socializing with family and friends helps.
6
And, developing or setting aside time for things that interest you. These could be reading a book, listening to music, and countless others.
7
Next get plenty of sleep.
8
Also, eat a healthy, balanced meal.
9
In addition, avoid excessive drinking of caffeine or alcohol.
10
Finally, talk yourself through the 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.