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:

First, regular physical activity - exercise doesn’t have to be intense to be beneficial. Meanwhile, there are many kinds of exercises to choose from.

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.