Times are hard for many of us right now. The past few years have been tumultuous. We were faced by a worldwide pandemic that caused lockdowns, closed borders and the confinement of many to their homes for months on end. Many people lost jobs. Now, we’re living through a cost of living crisis. The price of fuel, energy, food, accommodation and so much more has risen and wages aren’t rising in line with this. These are all things that we’ve been facing alongside the usual stresses of day to day life – relationship problems, work deadlines and so much more. But what is stress and what should we do to tackle it? Here’s some information that can guide you through this process.
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What Is Stress?
In order to combat stress, it’s important to understand what stress actually is. Stress is your body’s natural response to being under pressure. It triggered when we experience something new or unexpected that threatens our sense of self or when we feel we have little control over a situation.
Symptoms of Stress
If you’re unsure whether you’re experiencing chronic stress or not, it’s a good idea to be aware of some of the symptoms of stress and to keep an eye out for them. Symptoms of stress range from physical symptoms to emotional and mental symptoms, as well as patterns of negative behaviour. Some physical symptoms of stress include physical aches and pains, chest pain or a feeling like your heart is racing, exhaustion or trouble sleeping, headaches, dizziness, shaking, high blood pressure, muscle tension or jaw clenching, stomach or digestive issues, difficulties with sex or a weakened immune system. Emotional and mental symptoms could include anxiety or irritability, depression, panic attacks or sadness. Often high levels of stress can also lead to unhealthy or unsociable behaviour and activites, such as excessive drinking, chain smoking, gambling, overeating, undereating, compuslive spending, drug use and more.
When Does Stress Become a Problem?
Of course, as we highlighted above, stress can be a totally natural experience to occur. However, it’s important to know when stress becomes a problem. You need to make sure that stress is properly managed so that you can intervene when it comes to pose a problem and begins to impact your lifestyle or elements of your mental or physical health and wellbeing. Learn the difference between acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress tends to happen within a few minutes to a few hours of a stress inducing event occuring. It can feel very intense and urgent and generally happens happen after a suddenly upsetting or unexpected event. Chronic stress, on the other hand, tends to last for a long period of time or can keep returning over and over. You tend to experience chronic stress if you are under a lot of pressure a lot of the time. It is commonly experienced when day to day life is negatuive, difficult or generally stressful.
Managing Stress
There are various ways that you can manage stress. Here are a few that you might want to take into consideration.
Seek Medical Advice
If you feel that you’re experiencing stress and it’s becoming unmanageable or problematic, you should reach out to a medical professional. This is usually your doctor. Your doctor will be able to diagnose any conditions and help guide you on a path to treatment and recovery, whether that’s medication, therapy or a combination of both.
Seek Other Support
There are other sources of support out there too, ranging from support groups to helplines. Make sure to use those that meet your individual needs and requirements. It is worth your while to search the groups in your local area and online, but you don’t have to commit to one place to help you, especially if your mental health is being affected by different things. For example, you wouldn’t go to a help group for money issues if you need help with parenting. However, if you are being affected by both, there is no harm in using both groups.
Try Relaxing Products
There are so many different relaxing products on the market that you should take some time to browse them and see what works for you. This could vary from CBD Oil to chamomile teas, soothing scents and bath salts or bubble baths. You could even visit a spa where they will use a range of relaxation techniques and products, depending on what treatment you book. For example, you could search for a facial near me in Lexington, KY, to make an appointment with a professional who will account for your needs. Before you have a spa treatment, whether that be a facial or a massage, they will often ask if there is anything you would like to focus on specifically. You can then mention the tension in your shoulders, or stress-related breakouts on your face.
Practice Mindfulness or Meditation
You may also want to try your hand at mindfulness or meditation. There are many different groups, classes, guided podcasts and more that you can try out. This will help you to accept things as they are, allowing them to pass without judgement.
As you can see, while stress can serve the positive purpose of helping you to avoid trouble, it can be problematic when you experience it long term. Hopefully, some of the advice above has helped you to better understand stress and to manage it in a more positive and progressive way!