If you’ve found yourself saying “I’m just a little stressed at the moment,” recently, it’s worth taking a serious look at how long you’ve been using that as an excuse for not taking proper care of your mind and body. Busy modern lifestyles encourage long working hours in emotionally demanding, draining jobs that sap our mental energy and leave little time to actually put anything back into our system. It’s all too easy to get sucked away from enjoying the fruits of our labours and make no time for pleasant relaxation. For many people, the end of the working day does not bring release, as they return to the hurly burly of family life and running a busy home.
The effects of stress on the body can be significant; our immune system and health can suffer, causing colds just when we are at our busiest and placing pressure on our body as it fights to combat rising blood pressure and the hormones that stress causes our body to produce. Long term, this can have an effect on our heart muscles, putting our bodies at risk of heart disease and may even be a trigger for other serious health issues. Subtle changes such as tension causing us to sleep poorly or eat badly have knock on effects such as weight gain; this in turn triggers more stress and makes it harder to relax. Research has shown the physical changes on our cells are also dramatic, causing premature aging as they struggle to regenerate in a sub-optimal environment.
How to reduce stress:-
- If stress is related to frustration and overwork in your everyday life, it may help to try to positively accept how things are currently and plan a series of small steps towards making change by a given future point.
- Explore mindfulness and take a few minutes each day to focus on how you feel emotionally, your surroundings and your body. Combining this with meditation and deep breathing will help to lower your heart-rate and counteract the impact of stress. While it is easy to feel “I don’t have time for that,” even 5 minutes a day can make a positive difference.
- Book a pamper session. A massage or beauty treatment can make a big difference to your mental well-being. Chalk up the cost to taking care of yourself so you function better and enjoy it.
- Find time for fun; whether it is making time to be among friends and have a night out, or curling up on the sofa for a film with your partner, reconnecting mentally and physically with friends or loved ones can really help to reduce stress.
The down side of worrying about the impact of stress on our life is that it is in itself quite stressful; making small changes in a few minutes of the week will alleviate that fresh anxiety as well as improving the situation.
Last updated on 23/06/2015.