For those of us looking to lead happy and healthy lives, understanding how to manage stress is of key importance. Stress is not “bad” by nature and can actually play a helpful role in our lives by helping alert us to challenges and threats. It can also improve our focus and performance in the short term to help us meet deadlines, or perform well under pressure.
For example, in dangerous situations, stress helps us respond quickly to protect ourselves. This could help us when we need to slam on the brakes quickly or increase our strength to lift a heavy object endangering us.
Stress levels become problematic when they shift from a helpful, short term mechanism into a source of inflammation and damage to our health. This can occur when we stay stressed for longer and more consistent periods of time. Also known as chronic stress, this state of being can negatively impact our health and lead to serious health problems if left unchecked.
So how exactly does chronic stress impact our minds and bodies? Keep reading to discover more about chronic stress and learn how to prevent it from negatively impacting your health.
Understanding Different Kinds of Stress
Did you know that there are three main kinds of stress? They are known as acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. Acute stress is a normal part of our daily lives that comes and goes quickly. It can be good or bad and is experienced by everybody from time to time. Episodic acute stress is when acute stress gets experienced on a regular basis and the person experiencing it isn’t able to return to a calm and relaxed state when they should.
Chronic stress on the other hand is a long-term stress that can continue for weeks or months on end. Unlike acute stress, chronic stress keeps the body’s fight-or flight response activated indefinitely, which takes a toll on the mind and body. Some examples of situations that can cause chronic stress include:
- Unhappy relationships with others
- Stressful and demanding work environments
- Poverty
- Unsafe living conditions
- Financial instability
How Chronic Stress Impacts the Body
Our bodies are well equipped to take on stress in small doses. It is only when stress becomes long-term or chronic that the body begins to suffer. In fact, chronic stress negatively impacts all systems in the body including the cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory, and endocrine systems. This is because chronic stress floods the body with cortisol and adrenaline. This flooding can lead to severe health issues if left unmanaged, such as:
- High blood pressure or hypertension
- Reduced focus and memory
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- Stomach ulcers
- Insomnia
- Migraines
How Chronic Stress Impacts the Mind
If left untreated, chronic stress can severely damage mental and cognitive health. It can actually alter the brain by enlarging the regions that cause fear and anxiety while shrinking regions that support memory and learning. A highly stressed brain also struggles to make decisions, control impulses, and concentrate. This is all thanks to an impaired prefrontal cortex that breaks down communication networks and the brain’s ability to adapt.
Chronic stress means high cortisol levels that increase inflammation in the brain and damage brain cells. This can make it difficult to generate new brain neurons and increase the risk of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. All this continual stress also makes the brain age more quickly and can contribute to degenerative diseases of the mind such as Alzheimer’s.
Great Ways to Combat Chronic Stress
Fortunately for us, there are many great steps we can take to reduce the impact of chronic stress on our minds and bodies. Start by assessing your daily life and identifying any long-term sources of stress. If you are unable to get rid of them entirely, try to limit them and set firm boundaries in your life. Thoroughly examine your professional life, personal life, or even your consumption of drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes.
You can also modify your lifestyle to fight back against existing stress. For example, staying active is a great way to reduce stress hormones and boost mood levels. High quality sleep routines also help by allowing your mind to destress and recover for hours on end. Choose a relaxing hobby that brings you joy and puts you in a positive state of mind. Practice this hobby regularly to manage high stress levels and bring them back down. There are many great options such as meditation, yoga, painting, nature walks, gardening, and reading.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is so important to be aware of chronic stress and its impact on our minds and bodies. Although the impact of chronic stress can be severe, there are thankfully many things we can do to prevent it from harming our mental and physical health. Make sure to set limits and boundaries in your life to avoid becoming overwhelmed or burnt out.
Incorporate relaxing hobbies, activities, and quality rest into your regular routine. Stress will always build up at one time or another so it is important to have a stress management strategy on hand to help us fight back and prevent unwanted damage to our health. If you need additional help to manage your stress levels and health, feel free to contact our team today.