Common Stress and Cures

Nowadays, stressis actually a normal part of life. At times, it serves a useful purpose. Stress can motivate you to get that promotion at work, or run the last mile of a marathon. But if you don't do a good job at balancing your stress and it becomes long-term, it can seriously interfere with your job, family life, and health. More than half of Americans say they fight with friends and loved ones because of stress, and more than 70% say they experience real physical and emotional symptoms from it. Read on to learn why you get stressed out, and how that stress might be affecting your health. Here are some of the most significant health problems related to stress and how to manage them!

      1.      Asthma

Many studies have shown that stress can worsen asthma. Research suggests that a parent's chronic stress might even increase the risk of developing asthma in their children. One study looked at how parental stress affected the asthma rates of young children who were also exposed to air pollution or whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. The kids with stressed out parents had a significantly higher risk of developing asthma.

      2.      Respiratory and cardiovascular systems

Stress hormones affect your cardiovascular systems. During the stress response, you breathe faster in an effort to quickly distribute oxygen to your body. Under stress, your heart also pumps faster. Stress hormones cause your blood vessels to constrict and divert more oxygen to your muscles so you’ll have more strength to take action. But this also raises your blood pressure. As a result, frequent or chronic stress will make your heart work too hard for too long.

      3.      Obesity 

Excess fat in the belly seems to pose greater health risks than fat on the legs or hips. Unfortunately, that's just where people with high stress seem to store it. Stress causes higher levels of the hormone cortisoland that increases the amount of fat that's deposited in the abdomen.

     4.      Depression and anxiety 

It's probably no surprise that chronic stress is connected with higher rates of depression and anxiety. Some recent studies found that people who had stress related to their jobs had an 80% higher risk of developing depression within a few years than people with lower stress.

Tips to manage stressful situations

      1.      Call a friend

When you’re feeling stressed, take a break to call a friend and try to talk about your problems. Good relationships with friends and loved ones are extremely important, especially when you're under a lot of stress. A reassuring voice, even for a minute, can help a lot.

      2.      Breathe deeply 

Just a few minutes of deep breathing can calm you and lower stress. While building in a specific time to relax each day is a good idea, one advantage to deep breathing for stress relief is that you can do it anywhere. As you breathe out, you relax a specific muscle group. Start with the muscles in your jaw. On the next breath out, relax your shoulders. Move through the different areas of your body until you're feeling calm.  

      3.      Talk yourself through it

Sometimes calling a friend is not an option. If this is the case, talking calmly to yourself can be the next best thing. Simply try to tell yourself why you're stressed out, what you have to do to complete the task at hand, and most importantly, that everything will be okay.

If you've tried self-help techniques and they aren't working, make sure to see your doctor. There are lots of other options, such as guided self-help or cognitive behavioral therapy.You may be able to attend a stress management course. Ask your doctor or refer yourself to your local psychological therapies services.