Don’t let stress suppress your life

Know about stress and how be to be stress-free

Stress, tension, and anxiety have become part of our daily routines; it has impacted our lives hugely and has become everyone’s behavioral trait. We see every task of our life as a new tension. Even getting a few hours of rest seems like a mission to some of us. Being in stress all the time results in releasing of chemicals into the blood, thereby affecting our health and giving birth to a new form of tension related health problem. Tension and anxiety hamper your body and mind in different ways, for example, you sometimes even forget to drink water, skip meals and are not able to interact properly with others. Stress may lead to health problems like asthma, diabetes, headaches, indigestion, etc. If stress is not managed it may affect a person’s psyche. 

Signs of extreme stress

The trickiest thing about stress is you don’t realize you are getting used to it. You don’t understand what is going on inside. It may seem normal how your body reacts to certain situations but, eventually you get used to it. Therefore, it is important to know the signals and symptoms of stress. Symptoms of stress can be divided into four categories. 

• Emotional Signals- Feeling of isolation and loneliness, depression, agitation, always irritated, unhappiness, anxiety. 
• Behavioral Signals- Smoking a cigarette, consuming alcohol, taking drugs for relaxing, excessive or no appetite, lack of sleep or sleeping too much, nervousness.
• Physical Symptoms-Dizziness, constipation, pain and aches, infections, abnormal heart beat rate.
• Psychological Symptoms- Loss of memory, negative attitude, poor judgment, unstoppable thoughts, lack of concentration. 

Causes of Stress

The factors that contribute to stress are known as ‘Stressors’. Causes of stress can be of two types- internal causes and external causes. 

• Internal Causes of stress- Always expecting worse, stubborn mind sets, negative inner self, not able to accept reality.
• External Causes of stress- Peer pressure, relationship problems, financial burden, trauma or injury, poor work conditions, death of a close one.

Health Problems due to stress

Stress can damage almost every system in your body. From immune system to digestive system, reproductive or respiratory system and lead to health issues. Common health problems related to stress are-

• Heart Disease
• Skin infections
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
• Neurological Problems

How to cope up with stress 

• Healthy Diet- Tasty and healthy food is one of the best stress busters. A diet full of carbohydrates, proteins, fiber, vitamins can help you in combating stress and keeps you always energetic.
• Exercise- Engaging yourself in some kind of physical workout increases the amount of blood flow in your body and maintaining your heart beat rate. Regular workout involving running, walking, swimming, yoga, and aerobics can be beneficial in relieving stress.  
• Link with others- Hanging out with your friends and family can also help in dealing with stress. Complementing and helping others can bring a lot of change within you. Spending time your pet also keeps your mood fresh.

Anxiety: It’s Common But Can Spell Disaster

Feeling anxious can be quite normal, as long as any feelings of apprehension or tension go away again by themselves or aren’t severe enough to impact on your life. Anxiety often accompanies depression, and as with depression and stress most people feel anxious at times, particularly when confronted with a stressful situation. You can also experience symptoms of anxiety for no apparent reason, and particularly when worries seem to take over your life you may suffer from what’s known as generalised anxiety disorder. This can be difficult to distinguish from depression and stress.

Anxiety isn’t always easy to recognise, and so consider these indicators:

• You feel nervous or on edge.
• You find relaxing and controlling your worries difficult.
• You tend to worry a lot, perhaps much more than you or other people feel is ‘normal’, and tend to think the worst.
• You’re so fidgety that you find sitting still difficult at times.
• You suffer from mood swings or get easily wound up.
• Your worrying affects your day-to-day life significantly – including your social life and work.
• You often think that something bad is going to happen.
• You find your worries upsetting and stressful.
• You suffer nightmares or from increased sensitivity to noise.

Physical symptoms commonly develop when you suffer from anxiety, and so you may also notice the following:

• Your hands are shaking and you may notice strange sensations such as tingling or numbness.
• You easily get a dry mouth or find swallowing difficult.
• You get headaches or feel dizzy.
• You experience chest discomfort or palpitations.
• You pass urine or open your bowels frequently.

If you feel that you may be suffering from anxiety – particularly if you’ve had symptoms of anxiety for a few months or longer – visit your psychiatrist for further assessment and to discuss the treatment options. If appropriate, your psychiatrist may want to exclude other possible causes that can also lead to symptoms of anxiety, such as:

• Formation of an overactive thyroid gland.
• Drinking too much coffee or tea.
• Experiencing low blood sugar.
• Withdrawing from drugs or alcohol.

Anxiety is incredibly common, but many people with symptoms of anxiety struggle to summon up the courage and seek professional help because they’re anxious or because they’re ashamed or embarrassed about the way they feel and think. Remember that your psychiatrist is well trained in dealing with anxiety, and that lots of other people also have these symptoms.