INTRODUCTION

The environment we find ourselves is really complex, many complications and factors could leave one overwhelmed with frustrations. Our daily activities and engagements which could be work, school, managing finances, relationships, family, friends and other commitments could leave us fatigued at the end of each day depending on the intensity and circumstances surrounding them. Its just so normal that we could have really busy schedules at times which keeping up might be quite challenging and so much of a burden. A continuous engagement of a tedious routine and pressure could leave an individual at the long run stressed emotionally or physically.
Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment to changes physically, mentally or emotionally, in harmful situations when it feels threatened, a chemical reaction occurs, which results in the nervous system responding to it by releasing a flood of stress hormones which includes adrenaline and cortisol which arouses the body for emergency action, this could result in sickness both mentally and physically.
Stress could either be internal or external, it could be internal if it’s self generated by worry about the likelihood or occurrence of situations while it could be external if its being induced by factors surrounding us. When we are stressed blood pressure rises, breathing becomes more rapid, digestive system slows down, heart rate rises, immune system goes down, muscles become tense the loss of sleep. The situations and conditions that result in stress are know as stressors.

CAUSES OF STRESS

Causes of stress could either be internally or externally, the following are some of the causes

INTERNAL CAUSES: Internal causes occur as a result of personal issues, the possibility of the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances. Examples are worrying, pessimism, unrealistic expectations, rigidity of thoughts and views

EXTERNAL CAUSES: These are causes of stress that are triggered by things not relating to us alone but rather things going on around or directly relates to us. Some examples of internal causes are work, school, family, relationships, financial difficulties.

SIGNS THAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING TOO MUCH STRESS

You could experience any of the stress symptoms which could be either emotional, physical, behavioral, and cognitive

Emotional symptoms: This includes individuals feeling bad about themselves and what they have achieved, aloneness and solitude , Mood swings, angered easily, Depression sets in and other mental and health problem as well.

Physical symptoms: Headache, body pains, chest pain and increased heart beat, loss of sexual desire or drive, insomnia, upset stomach which may include diarrhea and constipation.

Cognitive symptoms: Here, individuals would suffer poor concentration, loss of memory, become negative (pessimist), constant thinking, inability to focus, poor judgement.

Behavioral symptoms: Loss of appetite, evading responsibilities, procrastination, increased consumption of alcohol, cigarette or drugs, nervousness.

TIPS ON HOW YOU COULD DEAL WITH STRESS

Try Meditating: Research suggests that daily meditation may alter the brain’s neural pathways making you more resilient to stress, according to psychologist Robbie Maller Hartman, PhD. Meditating helps you gain focus on the things happening to you right now, paying attention to your breathing helps as well. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is one form of meditation that is very helping in managing stress.

Speak out (Talk to a friend): In times of stress, try to take time out to relax then reach out to a close friend or family member, a clergy or a counselor. Talk to them, share your problems and thought. Just talking to someone could be reassuring and stress relieving as you could get a fresh perspective as regard the situation of things.

Listen to music: In my post about ‘The unanticipated effect of music’, I spoke about the power of just listening to music which stress relieving was inclusive. If you feel too overwhelmed as a result of a stressful situation, you could try out some calm slow music which would have a positive effect on your body, brain and can help lower blood pressure and reduce cortisol hormone which is linked to stress.

Exercising: This is one of the best ways you can control and manage stress. You could start off by taking short walks, standing and stretching during breaks at work can also offer instant relief as it relieves muscle tension. Try relaxing, breathing exercise, muscle relaxation, as well as yoga could do a lot of help. Getting proper movement of blood helps release endorphins and can improve your mood almost instantly.

Get more rest and sleep: Lack of sleep is a major cause of stress, this makes the brain and body lose it easily and could worsen over time. To give yourself a proper boost, try to get more sleep by increasing the number of hours. Also if you are free during the day you could nap a little, that would help revitalize you.

Images:

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Sources:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145855.php
https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/blissing-out-10-relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effect.htm
https://www.webmd.com/balance/stess-management/stress/-management-relieving-stress
https://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/10-ways-to-relieve-stress