What is stress?
Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat. When you feel threatened, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which rouse the body for emergency action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. These physical changes increase your strength and stamina, speed your reaction time, and enhance your focus. This is known as the “fight or flight” or mobilization stress response and is your body’s way of protecting you.
All of this might have been useful a few hundred years ago when humans were facing physical dangers from animal attacks and whatnot, but today, in our modern age, do we really need to be forced into "fight or flight" mode over every little frustration.
What is stress doing to our bodies?
When we stress, the immediate effects can include headache, depression, insomnia, and irritability to name a few.
How can we reduce or control our stress?
A few years back, my mother was experiencing anxiety and worry over things that were out of her control. Some of her worries involved a sick friend, and her grandchildren's upbringing and education. She also had financial worries and health concerns and the list goes on. She was having issues sleeping, and complained "I just cannot turn my mind off at night".
I began to do a mountain of research on the subject, like I always do, since I am an over analyzing addict. The understanding that I came to, helped my mother get past these worries. It also has eased my mind whenever I come up against a difficult obstacle in life.
Stress in our lives usually has to do with our perceptions conflicting with reality. As an example, lets say you write a great steemit post. You have huge aspirations of upvotes, running up every minute after you post, and your blog being flooded by new followers. So moments after you submit your post you find yourself hitting the refresh button over and over. But where's the upvotes you expected??? Where's all those followers??? This blogging has become so stressful, things are not turning out how you imagined they would. And there lies the answer to controlling stress.
Whether its being stuck in traffic, when you were planning on getting home earlier. Or falling short on a deadline at work that you thought you could make. Or not having the immediate steemit success you envisioned. The exact same formula is being played out. Reality is conflicting with your perception of what should be. This conflict is causing a chemical reaction in your body, and creating tension and the feelings of stress.
Armed with this realization of the underlining cause of stress, the solution is to let go of your original perception and accept reality for what it is. Your stuck in traffic like everyone else, you cannot change it, so turn on the radio and relax. Your deadline wont be hit, but you did work hard on the assignment and you should be proud of your accomplishment. You didn't get the steemit upvotes you thought you might, but you enjoyed making the post and now your blog has one more hidden gem added to your collection of content.
A few ways to reduce stress now
Face reality and accept it. (this will take time and practice before it becomes natural)
See the big picture. Our concerns are usually dwarfed by looking at a larger frame. (Everyone is stuck in traffic. Your company won't go bankrupt over one late deadline. Why did you start a steemit blog? What is the future potential of steemit?)
Exercise. For whatever reason you are now in “fight or flight” mode and have extra adrenaline in your system, so for this time, burn it off. Do a quick mini workout and find your calm again. Next time, when you are beginning to feel stressed, you try steps 1 and 2 and may not need 3.
I hope the ideas presented in this post helps others to manage their stress, as they have for me and my family.
Luc