Stress is an unavoidable part of life.
Not all stress is bad for you. Some stress helps you to perform better.
But chronic stress – the kind a lot of people face day in and day out – can be destructive.
The Dangers of Stress:
Up to 90% of doctors’ visits are due to stress.
When you’re stressed, the enemy–Cortisol, is running through your system all day long.
Over time, cortisol wears out your immune system and can lead to weight gain, digestive problems, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Cortisol can leave you exhausted and tired–prone to mood swings and poor sleep.
The Effects of Chronic Stress
Here are 8 ways chronic stress negatively impacts your well-being.
1. Chronic stress makes you forgetful and emotional.
Stress decreases your ability to think factually and increases your emotional reactivity.
2. Stress creates a vicious cycle of fear and anxiety.
3. Stress halts the production of new brain cells.
Every day you lose and create new brain cells, but cortisol halts the production of new cells being formed which can lead to a decrease in your ability to think.
4. Stress depletes critical brain chemicals
Chronic stress reduces serotonin and dopamine. (the feel good hormones) and can leave you depressed and more prone to anxiety, addictions, sleeping problems, binge eating, and trouble with impulse control.
5. Stress creates havoc in your relationships
Stress predisposes you to being irritable and frustrated with other people in your life.
6. Stress zaps your thinking process
Stress can cause your brain to seize up at the worst possible times – exams, job interviews, and it diminishes your ability to problem solve.
7. Chronic stress shrinks your brain.
Stress can measurably shrink your hippocampus and prefrontal cortex which is responsible for decision making and control of impulsive behavior.
It can increase your risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s.
8. Chronic stress leads to unhappiness
It wears you down mentally and emotionally, and saps the joy from life.
Stress increases the size of your amygdala, which increases fear and anxiety.
Other Side Effects of Stress:
- excessive worry and fear
- anger and frustration
- impatience with self and others
- mood swings, crying spells or suicidal thoughts
- insomnia, nightmares, disturbing dreams
- trouble concentrating and learning new information
- racing thoughts, nervousness
- forgetfulness, mental confusion
- difficulty in making decisions
- feeling overwhelmed
- irritability and overreaction to petty annoyances
- excessive defensiveness or suspicion
- increased smoking, alcohol, drug use, gambling or impulse buying
It’s no fun experiencing these stress symptoms.
It’s no picnic for those around you either
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Mindfulness has been proven
to help turn stress around and mitigate it’s effects on the brain.
Here is one mindfulness exercise that needs to become a priority in your life.
Brain research has proved its benefits over and over.
Breathing Stress Relief Technique:
This breathing exercise stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which helps bring about a state of TRUE CALM.
The more you practice this, the more you will train your body to relax.
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Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise
1. Sit comfortably or lie down.
2. Then slowly inhale through your nose (like you’re smelling a flower)
3. Slowly exhale through your mouth (like you’re blowing out birthday candles)
4. Do this breathing exercise 2x per day for ten to fifteen minutes to reduce stress and anxiety
Research shows that this breathing exercise will physically change the structure of your brain and help alleviate stress!
It seems so simple but don’t underestimate it’s value.
If you’d like to learn more mindfulness techniques to conquer stress and overwhelm in your life, contact Fay to learn about her 6 week mindfulness program.
e-mail: fay@fayprairie.com
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You’ve provided a lot of great reasons why we should do all we can to eliminate life’s stressors… at least as much as we can. Thanks, Fay!
Yeah, it’s so beneficial for us to learn how to calm ourselves! Thanks for the reply!
Wow! That statistic at the beginning is startling to me: 90% of doctor visits are related to stress. To my way of thinking, the corollary would be that 90% of doctor visits don’t need pharmaceutical drugs, they just need to use simple, safe, and effective methods of stress reduction!
Stress is not a big issue in my life any more. But I’m going to take a screen shot of your list of stress effects and keep it on my computer as a reminder of what could happen if I let myself get too stressed out.
Yeah, I was amazed at that statistic too and just learning how much cortisol affects our immune system. It’s amazing how much the research shows that we can help ourselves without the use of drugs!
GREAT tips! Whenever the stress demons are taking over in my head, I remind myself to BREATH.
And dollars to donuts… I’ve been breathing shallowly or holding my breath! That reminder allows me to reconnect and make a difference.
Shocking statistics Fay! Thanks for sharing.
A lot of people are in overwhelm. In today’s age, people take on too much and try to do it all by themselves.
Thanks for the great advice on how to relieve stress.