Stress & The Healthy Ways to Deal With It

Humans experience stress on a daily basis, at work, home, with any experience or emotion. Stress isn’t necessarily bad for you. It is all in how one reacts to stress. For one stress may be overwhelming where as the same stress can cause another to be inspired. Stress can lead to disease or quite the opposite growth and healing. When faced with stress many reactions occur throughout the body. Nerve impulses and chemical secretions and reactions create what is known as the general adaptation syndrome (G.A.S.), which has 3 stages. In the initial confrontation of stress people experience what is know as “fight or flight”. The brain tells the body to secrete hormones like adrenaline in response to stress. It will depend on the person on how they respond to the stimuli, fight or run away. If the stress is averted then the body returns to normal. If the stress continues your body tries to resist to the stress and adapt. Reactions in the body cause tensed muscles, raised temperature, and increased blood pressure. If the stress persists the body enters the final stage of exhaustion. It is at this point in which the body can become susceptible to disease. Chronic stress doesn’t allow the body to return to a normal state of homeostasis. You are unable to completely relax which drains the body of energy and causes mental and physical fatigue. Because the body’s immune system is low and unable to fight off disease, the body is exposed to potential risk. Chronic stress can cause the body to be more susceptible to colds, infections, ulcers, digestive issues, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis, heart disease, premature aging, and depression. Finding the best way to relieve your stress is vital to keeping your mind at ease and your body healthy. Successful outlets for stress include exercise, hobbies such as gardening, art, cooking, playing with children or pets. Unfortunately, many people resort to unhealthy options such as drinking, drugs, and partying. These unhealthy habits can actually aid in ones deteriorating health caused by chronic stress. Its best to choose healthy stress outlets to reduce ones risk for potential disease. Praying, meditation, journaling, and companionship are all healthy outlets for stress. Friendship allows people to communicate and express themselves about stressful situations and experiences. Plus having a shoulder to cry on can help to ease ones anxiety. Companionship with animals is also useful when reducing stress since animals provide unconditional love and support. Writing down your feelings in a journal can ease the tension of a stressful experience and have a healing effect. Prayer and meditation has a calming effect on the mind and allow stress to fade away, revealing happiness and ease. By using these outlets to deal with your stress you will not only reduce chronic stress but also minimize the potential for stress related diseases.