How to Beat Stress

Having a tough day? Having a lot on your shoulders at work? Having problems at home?

Whatever you are dealing with, stressful situations occur in our lives on a daily basis. The nowadays world is pushing us to never stop moving. We are continuously fighting time, money, social relationships, power, and health. No matter the circumstances, stress is always around the corner.

When we refer to the word “stress” we think of the bad and negative, like stress is our foe. But we should know that stress, biological or physiological, is the organism’s response to a stressor. So, stress is nothing more than a reaction to something. In fact, the problem is that the negative or positive of the created condition can have a strong impact on the person’s health, mental and well-being.

There are a lot of theories that stress is linked to illness. Stressful events can trigger insomnia or getting a cold. Chronic stress is connected to depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Stress has major impacts to the biological, psychological and behavioral responses of an individual. Research has shown that stress has a negative impact on the immune system. When we are dealing with stressful situations, we are more prone to get infections, because our protection against viruses and bacteria is weakened.

Wound healing is also connected to stress. It appears that stressed people have a 25% slower rate of healing wounds. Also, a very important thing to point out when we consider stress and stressful situations is that, stress affects memory.

Signs of stress:

• Memory problems

• Anxiety

• Irritability

• Depression

• Diarrhea or Constipation

• Agitation

• Inability to focus

• Nausea

• Emotional eating

• Aches

• Weakening of the immune system

• Infections

• Loss of hair

• Moodiness

• Isolation

• Using alternatives to relax (cigarettes, alcohol, drugs)

• Insomnia

• Poor quality of sleep

• Nail biting

 How to beat stress:

• Get organized! Put aside all the junk work and worries from your life and start a new page of your life. Have some courage to make a new start!

• Wake up early. Take some time for yourself. Get a cup of coffee and watch the sunrise. If you enjoy drinking tea more, make some tea and read a chapter from a new book.

• A lot of people are trying Yoga, running or breathing exercise, to relieve the daily stress and to be healthy. Go for a walk, go for a run or stretch your back and legs, early in the morning! Take some time to feel your heart pumping in your chest and grab all the energy you need.

• Eat the good food. Give up junk food and throw all the bad food from your fridge and kitchen. Go shopping and get some real food. Your body needs vitamins and minerals and you cannot find these in a hamburger. Buy fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

• Get enough sleep! You need at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Sleep deprivation is a big foe of your recovery.

• Listen to music! Find the music that brings you peace and joy. It will help you to get your inner power back.

• Eat chocolate. From time to time, a small piece of chocolate is the best fuel for your brain and mood. Try some dark chocolate.