Stress is known as a ‘silent killer,’ and for good reason. When your body overproduces cortisol, the stress hormone, it impacts your body in a variety of ways. In the short term, the stress leads to more stress. In the long term, it can lead to serious health complications like hypertension. Managing stress is essential for your overall health and wellbeing. Here are a few reasons why:
Cortisol has a bad reputation.When produced in normal amounts, it helps you regulate stress and get the stressed feeling out of your system. However, staying in a stressed state causes the body to overproduce cortisol. Cortisol impacts every area of your body, from your nervous system and cardiovascular systems to your metabolism. Having too much of this hormone can lead to weight gain, reduced immune function, cardiovascular issues and chronic conditions like headaches and gastrointestinal disruptions.
Feeling stressed sometimes is perfectly normal. Never leaving that stressed state is cause for concern. When your body is constantly in fight, flight or freeze, it’s difficult to be present. This can lead to feeling disconnected from your body, which has serious consequences for your mental health. Depression and anxiety often result from this kind of mind-body disconnection. Constantly being in an anxious or depressed state can also impact cognitive functions, like memory and decision-making skills.
Not feeling your best often leads to not being your best self. Feeling stressed can make it difficult to sleep, which reduces your energy levels during the day. The recovery your body should be doing while you sleep doesn’t happen when you don’t get restful sleep. Over time, this leads to a constant tired feeling, which gets in the way of being productive and making good decisions. Often, this leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms. For example, instead of making healthy meals at home and taking daily walks, you may go with the option of staying at home and eating ready-made food you can order from a delivery app.
When you live in a constantly stressed state, you’re not only hurting yourself. Since you’re not feeling your best, you may struggle to show up for others. Your friendships and relationships can suffer. You may find yourself forgetting about or not having the energy for things you committed to, or not noticing when someone needs your help. By reducing your stress levels, you can be better for yourself and others.
If you find yourself living with stress daily, managing stress also needs to be part of your daily routine. Consider ways you can improve your self-care throughout the day. Depending on where you are, that may mean creating a manageable schedule for self-care. Incorporate basic activities like washing your face and brushing your teeth, and add in tasks like daily walks and a mindfulness practice. Find the healthy coping mechanisms that work best for you.
Managing stress is not always something you can do on your own, and there’s no shame in seeking outside help. If stress has undue impacts on your life, reach out to your network for support, and look into mental health therapy. Having an unbiased professional to talk to can go a long way in helping you manage your stress and better understand your own thoughts.
Stress impacts every aspect of your life, especially if you’re constantly living in it. Remember, there are many ways you can manage stress, and there’s no shame in asking for outside assistance. Managing stress is an important part of living your best life and being your best self.
