- Health worries
- Family worries
- Wealth or career worries
- Social worries
Symptoms and signs of the silent disease “Stress”
- Increased stress can cause and aggravate
- Elevated Blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Asthma
- Sleep problems
- Chest pain
- Stomach upset
- Sexual and reproductive problems, including infertility.
- Smoking alcoholism and substance abuse make stress worse.
- Increases weight/obesity
Cognitive symptoms of stress
Excessive pessimism Poor judgment and focus Forgetfulness, and disorganization. Too much clutter and outer chaos is a sign of inner stress andSome behavior indicating stress include
Pacing, fidgeting, and nail-biting.Interestingly stress can show up as a physical symptom too
Upset stomach, headaches, low energy, aches, pains, tense muscles, rapid heartbeat, chest pain, frequent colds, infections, etc. Stress causes a surge of excess corticosteroids in your body. They can play havoc with your immunity. Thats definitely not good.Stress facts
1)43% of adults suffer the adverse health effects of chronic stress. 2)70% to 90% of doctors visit is due to stress-related complaints. 3)Up to 50% of emotional disorders during a person lifetime is due to untreated chronic stress. 4)Women have a much larger area of the brain involved in emotions. We worry more because our emotional quotient is also higher. Since we have more empathy, we worry for ourselves, for our family and for our friends. Get rid of the chronic stressors. This weekend take time to write everything that is worrying you. Get started using this checklist. What worries you most about your finances and your insurances. How can you deal with the problems quickly and effectively? What is your personal life stresses you most? What are the stressors in Professional life? Write these all down in 1/2/3 pages. Next, write to be done, maybe later, delete next to all the topics you have covered. You will now find that your list of problems seems much smaller and more manageable.32 Quick ways for Stress management:Relax
1)Know your priorities and delegate the less important. Health and family are the most important. 2)Keep some ‘me’ time every day. Preferably in the morning. Pause for 10 min to 25 min. Meditate. Tai -chi has also been known to decrease stress. Meditation programs can result in small to moderate reduction of multiple negative dimensions of psychological stress. 3)Read a good book. Few pages every day.Fiction, nonfiction, anything you enjoy at bedtime.I love murder mysteries. They help me unwind after a long day of managing patients. 3)Start a small garden: Gardening is therapy for tired minds. Watching things grow will make you happier and the color green is naturally relaxing. My balcony garden 4)Breathe deeply. Sit with your back straight. One hand on your stomach.The other over your chest. While breathing in, hand on your stomach should move much more than the other hand. Release your breath slowly and make it really slow.Breathing exercise to decrease stress
5.Set small goals and reward yourself when you are able to meet them.- Organize yourself. Clutter is a known stress inducer.
- Listen to music. Sound of the waterfall, rainfall, birds chirping is all relaxing.
- Laugh. Laughter is truly the best medicine. Read funny stories, watch cartoons! Just laugh. Good laughter releases endorphins in our brain, which are natural feel-good chemicals.
- Make friends. Socializing is one of the best ways to unwind. Even if you are an introvert make it a point to meet people at least once or twice a week.
- Look for the silver lining in the cloud. Think positive and speak positively. Sometimes if you can’t speak well, it’s better not to Speak! Take a break and come back when you are calmer
- Improved sleep
- Increased interest in sex
- Better endurance
- Stress relief
- Improvement in mood
- Increased energy and stamina
- Reduced tiredness that can increase mental alertness
- Weight reduction
- Reduced cholesterol and improved cardiovascular fitness
- Whenever you start worrying do a brain dump. Imagine a black hole in your brain where you throw in all the worries. Just concentrate on the blackness of the hole and relax.
- Do a gradual, progressive muscle relaxation. Start from your right foot, then left and move upwards. You can actually relax the muscles in your temple by concentrating ….just using your mind. This technique helps to relax the tight muscles and is a well-known technique to counteract sleep problems.
- Start a new hobby. Learn something new. Distraction works. Your brain while busy learning, stops worrying
- Start relaxing and losing weight. Stress causes excessive release of cortisol, a fat storing hormone. This can make you fat. Letting go of worries helps you lose weight is a great boost for all of us.
- Have a peaceful bedroom. Keep your phone away in a different room in silent mode when you are going to bed. Preferably no television in your bedroom. You can check out The Inspired room blog for budget-friendly ways to make your bedroom your sanctuary.
- Don’t have caffeine before going to bed. Decrease your caffeine intake to 2/3 cups per day.
- Try to avoid long commutes. Commuting by any means for more than 10 miles every day has been known to
- Avoid processed food . Packaged, processed food increase the level of cortisol hormone in your body. Signaling your brain to be in a stressful mode.
- Stop checking your inbox multiple times every day. Try doing it twice a day. Keeping up with the information overload is tough
- Spend time with your family, play with children.
- Make a pact with a friend /partner/family member. Put money in a jar if you find yourself obsessively worrying about something. At least if you are a chronic worrier it may just make you rich!
The diet which helps you Relax
- Eat complex carbohydrates like oatmeal which prevent blood sugar surges and mood swings(Sugars promote serotonin production in the brain which is feel-good chemicals.
- Pistachios, almonds. Vitamin E and the good fat in this help fight stress-related antioxidant damage.
- Oranges( they are rich in Vitamin C, helps to boost immunity and fight stress-related antioxidant damage to our tissues).
- Naturally, fatty fishes are rich in omega 3 fatty acids
- Spinach, leafy greens ..they are rich in magnesium which helps prevent headache due to stress
- A glass of warm milk at bedtime. Provides enough calcium to fight anxiety and depression.But it may not be for everyone.
- Have a piece of dark chocolate.
- Practically an unbeatable source of endorphin.
