It’s National Stress Awareness Day! And I want to know two things. . .
- Are you aware of your stress levels?
- What are some of your symptoms you experience with stress?
If you’re not aware of your stress levels, you need to be. Stress not only harms our minds and bodies, but it ages us too. If you are experiencing chronic stress, you will experience symptoms that you may find are normal. But trust me, they’re not.
With stress, you can experience any of the following:
- Irritability – If you’ve ever noticed yourself getting angry way too quickly, it might be a sign that you’re stressed out. When we’re stressed, we tend to have less patience and say and do things we don’t necessarily mean. And we can ultimately hurt others.
- Headaches – Headaches can happen because we have a chemical imbalance, the sun hits our eyes wrong or because we have tension in our neck and shoulders. That tension may ultimately causes those headaches.
- Fatigue – When we experience chronic stress, we generally do not want to deal with the world. A lot of times it’s because we feel tired all the time. When we shut ourselves away and we feel exhausted, fatigue sets in.
- Difficulty Sleeping – Stress prevents us from shutting our brain off and actually getting good quality sleep. It makes our thoughts run amok and act like a ticker tape. The lack of good quality sleep makes the cycle continue too!
- Changes in Digestion – If you’ve ever been in a state of chronic stress, you may have noticed you don’t want to eat or drink anything. Well, maybe have an adult beverage, but you don’t want water or anything that will feed your body. Stress prevents us from eating right and feeding our bodies what it needs to survive.
- Decreased Sexual Desire – Let’s be honest…when we’re feeling stressed, who really wants to have sex?! Stress interferes with the desire to be with your partner and can create divides in your relationship. It ultimately becomes the 3rd wheel in the bedroom.
You might also experience symptoms that I haven’t listed here. Maybe feelings of anxiety and depression, thinking like you’ve lost control or a cold that just won’t go away. Listen to your body and decide how to reduce your level.
How do you overcome chronic stress?
There are many ways to reduce your stress. I’m sure you’ve heard about doing yoga and meditation, taking a walk or going for a long run. But what if those aren’t your jam? It’s ok. You can do what makes YOU feel good. Self-care looks different for everyone.
Instead of going to a yoga or meditation class, clean your house! Tidying up, removing clutter and trash and simplifying your home will help you blow off steam and accomplish a huge task!
Instead of going for a walk or a long run, take a kickboxing class. You’ll still burn calories, but a kickboxing class might help you with some of that stress more than a walk. Think of the punches you’ll be throwing?!
Regardless of what you decide, make it YOUR thing! Decide how you want to blow off steam and make a point of allowing yourself to de-stress. And when you do, make sure you learn from it!