Stress can effect us in many ways, and some of its consequences are only starting to be fully understood. The more that this topic is studied, the more different ailments are being attributed to stress. It seems that stress may actually be at least partly responsible for the majority of all health problems. That’s certainly a reason to make us think about ways to manage the stress in our lives.
Everyone instinctively tries to reduce stress, but our first reaction isn’t always the best one. Such behavior includes overeating, smoking and drinking. Such things aren’t good for our health, and they don’t really remove stress from our lives. As the problems caused by such actions start to mount, the person’s stress level goes up even more, which is why these aren’t healthy ways to deal with stress. If you eat too much when you feel stress, for instance, you’ll start to become overweight, and this will be an additional source of stress. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if stress is causing you to engage in unhealthy or irresponsible actions. One area that stress can make itself felt is in muscle tightness, joints and ligaments. Stress can contribute to tension in various parts of our bodies, which can lead to discomfort and tightness. There can be many causes of a stiff neck, but one is being stressed out and tensing up your neck muscles. Lower back pain can similarly be caused by stress. Stress is certainly not the sole cause of these problems -improper posture, heavy lifting and just pulling something out of whack can obviously cause pain in these areas too. You shouldn’t rule out stress, though, when it comes to pain in such areas, especially if you can’t readily identify an obvious reason. Getting regular massages or chiropractic adjustments can be helpful in this regard.
The interesting thing about stress is that people will respond to it differently. In fact, the same situation may be very stressful for one person, while someone else will feel neutral or even pleasantly stimulated by it. Some people dwell on a problem for days letting it bother them, while another person will be stressed out for a few minutes and then forget about it. This is a key to understanding how to cope better with stress. You can learn to change your responses so that events or situations don’t cause more stress than they have to. People will never be able to remove all causes of stress, but reactions can always be changed and should be. You shouldn’t let stress creep up on you, as then its effects can become serious. The effect stress has on you will depend on your situation and for how long it’s been going on. If you recognize that you have a problem with stress, don’t let this make you feel even more stressed out. Sometimes you can deal with stress on your own, and at other times you may have to consult with an expert for help.