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Health Stress: Affects Both Body and Mind

When someone says they’re stressed out, it usually means they feel a little stressed. Some stress is good; it makes us work harder and more efficiently and helps us to reach goals. Without stress, many of us wouldn’t function as well as we do. Some stress, however, affects us so much that it deters us from doing what we should be doing. This stress is called health stress. Health stress is when stress gets so great that if affects both our mental and physical functioning. Health stress can be so severe that it has the potential to cause a nervous breakdown or worse.

Identify the Stressor

If you find yourself under so much stress that you can’t function normally, you need to find out what is causing you so much stress. This sounds easy enough, but some stressors aren’t so obvious. Sometimes, while you may think one thing is causing the stress, the real stressor may be hidden. The idea is to find out what is causing it, whether a situation, person, or thing, and then avoid it as much as possible.

A Vicious Stress Cycle

Some things can’t be avoided, though. For instance, if your job is causing you so much stress that you can’t even think clearly, then you have to deal with it in another way. It’s not like you can just stop going to work. That would be an illogical way at dealing with health stress. What you need to do, in that situation, is find out what about your job is causing you so much stress that your mind and body aren’t functioning the way they should. Is it a coworker, a deadline, or maybe you are just under so much pressure to perform that your stress is preventing you from performing. This may sound like a reach, but this is a real issue with many people. Stress can cause a vicious cycle if not controlled.

Deal with it in a Rational Manner

To control health stress, you must learn to identify the stressor and then either eliminate it or deal with it on a more rational level. For instance, if you are stressing over a particular deadline, you must look at that deadline in a rational manner, such as looking at it from a different perspective.

Pretend like it’s not your deadline, but someone else’s, and think about what advice would you give them for dealing with it. Would you tell that person to break up the project into smaller ones to make the project easier to deal with? Would you tell that person to take deep breathing exercises before starting to alleviate some of the pressure? Pretend as if you are giving advice to someone suffering from health stress, and then try your own advice. Sometimes, just separating ourselves from the situation mentally can help.

Whatever the reason, health stress can cause breakdowns, heart conditions, and much more. The fact is, health stress must be dealt with if you don’t want further complications down the road. To calm yourself down, try distancing yourself from the stress, identify the stressor, and then either eliminate the stressor completely or deal with it in a more rational manner. This isn’t easy, but with some practice, you’ll be able to manage your stress more effectively and your mind and body will run more efficiently. You’ll feel like a whole new person!