What is Chronic Stress?
"Chronic stress results from a state of ongoing physiological arousal. This occurs when the body experiences stressors with such frequency or intensity that the autonomic nervous system does not have an adequate chance to activate the relaxation response on a regular basis. This means that the body remains in a constant state of physiological arousal, which affects virtually every system in the body, either directly or indirectly. We were built to handle acute stress, which is short-lived, but not chronic stress, which is steady over a long term." ~ Elizabeth Scott, M.S.
Now that we understand what Chronic Stress is thanks to Elizabeth Scott, we can determine if that is something that affects us and use some of these helpful tips to manage it in our daily life's.
- Get enough sleep! Sleep is crucial in functioning. Being sleepy makes your problems seem that much worse.
- Retail therapy! It really does work wonders but limit yourself otherwise you will add financial stress onto your pile.
- Enjoy some you time. Go for a drive or listen to some music by yourself.
- Don't sweat the small stuff. You didn't finish that pile of laundry or you have dishes in the sink that need to be done, leave it, it will be fine until tomorrow.
- Recognize your stress signals (stomach ache, neck ache, headache) and remove yourself from the situation that is bringing it on.
- Keep a stress diary and write down times that cause stress in your life. If you notice a pattern look into ways to deal with the issues. IE... Rush hour traffic make you anxious? Listen to music or an audiobook to relax you.
- Ask for help!! It's OK to ask for help and everything doesn't have to be left on your shoulders. Whether that is help from your family to do chores or help from a therapist to just talk about your feelings.
I truly hope that none of my lovely readers are having issues with chronic stress but if you are then hopefully you can find some relief.
What is something that you find you stress over frequently?
