Why Should We Be So Concerned About Our Stress Levels?

Combating stress is something I feel very strongly about. My journey to be anxiety free and have a more positive outlook and mindset, definitely has its ups and downs (as with any journey). We all know that we need to take care of ourselves, eat right, exercise but ultimately what's going on in your noggin should be of utmost importance.

So why should we be so concerned about our stress levels?

Stress has a massive impact on our health, that can lead to some incredibly serious implications on our life. Today, I'm going to explore these with you because I know sometimes I need a reality check to help motivate me to stress less.

Symptoms of stress

Stress can affect you in so many ways, how you feel emotionally, mentally and physically, and also how you behave. As a mother, this is a huge concern for me as I want to be the best version of me for my children and husband. If I'm stressed, it's going to impact them too and of course the same applies to fathers too.

Emotionally, you may feel overwhelmed, irritable, anxious and lacking in self-esteem. Mentally, you may have racing thoughts, constant worry, difficulty concentrating and have difficulty making decisions. Physically, you may experience headaches, muscle tension, heart palpitations dizziness, sleep problems and feeling tired all the time. Behaviour, eating more or less than usual, smoking and/or drinking more, snapping at those around you.

It can have other health implications such as,

Veruca's - though not serious and can be treated easily with the like of , it's not particularly pleasent. If you suffer from anxiety or stress, it can have an impact on your verruca symptoms and affect your chances of contracting the HPV virus. This is because stress and your emotional health can place a huge strain on your immune system.

Insomnia - an inability to get to sleep, or to stay asleep for long enough to feel fresh and rested the next morning. It’s a very common problem, thought to affect one in every five people in the UK. There are plenty of treatments for insomnia so it's something you don't have to continually suffer with. 

Hair Loss - Stress and anxiety can cause hair loss, though this is not common, it can be incredibly upsetting if this happens. Hair Transplant UK have some valuable information about hair loss and treatments which can help.

Heart Disease - Stress itself is a risk factor for heart disease,  chronic stress exposes your body to unhealthy, persistently elevated levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Studies also link stress to changes in the way blood clots, which increases the risk of heart attack. 

Checking your hormones - a hormonal imbalance can also be a factor in symptoms of stress and it’s definitely worth having them checked, whether male or female. A common issue seen in men that affects both parties in a relationship is erectile dysfunction, this can stem from a variety of issues so it's best to see a specialist at an ED Clinic Seal Beach (or elsewhere more relevant) in order to get this remedied. This can not only reduce stress in men but it can improve their sex life, which in turn can help in reducing stress and anxiety within relationships where sex has become infrequent.

 

Whilst there are individual treatments for these examples, something which you really need to do, is minimise that stress and it's much harder to do than say. Something I feel really does work is mindfulness. Mindfulness is basically slowing down in order to notice all the little things around you or inside. Taking stock of those little things. Mindfulness helps me to uncomplicate daily life, puts perspective on daily worries and realines my mindset. 

I would love to hear your ideas on how you keep your stress at bay and keep your eye out for an upcoming post on other ways on how I try to keep stress to a minimum. 

Mummy B xoxox

*Collaborative Post