You’d think that the symptoms of stress are hard to miss. But that doesn’t mean we always pay attention and take appropriate action. So it helps to be reminded of some of the key symptoms you will encounter when you’re overly stressed. You can use them as ammunition to justify taking a break.
The following nine key physical warning signs are among the first ones you’ll encounter at times of great stress, and when you do, do yourself a favor and heed their loud and clear message: slow down – if you want to stay healthy, sane, and effective, that is.1. Is your mouth dry or do you have a lump in your throat?
It may be a cliché, but it’s a cliché for a reason: when you’re stressed, your mouth becomes really dry. And a dry mouth makes it difficult to swallow anything but liquids. It’s even bad for your teeth.2. Are you bothered by a pain in the neck?
Tense, tight muscles, especially neck and shoulder muscles are another important warning sign. To some of us it may seem like those painfully tense muscles are a permanent condition. They don’t have to be.3. Do you get a lot of headaches lately?
While headaches can have a variety of causes, there’s one particular kind that’s aptly named “tension headache.” If the onset of your headaches correlate with periods of intense stress, you know what to do.4. Do you have numbness & tingling in limbs?
You may not have realized that these can be caused by too much stress. I didn’t know either until I read it during my research for this article, but it makes sense. In fact, I was relieved to read that because my limbs have been tingling and occasionally getting for a while and I was worried that it might be something serious. Well, guess what! Stress IS serious.5. Are you tired all the time?
Do you find you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning? Chronic fatigue, exhaustion, and low energy are the inevitable result of excess stress for prolonged periods of time.6. Do you have trouble falling asleep or sleeping long enough?
Once again, this could be a sign of too much stress. And since sleep is so crucial for recovery, stress-induced insomnia often starts a vicious cycle.7. Are you overweight?
Especially with fat primarily accumulating on the belly? For the longest time, people used to think that stress causes weight loss, not weight gain. That may be true for some, but most of us tend to put on the pounds. Cortisol, the stress hormone, literally causes the body to accumulate the wobbly stuff right up front and center and makes it almost impossible to take it back off.8. Do you have heartburn, hyperacidity, GERD, or indigestion?
Maybe what you need is not another dose of antacids but a massage and a nice hot bath, not necessarily in that order. And a day off.9. Do you get sick a lot?
When someone sneezes in the office, are you the first to catch it? Do you have allergies or skin rashes? These are all signs that your immune system has begun to suffer. It’s time to take a legal U-turn.
How many of the above do you have? One? Slow down and take more breaks. Three? You’re definitely in the danger zone. All seven? Red zone alert!
Posts Tagged ‘Easy’
Stress Symptoms: Nine Physical Warning Signs That You Need To Take It Easy
Saturday, March 6th, 2010Some Quick and Easy Stress Relief Techniques
Saturday, February 27th, 2010If you’re feeling stressed or tense, you’re certainly not alone. Chances are everyone, no matter who they are and what they do, feel tension and stress at one time or another if not constantly. But while tension is just going to be a natural part of life, there are some quick and easy stress relief techniques you can consider to help the situation as much as possible. First off, remember that stress relief techniques don’t always need to actually be labeled as such to be effective. For instance you might not think of such practices as yoga and tai chi as being effective stress relief techniques but they actually do work. Yoga and tai chi both stretch tense and cramped muscles in a very relaxing way and encourage deep breathing as well. This means that blood and oxygen are being introduced into the system more often and these act as healing and relaxing properties. Some assume that yoga and tai chi have a spiritual side to them but today’s routines are usually just gentle ways of stretching the same way a professional athlete would. Look for a class near you or do an online search for beginner routines. If you can’t find any or aren’t comfortable with either yoga or tai chi as stress relief techniques just do some simple stretching exercises before you go to bed – stretch your arms, touch your toes, roll your head around, shrug your shoulders, and so on. Don’t overdo it but do challenge yourself so that you are actually stretching your muscles.Other quick and easy stress relief techniques might involve just simple exercises to get you active and to increase your blood flow. When you’re tense and anxious, go for a long walk or bike ride. Toss the ball around with the kids or the dog. Go dancing, even if you’re not necessarily in the mood – once you hit the dance floor you might change your mind! Exercising, no matter what the activity, is considered one of the best stress relief techniques for anyone and everyone. But remember that exercise doesn’t mean just in a gym or on a treadmill – you can play basketball with friends, go hiking, or set up a badminton net in the backyard. Taking care of yourself physically is also important when applying these stress relief techniques. Get a massage or trade one off with your partner. Take a hot bath or long shower. Use a heating pad on your back when it gets cramped and tense. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep every single night so that your body can rest and heal itself and your mind can shut itself off as well. If you’re not good to yourself physically then the tension in your body will just make you more stressed mentally and emotionally, and any stress relief techniques you try will be useless. So tell yourself to relax physically and you may find that you’re better able to relax mentally as well!
Free Natural Stress Relief – Easy Ways to Relieve Stress Naturally
Sunday, February 7th, 2010Why Natural Stress Relief Solutions Are So Popular?
You know how harmful stress is for your health. You have heard it a thousand times from doctors, teachers, friends and others. So you know how important it is to get over stress to protect your health and live longer.
But the important question is, how can you do it? What is the best natural stress relief solution that works for you?
Millions of people in the world know about the effects on stress on health, but why don’t they do anything about it? Why do most people go through every day still stressed out?
The answer is, simply because they don’t know how. Some doctors may suggest taking relaxation medicine, but the problem with reducing stress by medicine is that it is temporary and fake.
If you stop the medication anytime, your stress will come back. So it was NOT cured in the first place. The medicine just helped you hide the stress, not solve it.
So is there any way to totally get over your stress and be happy and relaxed again naturally?
The good news is, yes. There are some proven natural ways to relieve stress. No medicine needed. No fake results. It is fully natural and works for you.
Natural stress relief solutions are becoming more and more popular. Because people see their result is long lasting and feels more natural and real – unlike taking medicine.
Also if you have sleep problems, natural stress relief methods will help you get back your peaceful, relaxing sleep at night. No need for sleeping pills which actually make it harder for you to fall sleep over time, like an addiction to the pills.
Some of the most effective natural ways to reduce stress are stress relief games, toys, cartoons, and exercises.
Not only these games and toys are fun to play with, but also they help you forget all about your problems which were causing you stress.
It is proven that playing with stress games and toys for 30 minutes every time you feel stressed, is an easy effective way to get over stress and recharge your batteries.
You can simply find these games and toys by searching online or looking for them in the stores near your home.
A Quick and Easy Stress Test
Monday, February 1st, 2010Many people go through their days not aware of the stress in their lives. They might think, “Well, how serious can it be if I don’t even know it exists?”
Quite simply your body can get used to stress in such a way that, even though your body still reacts harmfully to stress, because the stress is so continuous, you just don’t realize how much stress you are in. Regardless of how little or how much stress you have in your life, being able to identify it will be a big help to you. Once you are able to identify the stress in your life for what it is, you can then go about the business of dealing with it more effectively.
Make no mistake about it, if there is stress in your life, chances are you are reacting negatively to at least some of it. Most of us are so used to stress that we begin to believe that the state of stress is normal.
TAKE A STRESS TEST
The standard tests that doctors use to tell whether you are an easily stressed “hot reactor” (and at greater risk for disease) are pretty simple, so take your pick, says Frank Barry, M.D., a family practice physician in Colorado Springs and author of Make the Change for a Healthy Heart. For the first two tests, you’ll want to take a blood-pressure reading twice, once before the test and once during the test, for comparison.
Test 1: Chill out. In Test 1, put your hand into a bucket of cold water for one minute and have someone measure your blood pressure right after you have done it. If it goes up into the high range in response to physical stress, you are a “hot reactor.”
Test 2: Do some math. Test 2 is a little more cerebral. Start with the number 100 and mentally subtract 7, then continue to subtract 7 until you get to 2. In the midst of your figuring, have your blood pressure taken. “There’s no exercise, no threat to your life, but a lot of people still feel mental stress and their blood pressures shoot up,” says Dr. Barry.
Test 3: Talk to yourself. You can also test yourself without the shock of cold water or the mental anguish of math. As yourself: “Are you working toward your own true goals or someone else’s?” If you are busy trying to keep up with the Joneses, you’re still in the rat race, even if you have retired. You’re much more likely to feel the effects of stress regardless of whether you’re a “hot reactor,” says Dr. Barry.
Get Stress Free In Several Easy Steps
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008Have you ever found yourself with so much weight on your shoulders you wish you could just walk outside and scream? Have you been in a situation where the boss is after you, the kids have been yelling and screaming non stop all day, and your spouse comes home in a bad mood and takes it out on you too? You have so much stress you don’t know what to do. Do you need to talk to someone, take pills, get put in the mental hospital?
No you don’t have to do any of those things. First, you can start by letting go in your mind. Our days and direction all start in our mind when we wake up in the morning. We dread going to work, we let the kids continue to scream; we let our spouse affect us even when it isn’t our fault. Train your mind to control your thoughts out of the gate and you will begin to notice your day is more pleasant. Your stresses may not be so large. You may begin to become more creative in the process. Wouldn’t that be much nicer than stressing? Of course it would.
Second, you could change the situation when it arrives. Analyze the situation to find the good that could come from it. What is your boss trying to say by venting his or her frustration on you? Think about what can be obtained from a positive point and you might just put a good foot forward. What happened to your spouse that day that you could help him or her release and reevaluate the situation for the better purposes? What have your children been doing all day? They might be cooped up and require the release of all the energy young children have. They might be trying to tell you something in their own way. Start analyzing the situation from different angles and try to find a positive way out that will help everyone.
Once you have come this far in your quest for the stress free zone, stay that way. So, the third step you can do is to exercise. Get moving. There has been evidence and documents listed that exercise, even just walking down the street, reduces stress and clears the head. Not only will it reduce your stress it will keep you fit, lose weight, and feel good. Don’t you want to feel good? Of course you do. Get stress free, start today. Maybe you could even take the kids for a walk down the street to help them get rid of some of that energy.
Once you have completed the above three steps you can move to step four, do the above three steps over and over again until your brain has changed into new habits. Start looking at the positives, clear your mind, exercise, analyze and overcome the situations. When you think about all of the ways to solve problems and stressful situations you truly open your mind to possibilities that may not have existed before. This is the power of our minds and our bodies.
Control your own mind and you will find you can deal with the stresses of life much more easily. Turn your stress into solvable challenges that have many different solutions that all you have to do is pick one. Again, your mind is very powerful so use it first.
Staying healthy and stress free also requires you to get the proper nutrients and minerals your body needs to function healthily. Think about supplementing your meals with multi vitamins or natural herbal supplements that assist your body in mind and health. Become well balanced in every aspect of your life and you will see great results.
Medication for stress is a possible answer if it is needed. You should always consult a physician for assurance and proper counseling. Medicine may help but there are alternatives to prescription drugs. St. John”s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is an example of a natural herbal supplement that is known to reduce the symptoms of stress on the body and has been used to treat mental disorders and depression. Check with a doctor to verify that this could help you. Everyone is different in bodily makeup.
There are many options available for everyone out there to get a handle on stress in their lives. You can start by using your brain and controlling how you approach your environment. The options to go with natural herbal supplements are available as well as seeing professionals to find out the root cause of your stressors and issues.
You should always contact a physician before starting any exercise or supplementation plan.
Managing Stress ? Easy Tips to Manage Stress
Friday, February 22nd, 2008We all are quite aware of stress. It has become an integral part of our life and lifestyle. However, a little amount of stress keeps us motivated to our task, but if we are getting overstressed, it means we are in ruining our lives. When under stress, we catch all the adverse conditions of our life, both in psychological and physiological terms. Till date, relaxation and meditation are found to be the most effective ways for managing stress. Stress – Are you feeling it?
Stress is not at all pre-defined. Typically, we get stressed when we are not too concerned about reality and realistic goals, and we do not know how to manage our time, so we are unable managing stress as well. These two factors contribute to most of the stressful situations. However, there are a few inevitable situations (such as divorce, loss of job, relationship crisis, etc.) which throw us into the stress tunnel. We simply cannot avoid these stressful situations. Even an emotionally strong individual needs time to restore his healthy balance after facing these types of stressors in life. Stress can affect anyone!
Any one can get affected by stress. Whether you are an adolescent or a young adult, or an aged individual; you are not at all free from stress. However, the pattern may be different from each other. But the impact is more or less same for every one. Why do we need to manage stress?
It is simply because we cannot eliminate stressors from our life. All we can do is to adopt different measures for managing stress in our life. If we do not take proper action for managing stress, it means that we will end up at distress. In a distress condition, we will find ourselves simply broken both psychologically and physiologically. When we are overstressed, it affects us in three ways – psychologically, physiologically and emotionally.
The common stress symptoms are headaches, nervousness, rashes, stomachaches, fast heartbeat, perspiration, increased urination, lack of concentration, forgetfulness, drop in task performance, unable to concentrate, carelessness, boredom, anger outbursts, nightmares, depression, scared, withdrawn, irritation and others. We can easily say that none of these we can really welcome to our life. So, quite obviously we need to adopt proper measure for managing stress. How do we manage stress?
There are possibly hundreds and thousands of concepts for managing stress, however, relaxation and meditation are found to be best measures for managing stress so far.
You can experience a great variety of these two techniques and mostly all these variations offer excellent solution to stress management program. In relaxation process you can simply relax to sooth your mind and body. Either you can do it by yourself or you can perform relaxation under an expert practitioner. You may begin with simple relaxation and they gradually uplift yourself to experience progressive muscle relaxation in which we need to tighten your muscle initially and then relax them accordingly step by step. An exquisite form of relaxation is called visualization or guided imagery in which you are asked to imagine the places or events where you want to see yourself. It offers a peace of mind, hence lowers the effect of stress quite significantly. If you can practice it one regular basis, you can be benefited in terms of reducing fast heartbeat, lowering high blood pressure, reducing the need for bodily oxygen, reducing muscle tension, enhancing blood circulation and many more.
Additionally, if you practice meditation, it will help you to focus your mind on a specific focal point. Meditation can be practiced in different ways depending on your lifestyle and requirement. When we are stressed out, we may lose our ability to decision making or problem solving. A regular practice of relaxation in combination with meditation can ensure you to take a great care of all of your anxieties, enhance your ability to take decision or solve problems and help you to promote a healthy balance in your life.
