How to handle chronic stress?

Stress is our body’s way of responding to a demand or threat. Our nervous system releases stress hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, which rouse the body for emergency action. Our heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and senses become sharper. These physical changes increase strength & stamina, speeds reaction time, and enhances focus, thereby preparing us for either a fight or flee response.

What does chronic stress do to our body?

Our nervous system isn’t very good at distinguishing between emotional and physical threats. If you tend to get stressed frequently, like many of us in today’s demanding world, our body may continue to exist in a heightened state of stress. This is chronic or long-term stress, which can lead to serious health problems, such as:

• Aches, Pain & Fatigue
• Cognitive Memory Problems
• Digestive Problems
• Heart Disease
• Skin Conditions
• Weight Problems
• Reproductive Issues
• Sleep Disorder
• Depression and Anxiety
• Autoimmune Diseases

• Increase daily physical activity, like walking, running, swimming, dancing.
• Build stronger and meaningful connections. Simply talking face-to-face with another human helps release hormones that relieve stress.
• Learn to relax with techniques such as yoga, meditation, deep breathing.
• Get your sleep. Feeling tired can increase stress by causing you to think irrationally.
• Eat a healthy diet. Processed foods, sugary snacks, refined carbs worsen levels of stress.
• Take supplements such as Magnesium, B-Vitamins, Omega-3 to help reduce stress.