If you are currently feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and burned out, then you are certainly not alone. As long as you’re alive, there will be instances, when you will find yourself experiencing stress. Your stress could be caused by numerous things such as: work, relationships, parental responsibilities, anti-social behaviours, money issues; and living under the veil of a covid-19 pandemic, experiencing an unusual high level of stress is expected given the current climate.
But that doesn’t make it okay! In fact, it makes it even more important that we explore our own personal reasons for this stress and work out ways to manage it.
Below are five reasons why you shouldn’t just ‘put up’ with serious stress.
It Makes You Unhappy
Not only does stress make you extremely unhappy in the moment – kind of by definition – but it can also lead to longer term issues with your mental health such as depression, anxiety, and mental fatigue.
When you feel low, anxious, and depressed, the world will feel colourless and lacks warmth. In order to really enjoy the things you’re doing it's essential that you schedule in time to do the things that will make you happier.
It Weakens Your Immune System
Stress forces the body to redirect blood and oxygen away from the organs and toward the muscles. Your body assumes that if you’re very stressed, you must be in danger.
The problem is, this means that it compromises your immune system leaving you open to attacks from harmful bacteria and germs. The result is that you’ll get sick more often, the longer you are highly stressed. In the long term, stress can actually be dangerous and even cause fatal illnesses.
It Prevents Nutrient Absorption
Likewise, stress causes blood to be directed away from your digestive system This results in your body being less able to absorb nutrients effectively. Over time, this can result in serious malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies, resulting in a host of other issues.
It Causes You to Make Mistakes
When you are stressed, you will struggle to focus on everyday tasks. The more you're feeling stressed, the more mistakes you’re likely to make and this can lead to all kinds of complications and issues.
It Damages Relationships
Stress can make you short tempered, it can rob you of the energy you need for socializing,
caring for yourself and/or family as it can result in you being less pleasant to be around. This has knock on effects and can place strain on your relationships.
If you don’t fix your stress for yourself, think about the impact it’s having on your children or other loved ones.
Listen to episode 7 of the #ItsTimeToThrive podcast HERE for more on the 5 Reasons You Need to Stop Stressing NOW.
By| womenwhoslay @womenwhoslay