Everyday is full of several frustrations and demands which causes stress. For many, stress is just so common that it has become a way of life. However, in small doses, stress can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. But when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, the health of your mind and body become exhausted. Noticing the signs and symptoms is the first step in taking action to protect yourself.
What is Stress?
Stress is the body’s natural defense against predators and danger. It flushes the body with larger quantities of cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline to prepare systems to either to stay and fight or to get away as fast as possible. This is known as the “fight-or-flight” mechanism.
Stress helps you stay energetic, focused, and alert when functioning properly. In emergency situations, stress can also save your life by giving you extra strength to protect yourself. A great example is when you slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.
It’s important to learn how to become aware of when your stress levels are out of control. Stress can creep up on you fast. It even begins to feel normal. Stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in so many ways, and everyone experiences it differently. Large amounts of stress can lead to serious mental and physical health problems and can also effect on your relationships at home, work, and school.
Factors of the environment that trigger stress are called stressors. Not all stress is caused by external factors. Stress can also be self-generated like worrying about something that may or may not happen or having irrational thoughts about life. Examples of stress factors include noises, aggressive behavior, scary moments in movies, or even going out on a first date. The more stressors we experience, the more stressed we feel.
Your body doesn’t distinguish between physical and psychological threats. If you have a lot of responsibilities and worries, your emergency stress response may be on most of the time. The more your body’s stress system is activated, the harder it is to shut off.
Consequences of Stress
Demands and lifestyle choices create a habitual pattern that keeps our stress response on high alert all the time, with too little recovery time, ultimately depleting the resources our body desperately needs to continue mounting a healthy response to stress. Progressively, this negative spiral affects virtually every major physiologic system in the body.
Chronic stress can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, contribute to infertility, and ultimately lead to adrenal fatigue. Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
You have more control over your stress levels than you might think. You can take proactive steps to address the stress load your body bears, however significant it may be.
Coping with Stress
Everyone’s response to stress is unique and some methods don’t work for everyone or in every situation, so try to experiment with different techniques and strategies. Managing stress is all about taking charge. Start by taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems.
Overwhelming stress can lead to adrenal fatigue. If this occurs, consult with your doctor to see what treatment is best for you. The Compounding Pharmacy of Beverly Hills offers adrenal fatigue treatment in a variety of dosage strengths and forms to make it as convenient as possible to take your medication.
Contact The Compounding Pharmacy of Beverly Hills for more information and recommendations to put you on the pathway to optimal health.
