Exercise Avoidance Is Common with People Suffering from Stress
Stress can cause a complete burnout for everything that would actually make it better. We all know that exercise can help you deal with stress and send out endorphins – the chemical neurotransmitters that helps relieve stress in the body.
Excuses for avoiding exercise range from being too busy or not having enough time to finding exercise too boring. Or, you might be too tired. The very excuses you use for not exercising can be helped by exercising.
Consider time – if you only exercise 20 minutes to an hour, three to six times per week, you’ll reap untold benefits to your mind and relieve stress that bombards you on a daily basis.
Lack of energy – fatigue – often comes from too much stress. It’s a fact that you’ll receive much more energy from exercise as you would from watching television from the couch. You’ll finally have the energy you need to get things done.
If you’re bored with exercise, try a distraction such as watching television or listening to music or inspirational tapes. Exercising with a friend can also make it fun. If the weather is too bad to go outdoors and exercise, have an exercise plan for indoors.
Finding an exercise plan that fits your personality and likes is a major method to keep from avoiding exercise. If you like team sports, try volleyball or tennis. Biking and swimming appeal more to those who would rather be along.
If exercise seems to hard and difficult, try a less intensive program that may include golf or low impact aerobics. For those who like a more cardiovascular workout, jogging or spending time on a stationary bike is excellent.
Social butterflies prefer exercises such as aerobics, walking with friends or taking classes at your local gym. Once you’ve found an exercise that appeals to your personality, you’ll be more apt to keep appointments with yourself and not dread it so much.
Stress sometimes fools us into thinking we need to take frequent breaks or lie down or take it easy when the best remedy would be to get in an exercise routine that can help our bodies respond to stress in a positive, rather than negative, manner.
Begin slowly. Try something that is enjoyable to you and don’t spend too much time on it. You can gradually work up to more time and more of a workout when you begin to see the difference in the way you feel and know that your stress levels have been reduced.
Reducing your stress should be enough of an incentive to continue a workout program. Know that when you’re stressed, you tend to avoid many things – social activities, work, taking care of yourself and eating and sleeping properly.
Exercise is easy to avoid, but it’s the one thing that you should not avoid. Take time to think about a type of exercise that you’d enjoy and give it a try.
Have You Been in Hiding Because Social Stress Is Just Too Much?
Social anxiety and depression have become closely linked in today’s society. Sometimes the stress of all we have to do on a daily basis just becomes too much and the first thing we do is withdraw.
Withdrawing from civilization as much as we can without jeopardizing a job or other things necessary to maintaining our lives is a direct result of the fast-paced society we live in today.
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t as simple as eating a salad or exercising. Sometimes we have to dig deep to find the answers to our need to withdraw. When you’re depressed, you may feel the need to withdraw from the crowds – or you may be depressed because you’re socially anxious.
If you’re a normally socially active person, isolating yourself by refusing to participate in outside activities may cause you to lose interest in life and even make you fear social encounters.
This fear can develop into chronic depression, bipolar disorder or dysthymia (PPD – persistent depressive disorder). These disorders have a better chance of developing if you’re especially fearful of many social situations.
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) can also put you at risk for such problems as addiction to alcohol or other substances, inability to function at work and may render you less likely to respond positively to treatment. It could also increase your risk of suicide.
Social withdrawal is different than social anxiety disorder or depression. A good example of social withdrawal is the person who avoids social interaction because they have a poor self-image or fear they’ll embarrass themselves.
Those who are depressed because of social anxiety don’t think of social interaction as a positive event. They think of going out and being with friends as a negative because of fear of other’s evaluation.
Those who suffer from SAD think they might enjoy social interaction, but also think they don’t know how to socialize with others. Most people won’t seek help for social anxiety disorder or the depression it causes.
It doesn’t help in the long run to be treated for social anxiety caused by stress. The underlying issues must be addressed for the treatment to be effective. Stress relief for social issues may be as easy as learning some relaxation techniques that you can put into practice before social interaction.
Or, you may need to think deeper and more analytic to get to the root causes of the social stress you’re experiencing. If you find yourself going into hiding or making excuses for not being socially active, you may want to speak to your health care provider.
You might also want to try some simple stress relievers such as deep breathing, Yoga, tai chi and meditation before social events to relax your mind and body.
The Blame Game Won’t Help You Solve Your Stress Issues
People and situations are easy scapegoats to blame for your stress overload, but blaming others rarely solves anything and tends to make you even more stressed. A better option is to take responsibility for your own happiness and find a way to relieve your stress.
All symptoms of stress, including anger, rapid heartbeat, mental shutdown and fatigue are direct responses from dealing with stress. People can be annoying and situations can be frustrating, but you can choose how to deal with it.
Research has shown that how we perceive situations and people dictates how we respond to stress. You may have a coworker who annoys you every day, a significant other who you believe is driving you insane or children who you sometimes think will be your downfall.
It becomes a game of blaming circumstances or people for things that go wrong in your life. If you’re always thinking that people mess up your life or that your spouse makes your life miserable with his/her annoying habits, you may want to think about how you could respond that wouldn’t cause as much stress in your life.
These blame games you play can result in a type of helplessness that happens when you don’t take responsibility for how your life is progressing – or not. Blaming one person or circumstance won’t help, because another one always appears in its place.
Amazingly, making yourself accountable for negative and stressful situations in your life doesn’t add stress – it helps to relieve it. Accountability can shift the power that stress has over you by giving you back the power to change things and make a difference.
When you find yourself blaming others or situations for your stress, there are some things you can ask yourself to see what you’re feeling more clearly. If you can separate yourself from a stressful situation and ask yourself the real reasons why things aren’t working out, you’ll get a better overall picture of the true situation.
This separation can give you the insight to know how to deal with and rectify the situation or the problem you may have with others’ behaviors. You may not be able to fix things to your liking with this insight, but you may be able to work together with a person or system to make it better.
Chronic stress in your life means that you haven’t addressed the problems with a plan to relieve them. Think about your role in the problems and how you can change yourself or something you’re doing to lessen the repeating and harmful stress.
Some things just can’t be changed. For example, being the caregiver for a loved one creates constant stress. But, perhaps you can arrange to take some time for yourself and practice stress relievers such as exercise, a massage once in a while or lunch with a friend.
Recognize when you’re participating in the stress blame game and begin to take accountability. That, alone, will ease some of the stress in your life.
Energy Levels Plummet with Ongoing Stress
When chronic stress causes your energy levels to plummet, it’s time to take control and reduce the stress levels in your life. You may not even know that it’s stress causing the problems, but there are many reasons why stress causes fatigue and other health problems.
When chronic stress permeates your body, muscles tense, you breathe with more difficult and the stress hormones may make your heart beat faster and harder. Gastrointestinal issues and other problems that zap your energy may also occur.
Feeling drained, emotionally and physically can seem like you’re dragging a heavy burden along with you on a daily basis. Eventually, you’re not only dealing with fatigue, but other serious health problems.
Negative self-talk is the reason for much stress that we unknowingly place on your mind and body. Issues that aren’t resolved can occur over and over again, also placing unneeded stress in your life.
Taking the time to resolve those issues and gain control over our patterns of thinking and living can decrease the stress levels in your life and place those problems behind you.
When your energy levels are depleted by stress, you may have trouble completing the day and being as productive as you need to be. Just starting out with stress such as getting everyone dressed and out the door and getting to work on time can be debilitating if other stresses are also present.
It can become an ongoing problem and become chronic stress, which increases the production of inflammatory molecules (cytokines). These harmful molecules may cause conditions such as lupus, diabetes and arthritis to develop and wreak even more havoc on your body.
The thyroid may also be affected. Since the thyroid controls the metabolism, your energy levels may also plummet and can also disrupt how we burn food for energy. Stress is one of the big factors that play a part in the health issue, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome isn’t characterized by a medical condition, but can detrimentally affect you so that it’s difficult to live life as you want or should. It may even worsen when you try to help the condition by exercising – and it usually doesn’t improve when you rest.
Relieving stress in your life may help chronic fatigue and other issues that have to do with your physical and mental health. Energy is so important to your mind and body that it’s essential you find ways to relieve stress and live as normal a lifestyle as possible.
When you take the time to focus on and determine how you can reduce and prevent stress in your life, you’ll find that your daily life will run much smoother and you won’t have the same negative thoughts and harmful patterns.
Hair Loss Takes Root When Stress Sets In
Hair loss can be devastating. Most of us make time and effort to take care of our hair and consider it part of our personalities. For centuries, healthy and well-cared for hair has been considered a type of crown – and losing it can take a toll on our self-confidence.
Stress is one of the main causes for hair loss and is called telogen effluvium. It’s when stress causes hair follicles to enter a resting phase. This, in turn, may cause a significant amount of hair to fall out when washing or combing.
Another form of losing hair during stressful times is trichotillomania which is an uncontrollable urge to pull out the air from parts of the body such as the scalp and eyebrows.
Alopecia areata is another form of stress-related hair loss which occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the hair follicles and causes the hair to fall out. All forms of stress-related hair loss can be addressed effectively by getting your stress under control.
Stress causes many symptoms such as fatigue, poor concentration, digestive problems and headaches – and can also cause hair loss. You might unconsciously pull out your hair under stressful conditions – or it may fall out because of stress caused by trauma.
Stress may cause an interruption in the normal growth and rest cycle of the hair and cause excessive hair loss that you can see when you brush or wash your hair. It may fall out in clumps causing bald spots on various areas of your scalp.
Hair loss caused by stress may occur during childbirth or pregnancy, recovering from an injury, certain vaccinations, fad- or unhealthy types of dieting, various antidepressants, chronic illnesses and unusually high fevers. Emotional stress may also cause hair loss.
Any stressful condition may impede hormone levels in the body and cause hair loss. Continual stress such as that resulting from a relationship or work may also have a major impact on hair follicle and hair growth.
The psychological effects of hair loss can be enormous and cause you to have low self-esteem. You may avoid socializing and become a hermit because you don’t want to be seen in public with large gaps in your hair.
Reducing the stress in your life can restore your hair cycle to a more natural process and taking care of yourself can also help restore healthy hair. Eating a healthy diet, exercise and a vitamin and mineral supplement such as B12 or folic acid may also help restore hair to natural growth.
Exercises designed to help you relax may also help reduce stress in your life. Yoga, meditation and other relaxation methods can immediately help you feel more relaxed and provide an emotional boost for hair growth.
Stomach Issues Arise Often from Chronic Stress
Stomach issues aren’t only caused by poor diet. Stress can contribute to many stomach problems such as IBS, chronic gastritis, diarrhea and more. Your digestive system is one of the most important areas of the body and when you’re experiencing stress, serious problems may occur.
The digestive system is highly influenced by signals from the brain and can easily be affected by highs and lows of stress. When your body is under constant stress, a variety of gastrointestinal diseases may occur.
GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), IBD (peptic ulcer disease) and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome can compromise the purpose of the digestive system. Chronic stress has been shown to lead to the development of these health problems.
Research has also shown a link in stress and alterations to the gut’s microbial flora which also compromises the functioning of the digestive system and affects other areas of the body such as the skin and mental health and well-being.
When you’re under chronic stress conditions for a prolonged period of time, biochemical changes take place in the stomach that may significantly and immediately change the way the digestive system functions.
What you may think is an illness may be entirely linked to stress. Headaches, lack of sleep, lack of mental acuity and ability to concentrate are just some of the health problems may occur – as well as stomach issues – because of stress.
Other issues that may occur from stress and a low-functioning digestive system include weight gain, chronic fatigue, decreased immunity and blood sugar fluctuations. If you’re suffering from any of the symptoms of chronic stress, it’s important that you evaluated the causes and immediately address how you can minimize those effects.
For some people, regular exercise sessions, deep breathing and meditation can be very helpful in reducing the symptoms of stress. For others, more in-depth treatments may be in order. Your health care provider can help you find the best option(s) for you.
Leaving stress unchecked can cause many health problems other than those you may be experiencing with your stomach. Cardiovascular issues and high blood pressure may result from a steady dose of chronic stress.
Most stress can be reduced by choosing active methods to relieve it. You may think you’re relaxing by watching television, but your body may need the boost of cardio activity to erase the stress issues from your mind and body.
There are many new coping methods for chronic stress that can help you reduce stress in your life and subsequently help your stomach issues. Online research can help you find ways you may want to discuss with your physician.
If a stomach issue arises, don’t ignore it. It can quickly turn into health problems that will be difficult to eradicate. The problem could be chronic stress – or something else such as the precursor to a heart attack.
Stress Contributes to Pain in Your Body
Stress can cause many health problems, but one of the most debilitating is mild to severe pain in certain areas of the body or all over the body. It can range from headaches to joint and muscle pain, chest pain and more.
You may know when some pain is stress-related – like when you begin to feel the pain creep into your shoulders and neck. Sometimes you may be working at a desk on a particularly stressful project, or trying to meet a deadline that’s looming on your mind.
While there’s no way of getting rid of all the stress in your life, learning how to control it is essential to protecting your future health and well-being. You should be able to recognize the symptoms of stress so you can better understand and control it.
You may think you can recognize stress symptoms, but many of us reach the meltdown point before we’re actually aware of the intensity. A stressful situation doesn’t have to be read – it may be perceived by you, and that is the same and causes the same stress in your body.
The fight-or-flight response to stress is the body’s way to prevent harm. During this type of stress response, your heart rate and breathing quickens, your body tenses its muscles and your blood pressure soars. You’re ready for any action needed to protect yourself.
Chronic stress is especially harmful to your body and mind. While your body can usually handle periodic and small amounts of stress, long-term stress can make you physically and mentally ill and cause pain in all parts of the body.
Some ways chronic stress can affect you physically include heart attack, stroke and fatigue. Mentally, chronic stress may cause depression, lack of productivity, thinking acuity and more.
No portion of your body is exempt from the horrific symptoms of stress. It can affect every area of your life – physical, emotional, behavioral and mental. Sometimes you may not even recognize that you’re under a lot of stress until you break down or are confronted with a physical or mental illness.
Pay attention to signals from your body, including physical pain, moodiness, fatigue, inability to focus, increased drug or alcohol use and depression. Talk to your health care provider about these and any other symptoms you may be suffering from that are caused by stress in your life.
Although stress is a natural part of life, it can cause long-term problems if not controlled. Knowing your stress symptoms is the first step in determining a solution to the condition.
Stress may be helped by seeing a counselor or therapist who can teach you some ways to deal with stressful situations in your life and get rid of the accompanying pain.