Stress is a pretty unavoidable part of life, isn’t it? No matter how much you might try to avoid overwhelm and keep things calm, there will always be sources of stress around us. The constant stress we all deal with can have not-so-great effects on our minds and bodies. And if you want to live your best life, you have to make stress management a priority!
The good news is, stress management can do a lot of good for your health, productivity, and happiness. Here are some of the ways stress management will help you live your best life!
YOU’LL IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
When we feel overwhelmed or pressured by different things in our lives, our brains respond. In moments where our minds see something as being dangerous or a threat, they act accordingly and kick us into survival mode.
Maybe you’ve heard of fight or flight – instinctive reactions our body revs up to protect us from danger. That’s all fine and well when we actually face life-threatening frights, but the reality is, that’s not the case for most of our stressors. And when our brains are constantly stressed and in “Go!” mode, it’s not good for our mental health.
Long periods of stress can be tough on our minds. From constant worry and difficulty concentrating to memory problems and struggling to make decisions, too much stress has a negative impact on our thinking. Add in emotional side effects like moodiness, irritability, depression, and anxiety, and it’s easy to see why stress management is so important to our mental health!
The good thing is, finding stress management techniques that work for you and your lifestyle will improve those mental and emotional side effects from stress. Exercise, healthy eating, self-care, and investing time in things that make you happy are all great stress relievers that will help your mental health, too!
YOUR BODY WILL THANK YOU
Remember when we talked about how, when confronted with stress, your mind goes into fight or flight defense mode? Well, so does your body.
Your heart rate and pulse speed up, blood and hormones rush through your system, your senses are heightened, and you’re on edge. If you were actually in nature and facing a predator, those reactions would help you out!
But in your day-to-day life? Constantly being in a state of stress isn’t good for your body. Those stress responses your body goes through are meant to help you for a moment or as you experience an event, not for extended stretches of time.
When your body’s constantly feeling stressed, it can lead to cardiovascular disease, obesity and eating disorders, gastrointestinal issues, sexual dysfunction, skin and hair problems, and more.
That’s why it’s so important to adopt stress management practices that calm your body and assure it that you’re not in danger. Being mindful, moving your body more, and getting good sleep can help you reduce stress in your life and its effects on your body.
YOU’LL BE MUCH MORE PRODUCTIVE
Odds are, you’ll never be able to completely avoid stress in your life. But if you can figure out which stress management techniques work for you, you can take it in stride and even be more productive at home and at work.
When you’re stressed, you might feel a burst of energy at its onset (you know, when your body thinks it’s about to enter a life or death scenario), but ultimately it will wear you down and tire you out.
No one can be on edge for too long without it eventually exhausting you. When you’ve got your stress in check, you’ll find that you have more energy: And with more energy, you’ll find yourself being more productive!
Stressing also causes your mind to wander and makes it difficult to focus. This makes it pretty tough to focus on tasks and projects, and if you’re counting on creativity, it’s especially challenging. Taking action to minimize your stress will help you focus more on the things you want to accomplish and tap into your creativity when it’s needed.
When you’re feeling stressed, it’s pretty common to have negative thoughts or a negative outlook. Have you ever felt ambitious about accomplishing something when you were grumpy about it? Probably not! Stress management will help you to be more relaxed and positive, and with a better attitude, you can more confidently tackle whatever’s on your agenda.
STRESS MANAGEMENT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPIER
Okay, so it might sound pretty obvious that better stress management will help you lead a happier life. But let’s talk a little about why that is.
One of the best ways to manage stress is to exercise and move your body. During exercise, our nervous systems release endorphins, or chemicals that make us feel good. Technically, endorphins help our bodies manage pain and enhance pleasure.
That translates to experiencing those happy, post-workout feelings that make exercise feel so great – and when you regularly enjoy a nice rush of endorphins, you’re bound to be happier.
Stress management also helps us to relax, which is a key to feeling happier. I mean, how often would you say you’re happy when you’re wound up and stressed out? Probably not a lot.
Activities that help us relax, whether you like knitting, scrapbooking, meditating, or practicing yoga reduce stress but also boost our moods!
LEARN HOW TO MANAGE YOUR STRESS AND LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE
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