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Today, people are so much occupied in their busy lives and they rarely get some spare time for themselves. In this world, where there is cut-throat competition to excel, be it in the academic field or your profession, life of people has become rather stressful. Recent studies have shown that the educated class is working harder and taking more stress than their previous generations did. Constant stress and worry can become a condition which can affect your overall well-being and happiness. Sometimes this worry or fear doesn’t go away and starts to interfere with daily lives. Sometimes the reasons behind such anxiety it might be unexplainable.
If you are suffering from stress and anxiety, it should not be ignored and should be treated at the earliest as stress is a silent killer. Increased stress levels can put your health at risk. First, let’s understand what stress is. Stress is a reaction or feeling of your body towards a situation (real or imagined). It’s your body’s way of making you more alert towards a perceived threat. Stress can have a positive effect also as it makes your mind and body more alert and increases your energy level. But if your mind or body is overburdened by stress for a really long period of time then it can have a negative impact on your mind as well as body.
What Causes Stress?
Stress adversely affects our immune system and our body becomes more prone to diseases. Stress can be due to many factors like physical and emotional stress. Let’s find out some common causes of stress:
- Job Pressure
- Financial Crunch
- Relationship
- Poor Nutrition
- Health Issues
- Lack of Sleep
- Media Overload a major change in your life (Marriage, Divorce, New Job, Shifting to a new place)
How Do Stress And Anxiety Affect Your Body And Hormones?
Stress and anxiety have a major effect on your body. Your body undergoes many physical changes in order to respond to stress. Short term effect of stress on your body is it increases your heart rate and your pulse rate, your breathing becomes faster. There is an increase in the blood pressure and hormone level in your body, all of which return back to normal after sometime. But stress has long term negative effect on your body as well.
A stress reaction is controlled by the endocrine system which sends a signal through the nervous system to release stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones trigger the release of a high level of sugar and triglycerides into your bloodstream which can be used by your body for performing various physical activities, but when this fuel remains unused in your body, it leads to various health conditions such as low immunity, digestive problems, weight gain, heart problems, depression, sleeplessness, headaches and temporary memory loss etc. Infertility and early signs of ageing are also due to increased stress levels. Stress can be good or bad. Stress is good when people respond with a positive attitude towards a given situation or challenge such as working hard to achieve promotion or to excel in exams or adapting yourself to an entirely new environment under harsh circumstances. Stress can be bad and have a negative effect on your body when you are unable to cope up with the given situation or environment which leads to anger, frustration, depression, guilt etc.
Home Remedies To Treat Tension And Anxiety
Everybody has to face challenging situations in their life and try to come out of it cheerfully. The negative effect of stress on your body depends upon how efficiently you handle the given situation and your ability to cope up perceived threat. But you need not to worry because we have come up with some effective home remedies to fight stress and tension.
1. Breathe Deep
Deep breathing is one of the best remedies to fight stress. Deep breathing helps to decrease the heartbeat, decrease blood pressure and helps your muscles to relax. During deep breathing oxygen level in the blood increases which helps your mind and body to relax.
2. Mindfulness
Being mindful is another way of tackling stress and anxiety. Mindfulness is the state of mind, monitoring the present situation without being judgemental. It helps to keep a lot of worries and tension at bay. Mindfulness helps to stop worrying about our future or pondering over the past. Rumination can also be one of the major factors for causing stress. Mindfulness helps to beat the stress by being calm and focused.
3. Cuddling With Loved Ones
Cuddling gives you a sense of care, love, attachment and makes you feel more secure. Cuddling with loved ones helps your body to release oxytocin which helps your mind and body to relax and helps you to combat stress. This helps to lower your heartbeat and blood pressure.
4. Good Music
Listening to good music helps to relax your mind and fights off stress. Listening to light and soft music definitely helps to bring positive physiological changes in your body. It helps to decrease the heartbeat rate, decrease blood pressure, helps to lower the production of stress hormones.
5. Exercising
Exercising is very beneficial to combat stress. Studies have shown that physical activity boosts your bodies energy level, helps you to stay fit and alert. Exercise triggers the production of a chemical compound (endorphin) found in the brain. Endorphin acts as a neurotransmitter which transmits electrical signals within the nervous system and helps to reduce the feeling of pain or stress in your body, thus acting as a natural pain killer. Regular exercise can help to make your mind sharp and alert and keeps your body healthy.
6. Yoga
Yoga is also very beneficial in dealing with stress. Yoga and meditation help to clean your mind and thoughts and helps to discard all the negativities in your body. This helps to boost energy levels and rejuvenates your mind and body.
Also Read : Some self-care practices that we got to include in our lives
7. Saying "No"
When you don’t like something or when you find yourself in an unpleasant or a stressful situation you have every right to avoid it and say no to it. You can always exercise your right to say ‘No’ and get out that unpleasant situation.
8. Avoiding Procrastination
Try to organize your life and a lot of things can be changed in your life. Do everything in a neat and orderly manner. Do not get into the habit of piling up things to do for tomorrow, make up your mind to finish off the tasks that need to be addressed on priority basis. Make a ‘to-do’ list for yourself and jot down your priorities for the day and try to focus on completing your task for the day and this way you can avoid procrastination. When you achieve your goal you will have a sense of satisfaction and in this way, you can avoid unnecessary stress and strain.
9. Family Time
Spending quality time with your family is one of the best ways to unwind yourself from a stressful day. When you are in the company of your loved ones, it gives you immense pleasure. Spending time with your family also helps to increase the bonding, care, love and affection you share with your family members. This will definitely help you to fight stress. You can plan an outing or go for a movie with your family helps to reduce stress and helps your mind to relax.
10. Laughing
Laughing out loud acts a stress buster. A good laugh can actually improve your health. Laughing helps to decrease the stress hormones and increases your body’s immunity power. It gives your body more resistance and power to fight diseases. Laughter helps to increase endorphin, your body’s natural pain killer. Laughter improves your heart health as it increases the flow of blood to heart thereby decreasing chances of heart attack and stroke. Laughter helps to reduce emotional stress, helps to build a cordial relation with the people around you. Truly said ‘ Laughter is the best medicine’. This is the only medicine which you will get free of cost, so make the best use of it. Therefore laughter is necessary for alleviating your physical health and emotional well being.
11. Chewing Gum
Studies have shown that chewing gums helps to reduce stress and anxiety in your body, by increasing the flow of blood to the brain and helps you to remain more active and alert. Chewing gums stimulate your senses and make your more alert and uplifts your mood because it helps to lower the level of stress hormones such as cortisol in your body.
12. Scented Candles, Essential Oils And Aromatherapy
An alluring and an enchanting fragrance can instantly uplift your mood. It helps to fight stress, depression, and anxiety. There are many essential oils such as chamomile, lavender oil, Cypress, Rosemary, Lemongrass etc. which is used in aromatherapy which acts as stress busters and helps your mind and body to relax. Take your self-care game a notch higher with our stunning collection of pure essential oils that cater to all your haircare, skincare, holistic wellness needs.
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Also Read : Using Essential Oils to Overcome Stress and Anxiety
13. Maintaining Diary
Maintaining a dairy is a very good way of fighting stress. It helps to increase the thought process. It helps to unwind and free yourself from negative thoughts and feelings. It helps to release emotional stress. Dairy writing helps to unplug yourself from hectic work schedule, sit back, think and relax. Maintaining a dairy or a journal helps you to attain emotional satisfaction.
14. Reducing Coffee
Coffee is high in caffeine. All of us are aware of the negative effects of caffeine on our body. Caffeine and stress both are known to increase the level of stress hormone-cortisol and adrenaline, which has many negative effects on our body. Too much of coffee can make you sleep deprived.
15. Spending Time With Pet
Spending time with your pet helps you to relax. Forget all your worries, play with them and cuddle them, this way you can reduce your stress level. Pets can be your good companion who can help you fight stress and tension.
16. Healthy Supplements
Taking herbal supplements is one of the healthy ways of releasing stress. Supplements like Chamomile tea, Hops, Valerian help to calm down your mind and have a sedative effect which promotes good sleep.
17. Reduce Toxins
Always make sure you have a well balanced and nutritious diet. Unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits can increase the concentration of toxins in your body. Not only food but your personal care products, environmental factors (smoke, dirt, dust) can add toxins in your body which make our body stressed out. Try to reduce toxins from your body to lead a stress-free life.
Never let stress to take a toll on your health and happiness. Make yourself strong to cope up with everyday challenges or unpleasant situations that life throws on you. After all, these challenges are a part of life and not the whole of it. Like everything else you have overcome, this too shall pass.
18. Getting Enough Sleep
Inadequate sleep can often lead to stress and anxiety. Sleep is an important aspect of your life. You should get adequate sleep to stay energized and fresh for the whole day. Good sleep improves your response time, makes you more alert and active throughout the day. When you sleep your body does all the repair work on the damaged cells and tissues, making you fit and healthy. Good sleep improves your overall health. An average healthy person should get at least 8 hours of proper sleep. But too much of sleep can make you dull and sluggish.
Also Read : Best Essential Oils for Sleep - Benefits and Precautions
Disclaimer: All the content on anveya.com/blogs is solely for information. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified health care provider. The information, suggestion or remedies mentioned on this site are provided without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied.
