Stress and Anxiety
“It’s not the load that breaks you; it’s the way you carry it”, says Lou Holtz
2020 has been a bit of a stressful year for each of us. Stress and anxiety are often used interchangeably. Stress is the body and mind’s response to demands placed on you. It’s important to know that stress itself is not a mental illness.
But when the stress keeps piling up and starts to make an invisible person feel worse instead of motivating him, it can harm the mental illness and well-being of the individual.
Anxiety is the brain’s way of reacting to stress and alerting an individual of potential danger. People who are stressed and anxious might experience a faster heartbeat, faster breathing, dizziness, restlessness, moodiness, irritability and anger.
Steps to manage your stress and anxiety :
Exercise
Practising deep breathing
Meditation
Eating a balanced diet
Getting enough sleep
Limiting alcohol consumption
1. Exercise
Exercise is a natural antidepressant, proven to be very helpful in dealing with anxiety issues. Regular exercise greatly impacts your mental well-being, as shown by plenty of studies that clearly present that being active makes you happy and content. Exercising causes your body to send out numeral transmitters like serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline. These all contribute to our well-being and happiness.
2. Practicing deep breathing
Spending at least 15 minutes on breathing exercises instantly sends calming signals to your brain every morning. Doing this regularly will change your day’s direction, adding positive vibes and happiness.
3. Meditation
Scientists’ studies have proven beyond doubt that meditation changes the nerve fibres in the brain, making it easier to cope with mental issues. Meditation turns your mind away from negative thoughts, away from destructive thoughts. It increases our concentration and shifts our minds towards the positivity of life, which eventually reduces stress.
4. Eating a balanced diet
A healthy diet builds a solid, more enduring foundation for your body by reducing oxidation and inflammation. Trying not to skip meals skipping meals can make stress-related symptoms worse. You can handle stress better when you are as healthy as possible, as eating nutritious food is a good defence against stress.
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5. Getting enough sleep
Stress and lack of sleep can both have a severe impact on physical and mental health. Sleep is considered a powerful stress reducer. You are a better stress handler and can better handle stress when well-rested.
6. Limiting alcohol consumption
Alcohol is a sedative and a depressant that affects the central nervous system. People drink alcohol to reduce stress generally, but this doesn’t work long-term. If someone increases their alcohol dependence to deal with stress, that leads to worsening depression and anxiety.
Conclusion :
We can have digestive issues, long-term headaches, type 2 Diabetes, and memory concentration if we experience stress for a long period. Heart disease is one of the biggest illnesses impacted by stress. When dealing with stress, we must keep our minds active with other activities. Other thought processes are a simple but not easy way to help manage stress. People need to understand that even if they are feeling isolated, experiencing increased stress, or dealing with anxiety or depression, resources are still available to help. Many treatment programmes are available online. Eat healthy food, and practice meditation and breathing exercises; you will feel positivity inside and everywhere around you.
A question to all :
What is your way of dealing with day-to-day life stresses?
