There’s good stress (eustress) and there’s bad stress. Eustress comes from things that are fun and exciting, like running a marathon or meeting an important deadline at work. The critical thing about eustress is that it is a temporary state. Bad stress is typically not temporary and includes things like chronic worrying about finances, a relationship, your job or your health.

Stress can trigger the body’s response to perceived threat or danger, the Fight-or-Flight response. During this reaction, hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are released. These hormones are responsible for speeding the heart rate, slowing digestion, shunting blood flow to major muscle groups, and changing various other autonomic nervous functions. They give the body a burst of energy and strength. This response to stress was initially meant to enable us to physically fight or run away when faced with danger, but now it’s activated in situations where neither response is appropriate, like during a stressful day at work or a disagreement with our significant others. When the perceived threat is gone, systems are designed to return to normal, but in our times of chronic stress this often doesn’t happen. Eventually this chronic state causes damage to the body. Here are 10 health issues that can be caused by chronic stress in our lives.

• Chronic headaches
• Weakened immune system
• depression
• anxiety
• sexual dysfunction
• heart disease
• ulcers
• obesity
• hyperthyroidism
  
• diabetes

No one wants to be chronically stressed out; it’s never something we intend. But it is an issue for nearly everyone. It’s easy for stress to take over, and even harder to get rid of it once it’s in our lives. All the health issues described above are reason enough to learn some stress management techniques, but there’s one other reason that beating stress is important. Chronic stress makes life just plain exhausting! A better quality- more relaxed- life will shine through in everything you do; from raising your kids to performing well in your career field. And if you look at your life, you may find that there are several aspects of your day that aren’t worth getting stressed out about! Think about traffic during your morning commute. It’s there and there’s little you can do about it, so allowing it to stress you out and potentially effect your health is not worth it!

Zen Habits has a great post on how to eliminate stress from your life. I think this is a great place to start! My preferred stress management tool is walking. When things get too hectic (as they often do), I find that a walk at the park or a hike in the mountains is just what I need to release some of my worry/stress. I also think that Eustress can be very effective at stress-busting if used correctly. Not all techniques are right for everyone, so the important thing is to experiment with some ideas until you find one that suits your personality and your stress level. And next time you find yourself peaked with stress, remember this:

 

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
~Chinese Proverb

 

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