Understanding Stress And Health

Posted on October 6th, 2007 by admin

Stress is a double-edged sword. It can motivate you to complete a task or it can cause irreparable illnesses. According to experts, stress is an emotional and physical strain caused by environmental pressures and pressures from within. It may include irritability, tension and symptoms including headaches and heart palpitations. While there are some who suggest that good stress is essential in that it makes life interesting, once it gets out of control it can result in serious health issues.

Conversely, there are some people who think just because they don’t have stress, they are healthy. Stress is subtle, yet insidious. It can sneak up on you and before you know it you are exhibiting symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and other related health problems.

While stress may not be the direct cause, it is a contributing factor to poor health. While some people tend to keep their emotions in check, it is the inability to release pent-up emotions that ultimately cause stress-related symptoms.

If you find you become irritable more frequently, or experience headaches more often than usual, or perhaps you become tired and lethargic, have problems sleeping through the night, these are symptoms directly related to stress.

Stress, in and of itself, is hidden behind a mask of feelings. For example, you may be sitting at the computer chatting with a friend or loved one and suddenly you become anxious. While you may wonder why you are feeling this way, the fact is your subconscious mind is reacting to a word or a memory that has been reawakened. This, in turn, causes the conscious mind to associate the word to a stressful event, and the symptoms begin to occur.

You begin to lose focus, perhaps experience heart palpitations, and have a feeling in the pit of your stomach that something serious is about to happen. The underlying cause of the stress produced an anxiety attack.

If you don’t think you have stress and you are experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms, perhaps you may want to examine the cause. You may be surprised to learn you are stressed and need to take appropriate measures to address the underlying factors attributing to it.

For more information on stress-related matters and how you can manage and conquer stress, please visit: “Conquering Stress - Out of the Fog and into the Light“.