Dr. Philip Sobash

Causes, effects, and tips to overcome stress

What is stress?

If an object is exposed to an external force, there will be stress acting on it that affects its physical state, thus inducing a strain. Similarly, if the human mind is affected due to challenges, pressure, or demand, the person will have stress. It could be a state of anger, frustration, nervousness, feeling of loss, or any other event that causes alteration in mental satisfaction. The alteration could be physical, emotional, or psychological. If you are stressed, you could not concentrate on your present activities with your full potential. Some of the symptoms or signs of stress could be a headache, mood changes, decreased sex drive, low energy, and a racing heartbeat. There are several causes of stress, and several activities could help you get rid of it also. In this article, let us discuss the causes and effects of stress along with some tips to overcome it in brief.

Causes of stress

A person can be stressed due to a range of situations and scenarios. It is not like that a person will feel stressed only during pressure situations. Although not severe, almost everyone will be in a state of stress in whatever action we are engaged in. The following are some of the causes of stress.

  1. Work stress

As the name suggests, almost all employees from different levels of the organization will experience work stress. It is a mental state of unrest created due to the pressure of completion of the work on time. Apart from this, there are various other causes of work stress also as follows,

  • If you do not like the job you are engaged in, you will be stressed all the time when you are at work. You could not do the job happily, and it is the major cause of stress.
  • As every person has a specific working capacity, you will feel stressed if the workload expects you to exceed your natural capability. If you could not complete it on time, you will feel pressure throughout the process.
  • There is a limit for work, and once you start working for more hours than this limit, you will be a victim of stress. Even if you love what you do, you could not avoid stress due to long working hours.
  • If you are put into a dangerous environment throughout your work hours, you will get stressed. There are several dangerous jobs where people could not work without tension.
  • If there is a risk of getting terminated at any time, you will be under constant stress.

Life Stress

You could not blame your work alone for your stress. Several life issues could cause stress. Some of these issues are as follows,

  • If you have lost your favorite or lovable person, you will be under stress.
  • Financial struggles due to unemployment or debt issues will keep you under stress.
  • Relationship issues or a divorce can make you a victim of stress.
  • Sometimes, being a caretaker of a sick person could also be stressful.
  • Living in a tragic environment or with a tragic past could cause stress.
  • You will be under constant stress if you are suffering from severe injury or disease.

Effects of stress on your health

If stress is harmless, we need not worry about it. However, a person could not lead a happy life once he gets into constant stress. It could affect your physical and mental health in several ways as follows.

  • Headache is the primary effect of stress on the human body.
  • You will feel lazy or low due to fatigue.
  • You could not sleep properly.
  • You could never concentrate on your present works efficiently.
  • You could be in a state of depression with anxiety.
  • Your blood pressure could increase.
  • Some issues related to your heart could arise.
  • Your sexual life would be affected.
  • Your skill health will be in danger.
  • Some people may also get fertility issues due to constant stress.

Tips to avoid or overcome stress

Although stress seems deadly, it is not like that a person could not avoid it or overcome it. You can stay away from mental stress by involving yourself in some daily activities. Let us discuss these activities below.

Exercise – People who exercise regularly will not become victims of stress most of the time. Since your body will get exposed to stress during exercises, your mind will get relax and you will get quality sleep. Also, exercising will help you get distracted from the causes of stress.

Scented candle – Although it may seem simple or inefficient, the results will be great if you use a scented candle with a pleasant odor. It will help in the reduction of mental stress.

Reduction of caffeine – You will find caffeine in most drinks like tea and coffee. As it is a factor causing stress, you can try avoiding such drinks.

Speak out or write down – Mostly, you will feel relaxed if you talk about the cause of your stress to someone else. If you do not have anyone to share your problems with, you can write everything down for yourself. Doing this will help you see a reduction in your stress levels.

Chewing gum – Some results show that people can reduce stress to a lighter extent by using chewing gum. As the blood flow to the brain will be better during chewing, the studies could have brought this result.

Mingle with people – If you sit alone everywhere, you will surely get affected by stress. So, you should try to mingle with people around you. Spending quality time with lovable people like your family and friends could help you get away or avoid mental stress.

Laughing – Laughing is the best medicine for a range of health and mental issues that people do not care about. You should not hesitate to laugh whenever you can. If you do so, you can see a reduction in your stress levels.

Use these tips to know stress. Once you know the causes of stress and some solutions you can live a happier, more peaceful life.

Dr. Philip Sobash