Living life in a fast-paced city like New York can be a massive thrill. However, too much can lead to increased stress levels—and even though it can be handled well, this could still have a massive effect on one’s physical and mental wellbeing. Despite the stigma, there is no shame in seeking the help of a life coach or grief counseling in NYC to help manage stress.
To help paint a picture of its importance, this article discusses several changes that stress can do to the body. This is followed by a quick guide on what can be done to try managing it before looking for affordable therapy services in NYC.
The Effects of Excessive Stress
Changes in the brain due to stress
When the brain is stressed, it goes through a series of physical and chemical changes that alter its capacity to function. The neurotransmitters dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine start accumulating in high-stress periods. This causes other fight or flight hormones, like adrenaline, to be released by the adrenal glands.
High-stress levels can lead to rapid heart rate, higher blood pressure, and a weakened immune system on a physiological level. If these symptoms are not managed over time, chronic stress can manifest into other serious problems. This could look like stomach ulcers, asthma, stroke, and heart disease.
Increased risk factors for cancer and heart attacks
Many healthcare professionals consider chronic stress as a significant risk factor for these illnesses because the physical reactions caused within the body often accumulate at a pace too slow for people to notice, especially when they’re trying to adapt to ongoing stress. This happens when individuals are tolerant of stress while the nervous system remains unprotected against stress!
One common physical reaction to stress is tensed muscles. This triggers tension headaches, migraines, and other muscular and skeletal pain types.
Impaired digestive functions as a result of stress
Stress can also affect the intestine’s capacity to absorb nutrients and the body’s overall ability to move food through the body. At the same time, stress can change one’s eating habits in unpredictable ways! These changes often vary from one person to another.
Changing the body’s natural digestive process can lead to heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, vomiting, pain, or nausea.
Mental and emotional disorders due to stress
The most immediate association with stress is its ability to affect one’s mental wellbeing. High-stress levels can trigger anxiety and panic attacks and create new phobias.
Stress can make it challenging to think, decide, focus, or remember details on an emotional level. It can make people feel short-tempered and irritable. These emotions affect one’s ability to interact with their loved ones, leading to relationship conflicts. Indeed, unmanaged stress levels can deal a massive blow to the overall health and wellbeing of a person.
Dealing With stress daily
Set aside time for exercise
Regular moderate exercise has stress-reducing benefits because it relieves endorphins. This hormone, alongside others, increases self-confidence while lowering the symptoms associated with anxiety and depression.
Get enough sleep every night
Choosing to forego sleep to work on whatever is causing the stress can be doubly dangerous. Stress already takes a toll on the mind and body; avoiding sleep and its recuperative effect can make the symptoms of stress a lot worse.
Try meditating to relax the mind.
Meditating can have a near-immediate effect on stress levels. There are plenty of online techniques that can guide through relaxing the mind, letting go, and examining the self from a place of honesty and compassion rather than judgment and criticism.
This can also help form a more positive relationship with the self by changing the way people talk to their inner selves in the long run.
Conclusion
Self-care is a trend on the internet, and many believe that it can be practiced by just taking some time away from work. While this is true to some extent, it is also essential to deal with what is causing the stress and see if a change in outlook can help. While some fundamental changes to one’s lifestyle can help, the best way to deal with stress is to seek the help of a professional.
Therapy24x7 offers a variety of psychotherapy and life-coaching services through physical and online means. We are a group of therapists in Brooklyn, NY, dedicated to helping people improve their way of life. Please look at how we can help people cope with stress by heading to our website and booking an online appointment now!