The stress response in your body initiates a "fight or flight" reaction that helps you stay focused and alert during an emergency situation or in a situation in which you might need to defend yourself. While this reaction is important to have sometimes, when you have anxiety and stress, it can cause physical, emotional and behavioral effects. Keeping your stress under control is important, because chronic stress and anxiety can lead to chronic health or emotional conditions.
Physical Effects
In some persons, stress can exacerbate pain because of muscle tension. It might bring on a headache, back pain or chest pain. In others, it can affect their blood pressure and cause stomach problems or sleeping disturbances. It can exacerbate diseases of the digestive tract or the lungs. If someone undergoes a lot of stress, it can also affect the ability of the immune system to function. Stress can affect different parts of the body and has effects that are widespread. Understand what illnesses and conditions you have that are exacerbated by stress, so that you can prioritize minimizing stress that is unnecessary and manage your condition better.
Behavioral Effects
Stress sometimes manifests in behavioral coping measures. An example might be when you snack more because you are stressed. Some might not be able to eat. Others may turn to drugs or alcohol. It can result in relationship issues or angry outbursts. If stress is impacting your behavior in a negative way, it is important to recognize the reasons for your behavior and identify the cause of your stress in order to try to minimize it. Other things that might help to minimize your stress are deep-breathing exercises, exercising more, visual imagery, taking breaks or practicing yoga or tai chi.
Emotional Problems
Stress and anxiety can bring on a host of emotions and problems. Stress can cause restlessness, worry, sadness or forgetfulness. Chronic stress and anxiety can lead to depression, anxiety conditions or other mental health conditions. When you find that stress is impacting your daily functioning, concentration or mood or you are having physical symptoms, you may need to seek professional help. Sometimes it may help someone to talk to a psychologist or therapist. In other cases, medication is necessary. It is important that you find ways to decrease the stress in your daily life by living a healthy lifestyle, using stress management techniques and knowing when to seek professional help.
