Stress is defined as a state of emotional strain brought on by physical, emotional or mental factors. It has physical consequences, such as muscular tension and increased blood pressure. A small amount of stress can give us a healthy push toward our goals, but a high amount of stress negatively impacts the body and mind, lowering our efficiency. It can cause anxiety and depression and contribute to heart disease and other serious health problems. It is helpful to be aware of the causes of stress in your life so you can make necessary changes to lower your stress level.
Relationship Conflicts
Living with other people can be difficult. This effect is additive when one person attempts to control the other or places high expectations on him. Relationships among friends can become conflicted as well, causing tears, sadness and high emotion. Varying ideas of human responsibility in marriage, friendship, parenting and courtship can lead to stress for all parties involved. Divorce or similar abandonment is a stressful experience most of use will experience at some point.
Perceived Loss of Control
A report from ABC News indicates that an event beyond our control is one of the primary causes of stress. Whether we are involved in a minor dilemma such as a traffic jam making us late for work or a major calamity such as a flood or death in the family, stress is a natural response to lack of control.
Financial Concerns
Financial concerns are common in this modern age, and most of us feel the stress of them from time to time. Fear that we may lose our home, our transportation or our conveniences quickly gives way to stress. We may feel embarrassed when we cannot pay a bill or keep up with the neighbors.
Health Problems
Chronic health problems, such as pain or difficulty walking, cause stress for many. Back pain may leave us unable to sleep well, stomach pain may cause us to dread eating, and anxiety may cause us to avoid events we enjoy, all leaving us feeling stressed.
Pushing Ourselves Beyond Our Limits
If is common for Americans to sleep five hours each night instead of the eight hours our body needs. We skip meals and work when exhausted. These abuses of the body lead to chronic stress.
Technology
Although technology frees up time for some people, for others, it causes extra work. Keeping our computers and cell phones tethered to us inadvertently causes stress when the boss can reach us at any hour. Many Americans no longer experience any downtime, a time when they know nothing will be expected of them for many hours, allowing full relaxation.
Fear of Crime
Many people worry about crime on a daily basis. Whether they live or work in a high-crime area or travel through one on a regular basis, fear of crime becomes a stressful fact of life.
Bad Habits
The fallout from alcohol and drug use leads to stressful situations. Poor nutrition, overeating, procrastination, smoking and other bad habits cause many of the woes we face each day.
Responsibilities
Job and parental responsibilities are at the top of many American's stress list. We often go out and find other responsibilities to saddle ourselves with as well, including community and social responsibilities. For some, these responsibilities amount to recreation, but for others, generalized stress ensues.
Deadlines
Deadlines of any variety can cause stress. Whether you have three days to file a police report on being harassed, five days to turn in a term paper, or a week to decide whether to ask your girlfriend to marry you, you seldom escape the situation without feeling some level of tension.
