We all go through stressful phases in our daily life. Stress has become a part and parcel of many of our lives.
Stress may be affecting your health, even though you might not realize it. symptoms such as nagging headache, your frequent insomnia or your decreased productivity at work. Stress may actually be the culprit.
Common effects of stress
Indeed, stress can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Being able to recognize common stress symptoms can give you a jump on managing them. Stress that’s left unchecked can contribute to health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
Common effects of stress
On your mood On your body On your behavior
Anxiety Headache overeating or under eating
Restlessness Muscle tension or pain Angry outbursts
Lack of motivation or focus Chest pain Drug or Alcohol abuse
Irritability or anger Fatigue Tobacco use
Sadness or depression Change in sex drive Social withdrawal
Options which might help calm your nerves instantly
Watch something funny
Laughter is a way to beat stress. It helps release the happy hormones, endorphins, and also supplies our body with more oxygen. This helps calm us down. Many people practise laughter yoga wherein one has to forcefully laugh without any reason, but if that seems unmanageable to you, watch a short, funny clip to lower your stress levels. You can even store your all-time favourite clips on your phone so that you can simply press ‘play’ and start relaxing.
Chew gum
If you find yourself in a stressful situation, keep gum handy. Chewing gum can help lower your stress and anxiety levels. According to a research conducted in 2008, ‘Levels of salivary cortisol (a physiological stress marker) in gum chewers were lower than those of non-gum chewers by 16 per cent during mild stress and nearly 12 per cent in moderate stress.’
Take deep breaths
This is perhaps the best way to beat stress and perhaps the most difficult to follow too. Breathing deeply can relax your mind and the extra boost of oxygen can lower your stress levels. Just focus on your breathing and take four to five deep breaths and you will feel a lot calmer.
Have green tea
Many people stress-eat, i.e. eat junk or comfort food when they are under pressure. Switch to a healthier option like having a cup of green tea to keep your calm. It is rich in antioxidants and it contains an amino acid called L-Theanine, which is known to have anti-stress effects and acts as a relaxing agent.
Listen to music
Music can truly be therapeutic as it can quickly put you in a good mood. Create a playlist of happy or peppy songs that instantly lift your spirits and listen to them in moments of stress. Within a minute you will start to feel better. Want more? Start humming along and do a jig too if you want and you will forget about your stress soon enough.
Meet a friend
A friend can come to your rescue if you are in a bad mood. When you feel stressed, it is often a good idea to talk it out with someone to help calm your nerves. Share your worries and concerns, not necessarily to get any advice, but just to get it out of your system and you are sure to feel better.
