A lot of today’s ailments and illness’ come about from the demands of modern living.
Juggling work, meeting monthly payments, parenting, having a social life and keeping on top of our homes can often feel like we are spinning too many plates, rushing from one activity to another with barely enough time to sleep and eat and be still.
This can lead to stress. Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure. Pressure turns into stress when you feel unable to cope.
Our bodies have evolved with an inbuilt mechanism to give us extreme energy and strength for moments of sudden danger such as encountering a sabre toothed tiger in our distant past.
Feeling under too much pressure can create a stressful situation which can cause the same response in our body as danger. The body releases adrenaline and other hormones to aid us in coping with the situation. This is called the fight or flight response.
The muscles tense, the heart beats faster, breathing and perspiration increases, the eyes dilate, the stomach may clench and digestion halts. Once the cause of the stress is removed, the body will go back to normal.
However, if you’re constantly under stress, these hormones will remain in your body, leading to the symptoms of stress.
Stress affects how you feel, think, behave and how your body works.
Common signs of stress include sleeping problems, sweating, loss of appetite and difficulty concentrating.
You may feel anxious, irritable or low in self-esteem, and you may have racing thoughts, worry constantly or go over things in your head. You may notice that you lose your temper more easily, drink more or act unreasonably.
You may also experience headaches, muscle tension or pain, or dizziness.
If we can learn how to live our busy lives in a way which does not induce stress our bodies can relax, our stiffness, aches and pains melt away. Our digestive system can get back in balance. We can breathe deeply and sleep soundly.
We can feel like ourselves again. This is so simple to say but so difficult to do on our own. We all need to make sure there are the windows in our lives when we don’t feel stressed, when are bodies hormones can return to normal, when we can regain balance and wellbeing in our lives.