Stress is a normal response of the body to a perceived threat. It’s a healthy process that allows the body to deal with a fight or flight situation. Stress keeps the body alert. However, when stress becomes chronic, that’s where problems begin. Chronic stress can lead to many poor health conditions.
When you’re stressed, the body releases cortisol, which is your stress hormone. The increase in cortisol causes an imbalance with your other ‘feel-good’ hormones and neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin.
Lifestyle Changes for Your Overall Health
To help you deal with stress, start making some lifestyle changes and healthy choices. You will find that the changes you can make are also the changes needed to prevent many lifestyle diseases. It’s a huge win-win for your mind and body if you implement them all!
Exercise, Exercise, Exercise
It’s a no-brainer, you need to exercise to be healthy, and that’s not only for your physical health but also for your mental health. Exercise is a great way to manage stress and prevent depression. It elevates the mood by stimulating the production of serotonin and endorphins, boosts self-confidence and self-esteem, and helps you sleep better.
If you are underweight or overweight, it undermines your confidence and you don’t feel good about yourself. Unhealthy weight leads to various problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Maintaining your weight at the normal level makes you feel less stressed, boosts your mood, and improves your confidence.
Eat a Healthy Diet – Don’t Emotionally Binge Eat or Drink
Of course, it’s hard to be healthy without eating the right food, and without eating mindfully. Don’t sit down and gorge on a whole tub of ice cream because you are feeling stressed. Stress eating causes a whole lot of problems and becomes a spiral of overeating and depression, causing more weight gain and more depression. Find ways to relax, and take food out of the equation.
To eat healthy, make sure that you eat gut-friendly foods because most of your happy hormones are produced in the gut. Eat fruits, vegetables, and whole foods. Ensure that you’re getting enough calcium, omega 3 fatty acids, and amino acids. Eat complex carbohydrates, avoid sweetened foods and beverages, and cut down on your caffeine.
As for reducing stress, a glass of wine or two or three won’t help either. Alcohol may let you forget for a little while, but it’s only going to make things worse. It’s not the answer to your stress problems. Instead, you need to address the source of stress head-on.
Be Mindful of Your Emotional Responses
You can avoid stress by changing your perspective and your emotional responses. Try to focus your attention on the positive aspects of what’s happening around you, not all the negative. Have you heard of this saying?
‘Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.’
– Wayne Dyer
If you think about that for a moment, you may even see changes in your perspective of the different situations you are facing right now. Sometimes you need to quieten your mind and allow yourself to think about your emotions. To help you do that you can try meditation. Yes, meditation is often mentioned as a way to reduce stress, because it works.
Meditation is a good practice to start to help you relax your mind and body. It also enables you to be aware of yourself and manage your thoughts and emotions. You can listen to guided meditations or you can make your own quiet time, where you can focus on your breathing and awareness of your surroundings.
Be Socially Active, but Don’t Forget to Make Time for Yourself
Humans are social animals, and people need to be surrounded occasionally by positive people and supportive family and friends. When you’re sad, it’s best not to isolate yourself. Hanging out with friends and being socially active can reduce loneliness, stress, and depression.
While you need to be socially active, don’t forget to allocate time for yourself. Do something you enjoy and don’t be afraid to embark on new adventures. Sometimes chronic stress stems from feeling stuck in life, but it doesn’t have to be like that! You must practice self-love and care.
Relax Your Mind and Sleep
Make sure that you get seven to eight hours of quality sleep. Have you ever noticed (or the people around you ever noticed), how moody and cranky you are when you are sleep-deprived? You can get irritated and you can’t function well. Restorative sleep is important for the body to replenish neurotransmitters that influence a good mood. When you get enough sleep it reduces your stress and boosts your mood.
Your lifestyle habits and choices determine whether you’ll succumb to stress and depression or be able to stand up and bounce back.
