Anxiety and stress are experiences that most of us experience frequently and yet are not very pleasant to live with. What is stress, is it only psychological? After examining the answers to these questions, let's take a look at the methods of coping with stress in detail.
What is Stress?
Stress has existed since the earliest times of human existence, but over the centuries it has been characterized by different words such as disaster, trouble, power, pressure, and coercion.
So, what is stress? Stress is a state of psychological tension or strain. Simple tensions with school, work, family, or friends can all cause us to be stressed.
But is stress only experienced in negative situations? No, on the contrary, positive experiences such as marriage or graduation can also involve stress.
Stress is not only a psychological experience but also a physiological experience, meaning that we are affected not only psychologically but also physically. According to research, a large proportion of hospital visits are caused by stress. We also know that stress negatively affects our immune system, making us more vulnerable to viral diseases. In light of such data, we can say that chronic stress has negative consequences on our physical health. For this reason, our physical health needs to know and apply methods of coping with stress.
Contrary to popular belief, we may not always be aware that we are stressed. Therefore, the first step in coping with stress is to realize that we are stressed. For this, we need to be able to see the signals of stress.
These signals are
Emotional: anxiety, tension, restlessness, fear
Intellectual: forgetfulness, self-criticism, thoughts about failure
Behavioral: crying, tension, self-tightening, difficulty speaking (stuttering)
Physical: palpitations, headache, fatigue, back and neck pain, sweaty hands
Should we get rid of stress completely? Stress is necessary for our body because it prepares our body to protect us against danger. So when we are stressed, many different changes happen in our body. For example, the release of adrenaline increases, hormonal balances change, and our heartbeat and breathing speed up. All these changes are to prepare the body to react to danger. The system responsible for these changes is called the sympathetic nervous system. But when our sympathetic nervous system is activated in situations where there is no real danger, when we don't need to fight or flee, we start to experience unhealthy stress and anxiety. For example, when we see a bear, it is vital that our body prepares us to run away from the bear, whereas living with the tension of being ready to run away from a bear when there is no bear in sight tires and wears us out physically and mentally. Chronic stress can lead to physical ailments.
What can we do to cope with stress?
- Taking care of our health has a primary place in coping with stress. We need to eat a healthy diet, get enough rest and sleep well. Going to bed too late at night or sleeping during the day and not at night is against our biological nature and disrupts our body's balance, so pay attention to your sleeping hours.
- Social support is very important. When you feel stressed, try to talk to people you love and who you think understand you, if there is something that worries you, tell them about it and how you feel.
- Pay attention to physical activities, do your favorite exercises. There is a lot of research showing that exercise reduces stress and affects psychological well-being. You can also exercise without leaving home, download apps if you have a smartphone, or watch videos about exercise methods online.
- You can listen to music that relaxes you or search for relaxing music online.