•Stress is a feeling we experience when we are challenged or overwhelmed.
•Life will always be filled with stressful situations, what matters is how we respond to the situation.
We are in the middle of a pandemic and many people have to deal with various issues that affect their daily lives like inflation, paying loans, sickness, school fees among many others.
While pursuing our daily goals and facing the aforementioned issues, stress sometimes kicks in.
Stress is a feeling we experience when we are challenged or overwhelmed.
Other than stress being emotional, it is a physical response that travels in one's body.
Surprisingly, stress in small doses brings positive results.
According to Healthline, stress gives us the drive to take action, which can help us accomplish a task and prevent us from getting hurt.
However, too much stress can affect all aspects of one's life including emotions, physical health, thinking ability and behaviours.
People handle stress differently and this means the symptoms vary from person to person.
According to clinical psychologist Henry Lusamba, a person’s life will always be filled with stressful situations but what matters is how we respond to the situation.
“View the situation as challenges you can control and master, rather than focusing and worrying about the stressful situations,” Lusamba advised.
If you happen to suffer from increased stomach acid reflux which is commonly accompanied by heartburn, probably it is because of irritable bowel syndrome.
Research shows that stress directly affects your gut system, causing abdominal pain, nausea, indigestion, diarrhoea, constipation, gastritis or even stomach ulcers.
Apart from affecting the bowel system, chronic stress has been liked to poor eating disorders which contribute to obesity while in other cases malnutrition in people who have poor feeding habits.
On matters of sexual health, stress has been linked to menstrual problems for women and impotence or premature ejaculation in men and low sexual drive for both.
Chronic stress has also been linked to raising a person’s blood pressure and cholesterol level which puts one at risk of heart-related problems.
Causing depression and symptoms of anxiety, stress contributes to sleep deprivation mood swings and that unmotivated feeling as it causes a chemical imbalance; throwing several of your brain chemicals out of balance, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
Learning how to manage stress is a key factor that can help you lower your chances of getting sick or ease up the symptoms.
Deep breathing for example has been shown to lower the heart rate, improve lung and heart function as well as improve the overall brain function.
Lusamba advises on doing breathing exercises and Yoga and Meditation which enhances your mood by reducing stress and anxiety.
“Stress causes your body muscle to tense, this tends to worsen neck, shoulder, back pain or even worsen arthritis symptoms, doing yoga, which involves stretching can help relieve tension and alleviate pain,” he said.
Incorporating exercise, music and getting enough rest are also other factors that can help boost your overall well being.