What Can You Do About Stress?

Stress tends to trigger the fight, flight, or flee response which is supposed to be an emergency state which lasts for only a short time.  When there is not a short-term emergency requiring a physical response then the state can last for a long time.  It may also be triggered repeatedly over a long period of time.  When this happens, negative symptoms including pain, headaches, cardiovascular problems, and insomnia can result.

Try some of these things to reduce the negative effects of stress on your physical and mental health.

Monitor your muscles.  Several times during the day, take a few moments to scan your body from head to toe for any areas where you are holding tension.  You might notice that you are frowning, biting your teeth together, raising your shoulders, or holding tension in your arms, hands, legs, or feet.  Just release the tension and notice how much better it feels.  You can do this when you are feeling stressed too.

Slow breathing.  Most of us breath faster and shallower than we need to.  Males tend to breathe 12-14 breaths per minute.  Females breathe about 14-16 breaths per minute on average.  In my experience many people who are anxious are breathing 15-30 breaths per minute.  Simply practicing breathing at a slower pace can reduce anxiety and decrease the negative effects of stress.  Find a pace that is comfortable for you so that you will feel good about practicing it.  There are computer programs and smart phone apps that help you to practice slow paced breathing.  Some Heart Rate Variability biofeedback experts suggest practicing slow paced breathing for twenty minutes two times each day to relieve stress symptoms

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