Did you know that stress is actually an important part of human evolution, and it helped our ancestors survive? The release of adrenaline brought about by an impending attack from a large carnivorous animal, for example, helped our ancestors prepare for fight or flight, and this kind of stress still benefits us today. But the modern world has brought about continuous stressors our bodies weren’t made to respond to.
Acute stress is short term stress brought about by specific you must react to. It can be a helpful, motivational force and it can be thrilling in small doses (good stress), but too much is exhausting (bas stress). Examples are riding a roller coaster, taking a test, dodging a car accident, asking for a raise.
Chronic stress is a long term distress caused by repeated stressors. Chronic stress can become such. routine part of life that suffered stop noticing it and accept it as normal. Examples are an overly demanding job, an unhappy home life, prolonged financial problems and difficulty in school.
Chronic Stress can lead to :
- Upset stomach
- Chest pains
- Increased blood pressure
- Sleep loss
- Increase risk of heart disease by 40%
- Increase risk of heart attack by 20%
- Increase risk of stroke by 50%
- Shrink the brain’s grey matter
- Cause muscle tension as a reflex reaction to guard the body against potential pain and injury
- Migraines & tension headaches
Try different relaxation techniques to get over the stress in your lives. More on relaxation techniques in posts to come.