Chronic stress and how to deal with it

If there’s one thing I think we can all relate to, it’s feeling stressed at some point.

In a survey by Ciphr, they found 1 in 14 UK adults felt stressed every single day.

Furthermore, 1 in 5 people said they felt stressed more days in a month than days they didn’t. [1]

Stress can come in a variety of sources, from family and friends, to work and money.

Short term stress (minutes or hours) can sometimes be beneficial – such as our fight or flight response.

However, long-term chronic stress can have the complete opposite effect.

Extended periods of stress keep the body in a state of high-alertness, ready for a danger which never comes.

Chronic stress causes a suppression of immune responses, causing low-grade chronic inflammation and immunoprotective cells [2] – meaning you’re more susceptible to viruses.

Coming into the winter, this could cause you to catch some very unsavoury illnesses.

Whilst exercise is a well documented way to reduce stress, if you’re suffering from some of the effects of chronic stress, it could do you more harm than good.

Short term stress can help to raise your adrenaline levels, boosting focus and awareness, chronic stress isn’t quite as kind.

High levels of stress can often affect sleep and make you fatigued.

Stress causes the body to produce more of a hormone called cortisol.

This alertness hormone means your body isn’t able to wind down and repair how it normally would.

Muscle tension is also a common side-effect of high stress levels, increasing the likelihood of injury and affecting muscle repair.

Whilst it’s best to visit a medical professional to deal with chronic stress, there are some changes you can make at home to try ease it.

Talking About It

Spending time with a friend or family member, or a medical professional such as a therapist can help to get thing off your chest and calm you down.

The Samaritans also have a fantastic service where you can speak to someone if you have nobody you feel you can turn to:

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

Breathing Exercises

Taking 5 minutes of the day to just sit and focus on your breathing can help to reduce stress, anxiety and panic attacks [3].

The NHS have a great guide of how to do so, which you can find here:

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/breathing-exercises-for-stress/

Go For A Walk

Walking, or any exercise for that matter, helps to give your body a booster shot of feel-good endorphins.

It’s also a great way to simulate the effects of the ‘fight or flight’ response that you’re body is expecting to need to use. [4]

Mental Wellbeing Audio Guides

Audio guides can be a great source of on-the-go information, and can be built into your daily routine easily.

There are some amazing guides provided by the NHS which talk you through what you’re feeling and how to cope with them:

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/mental-wellbeing-audio-guides/

Visit Your Doctor

As great as the above options are, the best way to get the help you need is by speaking with a medical professional.

Their expertise is far beyond anything you can find online, and they’ll help you get the treatment you need.