The Cost of Stress

Are you feeling stressed right now? This is a question you need to start asking yourself. Another important question to ask yourself is, can you do anything about it? The cost of stress can be daunting. However, the truth is that many people have the wrong ideas about stress.

Not all stress is bad. In fact, some stress can be good depending on the situation. It can help you handle serious situations safely. It can help you power through a workout. 

The problem lies in chronic stress. 

The people that stress from the moment they wake up until they go to bed day in, day out - eventually they will pay for it. By staying in a constant state of stress, you’ll pay with your mental health, your immune system, your cardiovascular system, and even in the way you produce your hormones. The bottom line is that constant, chronic stress will, over time, have an adverse effect on your overall health and well-being. 

How can you move passed that negative type of stress?

To de-stress, begin with an internal assessment. Consider when you are stressed. Is it all day, or is it just in an occasional bursty of energy that you use to manage a temporary issue? Is the stress you’re feeling related to something you can control, or are you stressing for no reason? 

We are all human, and we have our ups and downs throughout our lives, but we mustn’t allow ourselves to stay in a constant state of stress. If you are feeling stress all the time, you need to figure out why, and then learn how to control those feelings. Here are a few ways to reduce the cost of stress, and calm yourself down:

• Begin your day on the right foot: Take a cool shower. Drink a glass of clean, filtered water upon waking to re-hydrate your body from the night before. 
• Keep the day going with positive thoughts. State a positive affirmation or two, and think about the things you have to be grateful for. 
• Take deep breaths regularly, and practice breathing protocols we talked about in this post previously.
• When you start getting stressed, take a moment to think about the good things. Remember that you are not alone, and that whatever this is, you will get through it. 

It may not happen overnight, but you can choose to stress less. Take steps each day to de-stress, and focus your mindset on positivity. The sooner you begin working on your mindset and intentionally de-stressing, the better you will feel in the long run. Don’t sweat the small stuff, don’t take the good stuff for granted, and before you know it you will see that big changes can occur over time.