Why Is It So Important To Manage Stress?

Every day demands, both negative and positive, from all corners of life including relationships, parenting, work, and finances among others can cause stress.

It is that overwhelming effect of feeling less able to cope with the demands.The truth is that everybody experiences stress. After all, stress is the natural defense mechanism of the body against danger (fight-or-flight mechanism). However, if stress is left unmanaged for a long period of time, it can easily lead to chronic stress. This can then result to adverse effects on physical and mental health. It can also demean the immune system, cause various diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, accelerate aging, affect how a person relates with others and reduces one’s ability to work.

How to manage stress

Thankfully, stress management techniques are diverse and can help mitigate the situation. Healthy eating, getting enough rest and sleep, relaxing techniques such as yoga and meditation are just a few examples.

Cycling is also a great way of managing stress. If you cycle around nature, the greenery has a calming effect that reduces stress. To make it easier for you, especially if you are battling other conditions, invest in a bicycle motor kit. It will help you convert your bicycle into a motorized bicycle that is easy on your body. Besides, it is very easy to assemble. You can DIY or pay someone to do it, only a little mechanical skills are required.

The following is why stress management is so important.

1. It adversely affects physical and mental health

As the body prepares for the defense mechanism, it will activate alertness, breathing, blood flow and muscle tension ready to fight.

On the other hand, other body functionalities such as the immune and digestive systems are suppressed. The body’s ability to sleep also decreases as the body is on alert mode. This affects health in the following ways.

• When the body’s ability to fight diseases is reduced, the likelihood of contracting diseases is heightened. People dealing with chronic stress are more prone to heart diseases and cancer.
• The lack of sleep and tensing of the muscles can easily trigger musculoskeletal conditions such as migraines and headaches.
• When the digestive system is slowed, it limits the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. This can cause disrupted eating patterns where one eats less or more. Some people experience extreme weight loss while others suffer obesity. In addition, the effect on the digestive system can cause vomiting, diarrhea, acid reflux, heartburn, constipation and nausea.
• Studies have also shown that people battling with stress age faster as compared to those without.

2. It badly affects relationships

Stress can also cause a number of emotional disorders. People suffering from stress are easily frustrated, angered and irritated. They also become extremely impatient and depressed. Other effects are feelings of insecurity and self-doubt and feeling incapable. The emotional effects on a stressed person can be detrimental on how he or she relates to other people. This is because they try to let out their emotions on the others, which can be too much to take for the person.

They act intensely to the happenings around them, and can easily create problems where none existed. If not managed, it can badly damage communication and trust in a relationship that can easily kill it.

3. It affects one’s ability to work

The workplace holds a number of stress triggers. Besides dealing with meeting deadlines, demanding bosses and difficult projects, positive changes can also trigger stress. Take for example a promotion; it is a happy event, but thinking whether one will be able to tackle all the duties can be stressful.

Emotional stress can affect one’s work in the following ways.

• It becomes difficult to focus
• It negatively affects decision-making
• It can cause absenteeism as one dreads going to work
• Emotional swings that can affect workplace relationships
• Inability to work at optimal productivity level due to feelings of fatigue and self-doubt
• Procrastination that can lead to missing deadlines
• Emotional exhaustion can limit creativity and innovation
• It can greatly reduce efficiency.
• It can lead to a burnout and total closure

Conclusion

After reading the above, the need for stress management can’t be stressed enough. It is obvious that reducing stress can lead to a healthier and happy life. The body needs all the functionalities working well in order to achieve a balanced life between work, relationships and general wellness. Managing stress is a sure way to achieve this.