Are You Ready to Live a Less-Stressed Life?
Hi
Whenever you experience stress, your body goes into action. You get a flood of chemicals and hormones that are designed to help you deal with the stress. In addition to that, your body speeds up other internal processes in order to prepare you to face whatever it is that you need to deal with.
You might feel your heart rate speed up and you might feel a surge of strength from the adrenaline. Once the stressor is dealt with, everything goes back to the way that it was before in your body.
The problem that can occur is that the body’s response to stress can be addictive. When you’re facing stressors and your body kicks it up a notch, it gives you an “on guard” feeling.
Your senses become more alert and you feel ready for action. This is a type of high that the body gives you. If you feel this natural high as a reaction to stress every now and then, that’s not usually an issue.
But it becomes an issue when you start to rely on that high more and more in order to function. The reaction that you end up having is identical to someone who’s addicted to a substance like alcohol or drugs.
You might even find that you deliberately and subconsciously seek to create stress in order to get the body to respond and give you that burst of adrenaline. If you allow it to go on, then it can adversely affect you.
If you’re someone who’s caught in the cycle of stress, that doesn’t mean that there’s no way out. There is hope for you to be able to break the addiction to stress. Start by stepping away from what makes you stressed.
This might mean that you need to take a break and go cold turkey from something like your workaholic tendencies or social media. You’ll find that at first, you’ll crave whatever you’re pushing aside, but give it time. Those cravings will subside.
If the stressors in your life are people, limit the time that you spend with them or take a break from them for a while until you feel stronger. This can help you induce stress cleanse and allow you to think clearly.
Replace the stress addiction with a stress reliever. This might be something like exercise or joining an organization where you have great social interaction. It might be volunteering somewhere or using a meditation program.
Change is something that you can achieve because you have the potential to overcome stress addiction and break free. Hold onto your potential and on difficult days accept that though you may be a work in progress, you can still move forward.
Keep your focus on one stress reducer at a time. Exchange one bad habit for a good one. Make sure that you plan to do something fun and positive every day. Choose to live in the moment.
