Achieving a Stress-Free Lifestyle

Stress is a component of our lives that we can’t seem to avoid. With just the smallest little change to a plan, or a slight inconvenience, our bodies and minds can be overcome with stressful thoughts and reactions. For most, stress is a daily occurrence, and one that is impossible to avert. Whether it’s your kids, your family, friends, your job, or something else, it can appear that stress is always lurking. Let’s take some time to diagnose what stress really is, and how we can help you treat it.

Stress is a physical response to anxiety-inducing situations, which results in a mixture of hormones and chemicals in the body. Think of it this way; you can’t find the flavor you’re looking for in a sauce, so you just throw a bunch of spices, herbs, and vegetables in the pot, never thinking how it will taste. Crazy, right? Stress works in much of the same way. It’s nonsensical, and only works to create more anxiety.

So how do you get stress? Well, those situations and occurrences that give you stress are, accurately, called stressors. These are anything that creates high demand of your time or attention, and not just negative things. We can find stress when doing anything. The important factor here is to remember than we can control our bodies to remove stress and find a way to alleviate it from ourselves.

You’ve heard of stress relievers before. Usually when that comes to mind, you think of some bottle of pills you can grab at a local grocery store. This isn’t the natural case of stress relieving, but rather one to combat the chemical reaction with even more chemicals. Not knocking this format if it works for you, but what we’re trying to do is introduce you to forms of relief you may have not tried. Any for of physical activity can act as a reliever of stress. Going for a small walk, running, playing a sport, getting a quick stretch in, making a meal, anything. Your body will respond in such a way that you will not forget the stressor, but will enhance your natural neural chemicals. In short, your feel-good chemicals will kick in to combat the feel-bad ones.

Many of our stressors come in the form of our habitual living. Think about the things you devote time to every day. Is it social media? Is it Netflix? Or is it your lack of time management? What could you do to change those things? Think about the possibility of just closing your eyes and listening to soft music for a few minutes. Seems soothing, right? Stress can be battled and diminished with the smallest of steps. Most of the time it is produced as a result of us feeling the need to press on with everything we have going on in our lives, with reckless abandon, because the thought of slowing down just scares us. We are our own worst enemy when it comes to convincing ourselves we need a break. Take some time to breathe and slow down.

Clinicas is devoted to helping you out with your stress, be it momentary or health-threatening. Our doctors and staff have plenty of resources available to you that can help in the short and long term.