Stress Free Living

Stress free living begins with evaluating your current sources of stress and then working to reduce their effect or eliminate them from your life.

Live stress free!

Achieving stress free living is a complicated process. Before you can reduce or eliminate stress from your life, you must identify your life stressors and modify the way you react to those stressors.

Identifying the main sources of stress in your life involves examining your relationships, physical health, financial stability, and psychological health.

Physical stressors include anything that places strain on the body or reduces its ability to cope with chronic stress.

• Poor nutrition can cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies that impair the immune system, prevent proper functioning of the nervous system, and interfere with healthy cell development and repair.
• Acute or chronic illness can affect hormone levels and prevent the body from dealing with stress.
• Lack of physical activity negatively affects overall health and contributes to a number of health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, that may prevent us from coping with stress effectively.
• Chronic pain can lead to feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and anxiety. Chronic pain also alters brain chemistry and increases overall stress levels, according to the Northwestern University Institute of Neuroscience.
• Sleep deprivation can cause cognitive dysfunction and memory impairment. In addition, high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, interfere with sleep. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University suggest that chronic insomnia may be both a cause and effect of prolonged stress.

Financial stressors involve concerns about money, debt, and employment.

• Money troubles are a common cause of stress in American adults. Unfortunately, chronic stress can lead to poor work performance and reduced productivity, which may worsen financial difficulties.
• Debt is a major stressor for many Americans. Fears of foreclosure or repossession, and worries about increasing credit card debt, health care costs, and retirement funds can all contribute to stress levels.

Social stressors are those involving relationships with other people or the community. Improving your relationships is an important step toward stress free living.

• Marital problems, such as arguments or infidelity, are a common source of daily stress for many people.
• Problems with coworkers can increase work-related stress, especially when problem coworkers are in the same office.
• Intimidation, discrimination, and bullying are significant sources of stress that affect people of all ages.

Psychological stressors are types of personal stress, generally resulting from unrealistic expectations or low self-esteem and self-worth.

• Unrealistic expectations can lead to feelings of failure, worthlessness, and depression. Failing to live up to these unrealistic expectations leads to chronic stress.
• Worrying about events that are uncontrollable is a source of unnecessary stress that can interfere with enjoyment of life.

• Major life changes, including weddings, deaths, births, and relocation can all cause stress. Even positive sources of stress increase health risks.
• Poor living conditions and overcrowding lead to chronic stress and a decrease in quality of life. However, having family and friends around, when they are supportive and positive, can decrease stress levels.

Stress is a cycle. Life stressors trigger stress reactions in the body, which impair the immune system and decrease overall health. As our health declines, we become less able to deal with these same life stressors, and our sensitivity to even minor stress becomes heightened.

To reduce stress and achieve stress free living, it is important to identify and reduce life stressors, improve the way we react to common stressors, and ensure our body is able to cope with stress by feeding and caring for it.

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