We all experience stress from time to time, but what happens if your stress starts to become ongoing? When stress becomes chronic it can go so far that it has an effect on your overall quality of life. That’s why many people look for ways to help them de-stress and relax, such as the vagus nerve stimulation device by Neuvana.
Neuvana’s Xen headphones help to stimulate the vagus nerve which in turn leads to a healthier, calmer, and better life overall. While there might be some super effective technologies to help with stress, it’s important to understand how stress can have a negative impact on your overall quality of life.
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What is Stress?
The truth is, that a lot of people don’t fully understand what stress is. Stress and anxiety are often associated with one another, but stress is actually quite different from anxiety.
Anxiety is when you experience certain feelings associated with worry. There isn’t necessarily a clear cause for those feelings and they’re usually bigger than what’s deserved by the situation. It’s also commonly seen as a response to different situations that are out of our control.
Stress on the other hand is a reaction to something that we do have control over. These are different situations and aspects of our lives that we could be managing better.
Poor management of these situations could be because of physical, cultural, genetic, psychological, or environmental factors. Whatever the stressor may be, it can affect different people in different ways. It can mean more subtle stress, or significant stress that starts to take control over a person’s quality of life.
How Does Stress Affect Quality of Life?
Stress can affect your life in a number of ways, but if not handled properly, stress can start to have a negative impact on your overall quality of life. Here’s how!
Natural reactions to stress
It’s common to feel stress both physically and mentally. This is called an automatic response and is what signals the body to release stress hormones. These hormones elevate the heart rate, boost energy, increase blood pressure, and are what encourage you to deal with a problem you’re presented with. This state is also known as the fight or flight response.
If you are to experience ongoing stress, it’s possible for your body to stay stuck in this state. This can affect your ability to function day to day which ultimately impacts your quality of life.
Pressure points of stress
It’s possible that you often experience random spurts or pressure points of stress. These are usually moments that are short lived, but stressful nonetheless. For example, you might experience a stomach ache before you’re about to do a presentation at work. Even these shorter “pressure points” of stress can have an impact on your quality of life.
As you experience stress like this in an ongoing manner, your circulatory system can become inflamed. This is common in the coronary arteries which is often associated with heart attacks.
Allowing too many of these pressure points of stress to happen can lead to unwanted health problems and therefore a less desirable quality of life.
Chronic stress
Chronic stress is the most common type of stress that can interfere with your ability to live a normal life. In fact, chronic stress can become dangerous. You can start to feel irritable for no real reason, extremely fatigued, or unable to concentrate. This takes a real toll on your body and mind.
As you experience ongoing stress, your body becomes overexposed to cortisol and other types of stress hormones that can negatively impact your body’s ability to function properly. This can lead to other major problems such as anxiety, depression, headaches, digestive issues, and mental health problems.
Chronic stress is also known to suppress the immune system which makes it even more difficult to recover from illnesses. This makes it really difficult to maintain a good quality of life.
Ways to Manage Stress
Rather than letting your stress get the best of you, there are some things you can do to help manage it.
Identify the problem
Do your best to monitor yourself and pinpoint times when you start to feel stressed. If you can identify the problem and get ahead of it, you’ll be better equipped to manage it.
Take a second when you’re angry
If you feel yourself starting to boil up with anger, take a second before you react. You might count to 10 or excuse yourself to take a quick walk. This can help you to stay calm and keep your stress levels down.
Focus on building relationships
Relationships can be great for stress in a lot of ways. But only when they’re healthy! If you find yourself in negative relationships that are causing you stress then it might be time to re-evaluate.
Give your mind a rest
You should always ensure you give your mind a rest with a good sleep each and every night. Get into a routine to help yourself sleep at night and try to go to bed at the same time each evening.
Get help when you need it
If none of the above solutions seem to be working for you, don’t be afraid to reach out and get help. A professional can help you to find ways to manage your stress and improve your quality of life as a result!
Next Steps in Managing Stress
Now that you know a lot more about stress and how it can affect your quality of life, it’s important that you learn how to manage it. Use the tips above to help determine the best way to handle your stress. It may take a bit of trial and error to determine the best method for you, but it’s worth it to improve your overall quality of life.
You also might seek technology to help manage your stress, such as the vagus nerve stimulation device by Neuvana. Use the tools available to you, and you’ll be well on your way to living a healthier and more stress-free life!
