Feeling a little overwhelmed? Worried stress is impacting your health?
It may be. Stress produces lots of physiological changes affecting your heart. For example, you pump out more adrenaline, which can make your blood pressure rise and your heart race. If these changes keep up over time, they can damage your heart’s arteries.
April is National Stress Awareness Month so we think it’s the right time to help you discuss how stress affects you, and to help you learn ways to cope with life’s stressors in order to protect your mental and physical health.
Although you can’t control all the stressors in your life, you can take steps to better manage your responses. Here are a few tips:
Practice positive self-talk at least once a day. This can work wonders at turning around a negative frame of mind. An example of negative self-talk is this: “I hate when this happens. Why does this happen to me?” An example of positive self-talk is this: “I can handle this. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again.”
Do something pleasurable JUST FOR YOU at least 15 minutes a day. Maybe it’s taking a long bath, running at Town Lake, or listening to your favorite music. You will be amazed at how quickly this can turn around a day that feels like it’s gone all wrong.
Use emergency stress stoppers, or actions to help you diffuse stress in the moment. Try some of these:
- Count to 10 before you speak
- Take a few deep breaths
- Listen to a favorite song
- Walk away from the situation for a while and come back to it later once things have calmed down.
Practice a daily relaxation method such as meditation or mindfulness. Often using breathing, quiet contemplation or strong focus on something, such as a phrase or sound, will help you let go of stress and feel more calm and peaceful. Think of it as a mini-vacation from the stress in your life!
Cultivate healthy habits. Get enough sleep, don’t forget to laugh, exercise, slow down, and accept what you can’t change. Taking steps like these will make a big difference in how well you manage stress.
The key is to find out what works for you and keep it up. But don’t ignore the signals your body is giving you. If you feel like stress is impacting your health, stop in Brodie Lane Pharmacy and we’ll do a free blood pressure screening for you. It’s important to get checked. And we can help. Stop in and see us today.
Nothing herein constitutes medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, or is a substitute for professional advice. You should always seek the advice of your physician or other medical professional if you have questions or concerns about a medical condition.