Not all stress is bad. In the right amounts, stress can motivate you to work harder or perform better when you’re under pressure. But chronic stress can bring on medical issues, sometimes as serious as an irregular heartbeat, heart attacks, and even sudden death. Therefore, it’s important to keep your stress levels low.
Stress can turn into a problem when you feel the following symptoms:
Many people cope with stress in healthful ways, such as engaging in cardio exercise or meditating, but some turn to more harmful behaviors, like alcohol or drug abuse, overeating or not eating at all, and failing to keep up with social activities.
If you find yourself with some or all of these symptoms, it’s time to turn to professional counseling to learn better coping mechanisms and find support.
When your body feels threatened, it releases stress hormones like cortisol into your bloodstream, increasing your heart rate, blood pressure, and energy levels. This is called being in “fight or flight” mode.
When the threat goes away, your body should return to a normal, relaxed state. However, when you face stress on a regular basis, your fight or flight response may not shut off. When work, social activities, and even family responsibilities pile up, those factors can all amount to chronic stress.
Seeing a psychotherapist like Joshua Howell at Luminous Counseling & Consulting can help you talk out your problems and boost support from a nonjudgmental, professional ear. You can also learn supplementary ways to lower the amount of stress in your life:
When you come in for a consultation with licensed professional counselor Joshua Howell and the team, they will work with you on the best practices you can incorporate into your lifestyle to manage stress. Call (256) 686-9195 or make an appointment online today.