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Get startedUnderstanding the different types of stress
Stress is how our bodies react to the external demands of life and events that cause emotional and physical duress. Most often when we think of stress, we recognize the emotional effects – but there is more to it.
Types of stress:
- Chemical
- Emotional
- Physical
Chemical stress – This imbalance of chemicals within the body detracts from a person’s ability to function efficiently. Poor nutrition, excessive hormone production, inflammation and constipation are internal factors. External factors include toxic chemicals in cleaning products, diet, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, over the counter medicine or unnecessary prescription meds, and environmental pollution.
Emotional stress – More people are familiar with and understand this type of stress, and some even consider it normal or ‘status quo.’ Relationships, work, and home life are sources of stress that can have a huge effect on your body’s ability to function at peak performance. When you judge an event in your life negatively, emotional stress occurs. Your response to these events will make the difference. If you feel powerless or get into patterns of negative thinking, it can cause feelings of stress. Negative thinking and emotions can eventually condition your brain to veer negative in any stressful situation.
Physical stress – Physical stress occurs daily. One of the most damaging things to your body is sitting for long periods of time. It gradually alters muscles in your back that will result in alignment issues in your spine, and it disrupts your central nervous system. Repetitive actions can cause physical stress – lifting, bending, chasing little ones, etc. Poor posture, sitting in poorly designed work areas or work equipment can also cause issues.
Stress issues are cumulative. How do you respond to stress? Do your eating habits worsen? Do you stop taking time to exercise or rejuvenate? These are factors that prevent your body from dealing with stressful situations in a healthy way.
You always have control over your reaction to stress, though you may not have control over the stress you experience. For example, grief over the loss of a loved one is a stressor that you can’t do anything about, and the grieving process has to be experienced. When things like this happen, it’s important to control your physical and chemical stressors to free up energy to handle your stress more effectively. The more you focus on eating nutritious food, exercising and staying well, the easier it will be to deal with the emotional stress you are experiencing.
When you manage the stressors in your life, you will be able to better handle crises without feeling drained. You will experience more energy and learn to enjoy life, even through hard times.
Through personal or small group coaching, you can learn coping mechanisms and talk to people who will help you establish control over things in your life that bring you down. The key is to realize you can’t eliminate all of your stress, but you can learn to build a stronger resilience to it. Contact us for more information and help developing skills to change what you can and handle what you can’t.
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