Tips to Preserve Your Health by Reducing Your Stress Level

Abnormal stress can be a major cause of disease. Make a plan to reduce your stress level and ultimately lengthen your life.

Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's 1909 publication, Undine

Stress can be the proverbial pot that turns to a boil before the frog realizes that it is being cooked to death! Stressful situations can become such a norm in your life that you don’t even realize what is happening. Often people don’t notice their high stress levels until they begin to experience health problems. Stress can manifest physically as heart pain or palpitations, a peculiar rash or any number of other conditions.

There are two basic kinds of stress: Chronic and acute

Chronic stress involves every day strains of urban or even suburban life. It is the noise of traffic, neighbors, barking dogs and other intrusions. It is the pressure of a job that involves difficult bosses or co-workers and even real physical dangers. It can also be the strain of family relationships, an unfulfillable marriage or interfering in-laws.

Acute stress occurs when some tragedy strikes. The death of a loved one can be so traumatic that it induces illness in the dying person’s loved ones, particularly caretakers who may be experiencing compounded stress. Becoming the survivor of a violent crime carries special stresses that can be not only acute, but they can evolve into long-term chronic strains on one’s mental and physical health. Divorce and accidents are major sources of acute stress. Sometimes the sufferers are under so much stress that they seem to age very quickly.

Stress can lower the immune system and make people more vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections. It can also bring on the very real illness of depression in some people. Three important elements of physical health, safety and a supportive relationships can also help to reduce stress and restore a sense of balance.

Physical Health

The first step to reducing stress and restoring peace into your life is to maintain and bolster your physical health by eating highly nutritious foods, drinking plenty of pure water and getting an appropriate amount of sleep. Breathing exercises such as those involved in Hatha yoga can help restore balance, as well.

B-vitamins are especially helpful for people who are undergoing any kind of stress. The B-vitamins are some of the first nutrients to be drained in the body when it experiences acutely stressful situations. The quickest way to replenish these nutrients is through supplementation with a high quality multi-B complex.

Exercise is a major component in stress reduction. It provides a channel for aggression and causes the body to produce soothing natural chemical called endorphins. Weight training is one of the best exercises for restoring a sense of mastery over your body and your life.

Light cardiovascular exercise on a rebounder or with the aide of a dance video is a good choice for maintaining a healthy physical and emotional balance. Dancing makes people feel joyful. It is a very good way to release emotional tension and reduce stress levels.

Safety

Safety is a basic need. If you are under stress for whatever reason, assess what elements in your environment make you feel physically threatened and plan ways to eliminate them. You may not be able to remove these threats over night, but you may be able to take immediate steps to mitigate them once you recognize the problem.

Consider long-term goals of achieving a sense of safety. For example, if you live in a dangerous city and that fact is causing you an unhealthy level of stress, devise a long-term plan to move to a more peaceful place.

Once you have found a safe place, restore your peace of mind through meditation or self-hypnosis.

Supportive Relationships

No man or woman is an island. People need acceptance and even affection in order to be fully happy and healthy. Healthy companionship is an important component in living a less stressful life. Healthy romantic relationships are important, too. But, most of all it is important to be around people who are understanding and accepting of you as a unique and valuable.

Conversely, it is important to remove yourself from negative people and unwholesome relationships that can be a source of stress.

In the absence of human companionship it has been found that pets soothe the nerves and promote a sense of well-being. In particular, cats have been found to help reduce stress.

All of these ideas taken together are a formula for reducing stress, improving health and increasing productivity. Ultimately, taking proactive steps to reduce your stress level, both in the short and long term can lead to a more fulfilling and longer life.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The author is not a doctor and makes no representation and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of this information. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on the internet. The author does not recommend, endorse or make any representation about the efficacy, appropriateness or suitability of any specific remedies or procedures.

This article was first published on January 6, 2010 by this author on a now defunct content site.