Chronic or long-term stress that interferes with your daily life can negatively affect your health.
We all feel stressed from time to time. It can happen after an argument with a loved one, before a job interview, or while waiting for test results from your health care provider. Stress is a physical and mental response to a perceived threat or challenge. Acute stress usually disappears when the situation is resolved, whereas episodic acute stress reoccurs on a regular basis.
Chronic or long-term stress can continue for weeks or months, interfere with your daily life and can negatively affect your health. Learn more about chronic stress, its impact on your health, and some tips for managing it effectively.
How Does Stress Affect My Health?
When you’re under stress, your body releases hormones during the “fight or flight” response. You may feel your heart rate and breathing speed up, your blood pressure rise, and your muscles tense. When this stress isn’t managed, it can affect your health in several ways.
- Stress can impact your physical well-being, causing symptoms such as an upset stomach, headaches, difficulty sleeping, and muscle tension.
- Stress can increase your cholesterol levels, raise your blood pressure, and increase inflammation in your body.
- Stress can impact your mood and increase your risk for depression or anxiety.
- Stress can make you more vulnerable to illness.
- Stress can lead you to make unhealthy choices, such as drinking too much or making poor food choices.
- Stress can put additional strain on your heart, increasing your risk of heart disease.
How Can I Manage My Stress?
Since we can’t eliminate all sources of stress from our daily lives, it’s important to try to find healthy ways to deal with it.
- Learn to recognize signs of stress. Common signs of stress can include headaches, stomach or digestive issues, muscle tension, and mood swings. If you experience these symptoms, consider whether your stress levels may be a contributing factor.
- Identify the sources of your stress. Think about what’s causing your stress and try to develop coping techniques. For example, if a difficult boss is causing stress at work, try taking a 15-minute walk during lunch to cool off. If you’re overwhelmed by demands the moment you wake up, try waking up 10 minutes earlier to have a little “me time.”
- Get regular exercise. When you’re active, your body releases certain chemicals that can help improve your mood and lower your blood pressure. Try adding a nightly walk, an early morning yoga session, or an intense strength training workout to release some of your stress.
- Set aside time for activities you enjoy. Carving out time for something that makes you happy can be a great way to reduce stress. Make time for a relaxing walk, a coffee date with your best friend, a quiet night on the couch, or anything else that makes you feel good.
- Get enough sleep. When we’re short on sleep, we have less patience and a harder time managing stress. Learn how to build a healthy sleep routine, like avoiding screens before bed, keeping your room dark and cool, avoiding caffeine, and more.
- Practice relaxation techniques. Relaxation can help you slow your breathing and release tension in your body. Military OneSource offers a Breathe2Relax app to guide you through deep belly breathing – something you can do several times a day to calm your mind. If you’re holding on to stress in your body, like a clenched jaw or tense shoulders, try using a technique like progressive muscle relaxation. Mindfulness exercises, like those on Chill Drills, a mobile app from Military OneSource, can help you focus on the present and avoid worrying about past or future events. For more ideas, check out Healthy Homefront’s Mindfulness and Meditation: An Easy Guide for Getting Started.
- Unplug. Whether it’s negative news stories, work emails, or social media posts, constant technology use allows our stress to follow us everywhere. Give yourself a chance to detox from the stress by unplugging at night or in the morning before you start your day.
- Try yoga or tai chi. Yoga and tai chi are practices that involve moving your body slowly and purposefully while relaxing your mind. Both activities can help you slow your breathing, relax your muscles, and release stress. There are several short, beginner videos you can start with, like this 13-minute tai chi video from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
- Stay positive. Having a positive outlook and finding the good in your life can minimize stress and reduce your risk for depression. Each day, think about one or two things you’re grateful for. You could write them down and look them over when negative thoughts and stressful situations come calling.
- Get additional support. If your stress-relieving techniques don’t help or you can’t seem to manage on your own, seek additional support. The stress you feel may be linked to something more, like a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression. Talk to your health care provider to discuss counseling, medication, or a support group that may provide you with the additional support you deserve. Check out the resources below for more information.
Resources
Your TRICARE plan offers mental health support for a wide range of issues, such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and more. Learn more about what your plan covers and how you can get the support you need.
Military OneSource has several tools and resources designed to help you manage stress, including a meditation podcast, self-care mobile apps, and free health and wellness coaching. Military OneSource also offers free, confidential counseling for a wide range of issues, including coping with grief and loss, relationship conflicts, stress management, and more.
VA offers several free apps to support your mental health and well-being, including a PTSD Coach to help you manage the stress of daily life and a Mindfulness Coach to help you establish a simple mindfulness routine. VA also offers several mental health services to support Veterans.
Take care of yourself and make managing your stress a priority!