We know there are many causes of stress. It’s the body’s natural reaction to pressure, both external and internal, and it’s a normal human experience. Stress can impact your life in so many ways, affecting relationships, work, and your home life.
What happens when you experience stress?
When you’re experiencing stress, the ‘flight or fight’ response kicks in. ‘Flight or fight’ prepares your body to protect itself and rouses the body to either run away or fight any potential threats. Your body is flooded with the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, and your heart and breathing rates increase.
While in some circumstances a certain amount of stress can be useful in your daily life, channelled as motivation, productivity, and energy, suffering from chronic stress over a long period of time can be detrimental to the wellbeing of both your body and mind.
According to a stress and wellbeing survey, conducted by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) in 2016, 26% of Australians are experiencing medium to severe levels of stress in their life.
26% of Australians are experiencing medium to severe levels of stress in their life.
Symptoms of chronic stress
The physical and psychological symptoms of chronic stress include:
PHYSICAL
- Fatigue
- Heart palpitations
- Insomnia and other sleep disorders
- Cold sweats
- Headaches
- Weakened immunity
- High blood pressure
- Loss of libido
- Loss of appetite
- Weight gain
- Diarrhoea/stomach upsets
- Muscle aches
PSYCHOLOGICAL
- Anxiety
- Sadness/depression
- Suicidal thoughts
- Altered mood – irritability/fear/anger/guilt/shame
- Loss of concentration and poor memory retention
- Forgetfulness
If you’re experiencing chronic stress you may find yourself taking up unhealthy habits such as excessive alcohol consumption or drug dependency. It can also lead to other serious mental health issues and with a lack of emotional support it can even lead to suicidal thoughts.
Whether the roots of your stress are linked to work, financial issues, relationships, health problems or another traumatic life experience, it’s important to remember that every individual experiences stress in a different way. For this reason, the management of stress needs to be tailored to your individual needs.
Managing stress
If you feel overwhelmed and feel like your life is spiralling out of control, with the right support and treatment there are ways to overcome stress.
There are many ways to reduce mild stress such as:
- Meditation, relaxation, and mindfulness
- Exercise
- Confiding in family and friends
- A healthy diet
- Adequate sleep
While these techniques can help reduce mild stress, if you’re dealing with chronic stress you may need to seek additional support from your GP or another medical health professional. You may also need more personalised treatment such as the treatment programs we offer here at Salt Recovery.
We offer a range of tailored programs to suit your individual situation and your recovery needs. All aspects of the programs are personalised, based on recommendations from our Clinical Director.
Our team of professionals will support you during the program and nurture you throughout the journey, from beginning to end. We’ll be biggest supporter and do everything we can to get on the road to recovery.
If you think you are experiencing chronic stress, take the first step and contact Salt Recovery today!
