Do you know what your body experiences during a stressful situation? Your body triggers the alarm and suddenly you're on high alert, cortisol floods your system, your brain thinks you are in mortal danger and that fight or flight instinct is bearing down on you.
Once upon a time, that instinct kicked in when our ancestors were faced with a ferocious beast in the wild – unfortunately today's ferocious beasts tend to be angry bosses, traffic, and a nagging partner. While this does produce an energy surge, a boost to reflexes, and razor sharp focus it's something that is only healthy in short bursts. After the stressful event subsides everything should return to normal and you can go about your day just as you had been. Unfortunately, that's not how chronic stress operates.
Chronic Stress
Sadly, for many people stress isn't like the first explanation, it's ongoing. Any type of event can lead to chronic stress, whether it's a boss who is always on your back to the point of bullying, a loved one in hospital for an extended period of time, or the breakdown of a relationship. Prolonged stress is chronic stress and it s when the body is trying to keep up …show more content…
There are a few ways you can go about rectifying your situation. The first is to identify the source of your stress and ask yourself how you can remedy this. It may be possible to take steps to reduce or eliminate your stressor altogether, however, that isn't always possible. If your job is causing you stress is it because you put too much pressure on yourself to perform and succeed, because your boss is overly demanding, or because you can't seem to strike the right work/life balance? There are ways to handle that, including sitting down with your boss to clear the air. Make sure you take every paid day off that is available to you and work at relaxing with hobbies or activities that you truly