Modern life puts a lot in front of us all at once, and most people don’t even realize they’re living in a constant state of stress until they’re not. Constant scrolling through social media has been shown to elevate cortisol levels, compounding the sleep deprivation effects of constant screen exposure.
The result?
A population of overtired, chronically high-strung people whose greatest struggle in life is just unplugging and relaxing.
The Physical Response to Mental Stress
Stress isn’t just a state of mind, it’s as physical as it is mental. It can be cumulative and manifest itself in physical ailments, known as psychosomatic symptoms. Stress is a chemical response in our brains that creates a domino effect of physical symptoms.
In fact, one study found that in 84% of participants reporting physical ailments to their physicians, no known cause of what they went in for could even be found. In another study, as many as 20% of participants seeing their doctors had a psychological cause for their physical symptoms.
Physical responses to stress can manifest themselves in a lot of ways, leading to a chronically uncomfortable life with no known physical cause. It’s not all in your head — stress can cause a variety of physical symptoms:
- Headaches and migraines
- Nausea
- Insomnia
- Blood sugar imbalances
- Neck pain
- Abdominal pain
- Fatigue
- Chest pain
- Weight loss
- Dizziness
- Constipation
Sneaky Causes of Stress
Plenty in life is stressful — money, your in-laws visiting, taxes, avoiding carbs.
But beyond the usual thoughts that keep us up at night, there are some hidden culprits of stress that most people don’t even think to work on:
- Over socialization — Social interaction and communication is one of the most demanding tasks a brain can do. It requires you to turn thoughts into speech, listen to what other people are saying and process that audio into thoughts, develop responses, read body language, memorize social cues. And on, and on. While socialization is a critical part of healthy brain development, too much can put you in a constant state of edginess.
- Social media — We know you know, but do you really know? Social media stress is more than just arguing with your uncle during election season or being stalked by your crazy ex — it’s constant communication, and often confrontational communication at that. Social media has been shown to trigger the release of cortisol in the brain, nature’s fight or flight response. It’s a stress hormone designed to keep you out of sticky situations, but if the first thing you do every morning is pick up your phone, your brain has its work cut out for it.
- Overscheduling — People inherently respond well to organization and routine, it’s how we’re built. Too much scheduling, though, sets you up for letdowns with unrealistically high expectations for what you can get out of 24 hours.
- Multitasking — It’s great that you can fry bacon while on a conference call and doing leg lifts in the kitchen, but it’s not ideal. Multitasking may be necessary at times, but it doesn’t teach your brain to sit still and be present in the moment.
So what do you do? When life goes on, things have to get done, and you can’t exactly hop a flight to Bali and do yoga on the beach, what’s the sustainable, realistic solution to chronic stress?
First of all, it’s not stressing about your stress. Try this simple stress detox, one step at a time, in however much time it takes you to get through it. Breathe — you’ve got this.
#1 — Take a Vacation from Screens
Too much screen time can mess with your sleep cycles, create hormonal imbalances, and make you one crabby person to be around.
Figure out when you can afford to avoid your inbox, and take a couple of days to unplug — completely.
#2 — Simplify Your To-Do List
The rule of three is the best way to stay productive without creating a cyclic cocktail for stress. Each day, focus on just three major tasks to knock out. Work, making dinner, and getting caught up on the laundry is more than enough.
#3 — Plan for Tomorrow
You don’t have to have an hour-by-hour schedule every night before you go to bed, but you should always hit the sheets with an idea of what you need to accomplish the next day. It’ll make you more productive without creating that morning scramble of figuring out where to start.
#4 — Fall In Love With Yourself
Insecurity and lack of self confidence are two states of mind that definitely contribute to stress. It’s not about feeling powerful or sexy or perfect, it’s about loving yourself so that living a stress-free life becomes your default, not your vacation.
Eat at an incredible restaurant alone, meditate in the woods, whatever it is that you like to do, but do more alone.
#5 — Start Monotasking
Gone are the days of the noble multitasker. Your brain craves focus, and distraction is just another way you self sabotage what could be a calm, productive day. Focus on one task a time whenever you can, and don’t start another until you’re done.
#6 — Eat Like You Love Yourself
Keto, paleo, whatever — you need to start eating like you love yourself.
Every time you make a meal, stop for lunch, or grab a snack, ask yourself, “Is this what I would feed someone I deeply loved and cared about?”
It doesn’t have to be a gourmet four course meal, but it does have to make you as happy as it does healthy.
#7 — Get a Massage (No, Seriously)
Massage isn’t just an extravagance for people with endless time and no responsibilities, it’s a healthcare expense. On top of muscles knotting up as a physical response to mental stress, your lymphatic system is responsible for filtering toxins out of your body. It gets overloaded without enough friction and external stimuli and can make you feel sluggish and your complexion suck.
Get a great massage from a massage therapist who really knows what they’re doing, and drink a ton of water afterwards to flush out the lactic acid that’s released during the massage.
#8 — Say No
Saying yes is great, but saying it too much is just as much of a problem as not saying it enough. Get a little selfish, and start guarding your time like a boss. Say no all the time, and only say yes to what really makes your heart sing.
#9 — Start Your Days Peacefully
Waking up to a buzzer and a smartphone is the worst way to start the day out. Instead, use a peaceful tone for your alarm, don’t pick up your smartphone as soon as you roll out of bed, and try to meditate before you start consuming mass quantities of caffeine.
What do you do to relieve stress on a daily basis?
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