You May Be Suffering From Anxiety!

We live in a fast paced world, all of our own creation, and in the process manage to deny ourselves one of the most basic things our bodies need. Most people don’t even recognize the necessity of sleep, yet without it we suffer in ways not easily recognizable. This workout of the body’s communication system may be the true value of exercise; the more sedentary we get, the less efficient our bodies in responding to stress. Our bodies really don’t know the difference between a saber-toothed tiger and a teacher correcting our test. It is how we perceive and interpret the events of life that dictates how our bodies react.

On the other hand, internal factors determine the bodily abilities. Stress management techniques focus on alteration in the external factors contributing stress or on internal factors in terms of making them strong to deal with external ones. Although our bodies are adaptive and can recover from periodic stressors, chronic stress has serious consequences. We experience the consequences of stress on three important levels; physically, emotionally and behaviorally. Stress involves bodily effects, upsetting thoughts, and ineffective behavior. Each of these elements worsens the others in a vicious cycle.

Our bodies do so much restorative work while we sleep, and it’s harder to deal with emotional and physical stress when we don’t have enough sleep. Additionally, nights of uninterrupted sleep are better than nights of interrupted sleep. Although the stress pathways work together, they each can uniquely affect the function of bodily processes. For instance, the “fight” or “flight”? stress responses cause the heart to beat faster and harder as well as release more free fatty acids (disassembled triglycerides) into the blood.

When you are actively engaged in tasks demanding concentration and motor skills, it’s hard to keep your mind on your worries. Exercise may relieve boredom or provide opportunities for social interaction. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress. You will feel as if your worries have gone down the drain along with water.